Spring Flowers - Roadsides - Yellow and Orange
Dandelion; Taraxacum officinale*
Composite Family The name dandelion comes from the Americanization of the French "dent de lion," meaning "tooth of the lion." The common name in German (Löwenzahn - pronounced "luhr-ven-tsan"), Norwegian (Løwetann) and Spanish (diente del león) also means "lion's tooth," from the sharp, jagged lobes of the leaves. Dandelions are self-pollinating, which makes them an even more pesky weed. Since it is such a common weed, this is a good flower to use to study the anatomy of a composite flower. Each "flower" is actually many individual florets. Tear a flowerhead in half and remove a single little flower. Each one has a curled, Y-shaped pistil, a stamen with pollen, an ovary (which will become a seed), and the pappas, the "parachute," which is so enticing for children to blow and make a wish. This picture was taken in Oak Ridge in early March. The little insect is a hoverfly, not a bee; some people call them "news bees". Perennial Where seen: Great Smoky Mountains NP, Warriors' Path SP, Widespread
Huntsville, TN (Scott Co.) March 21, 2009 This was one of those "U-turn plants", I made my husband turn around and drive back so I could get a photo! This makes plant #710 on this site of wildflowers from East Tennessee! Coltsfoot is a non-native that blooms very early in the spring and the flowers come up before the leaves appear. If you see the leaves, it is too late to enjoy the flowers! These plants were growing in a thick bank of broken shale. I was glad these were growing low enough to photograph them, I would not have been able to walk up the steep, loose gravel bank.
Spiny-leaved Sow Thistle; Sonchus asper
Composite Family This is a very common weedy plant along roadsides. I found this one growing in Oak Ridge. It blooms much of the spring and summer. Winter annual Where seen:Oak Ridge, Great Smoky Mountains NP, Warriors' Path SP, Widespread
Indian Strawberry; Duchesnea indica*
Rose Family Strawberries and their kin are in the Rose family. This plant can be a pesky weed, especially if it grows along with real strawberries like they did in my son's garden! It can be very difficult to differentiate between the two without looking closely. Unlike native, white-flowered wild strawberries (Fragraria virginiana), the fruits of this plant are not edible, they are not harmful if a child does sample them though. I photographed these in Oak Ridge in early March. Perennial Where seen:Oak Ridge, Great Smoky Mountains NP, Warriors' Path SP, widespread
Rough Cinquefoil; Potentilla norvegica
Rose Family This type of cinquefoil is branched and has three leaflets instead of the five that the others have (shouldn't it be called "Trefoil"!?). Norvegica means "Norwegian", so it seems this plant should be a non-native, however, it is native. I found this one blooming at the Haw Ridge Parking area in Oak Ridge in late May. Perennial Where seen:Oak Ridge, Great Smoky Mountains NP, Warriors' Path SP, widespread
Sweet Yellow Clover; Melilotus officinalis*
Pea Family (INN) Rank 2 Height: 3' to 6' Like most of the other clovers, bees love this flower as a nectar source. Deer and rabbits like to munch the young leaves. Fermented plants produce dicoumarol, the chemical used in rat poison, an anticoagulant which causes hemorrhaging. Sheep, cattle, and horses are also affected by the toxins. These were photographed in Oak Ridge in May. Biennial Where seen:Oak Ridge, Great Smoky Mountains NP, Warriors' Path SP, widespread
Dwarf Dandelion; Krigia virginica
Composite Family Height: To 6" May 14, 2005 These flowers look like tiny Hawkweeds. They are widespread in the southeast. Annual Where seen: Oak Ridge, Ozone Falls SNA
Huntsville, TN (Scott Co.) March 21, 2009
Two-flowered Cynthia; Krigia biflora
Composite Family Height: 8" to 32" May 14, 2005 These pretty flowers add a sparkle of gold to roadsides in May. The leaves are a pale green. Perennial Where seen: Oak Ridge, University of Tennessee Arboretum
Dwarf Cinquefoil; Potentilla canadensis
Rose Family Dwarf Cinquefoil is in the Rose Family. This is a common wildflower, I found this one in Oak Ridge in late April. Cinquefoil means "five-leaf" for the five leaflets in the palmately compound leaves. Perennial Where seen:Oak Ridge, Frozen Head SP, Great Smoky Mountains NP
Clammy Ground Cherry; Physalis heterophylla
Nightshade Family April 24, 2005 Ground Cherries have drooping flowers. This one has very pale yellow flowers. Perennial Where seen:Oak Ridge
Black medic; Medicago lupulina*
Pea Family Height: 4" to 12" May 23, 2005 Black Medic is a common roadside plant. Annual Where seen:Oak Ridge, widespread
Hairy Hawkweed; Hieracium gronovii
Composite Family I took this picture at 1:00 p.m. and when I went back by the area at 7:45 p.m. the flowers were not to be seen, they had already closed up for the evening! This is another one of those "DYCs" (a "#!*$# Yellow Composite"). Thank goodness for my Peterson's Wildflower Field Guide, I was able to identify it. I found these blooming in mid-May at the Three Bends Natural Area in Oak Ridge. Perennial Where seen:Oak Ridge, Great Smoky Mountains NP
Lance-leaf Coreopsis; Coreopsis lanceolata
Composite Family May 5, 2005 Look for this flower throughout the summer. These flowers were blooming in Oak Ridge in early May. Perennial Where seen:Oak Ridge, Warriors' Path SP
Common Cinquefoil; Potentilla simplex
Rose Family Height: 6" - 20" May 18, 2005 I found this flower blooming at Haw Ridge Greenway in Oak Ridge. It might be easy to confuse it with Indian Strawberry at first glance, but it is much larger. Perennial Where seen:Oak Ridge, widespread
Mustard Family April 7, 2005 The "Cress" plants are in the same family as mustard, cabbage, broccoli, and radishes. They are considered "cruciferous," meaning they have 4 petals arranged like a cross. Rapeseed oil can be made from the seeds of this plant. I found these flowers blooming along the road in Claxton, TN, just down the road from Oak Ridge. Plants in the Brassica species are harmful to cattle, pigs and sheep if eaten. Winter Annual Where seen:Oak Ridge, Great Smoky Mountains NP, widespread {Formerly known as: Brassica campestris}
Yellow Aquatic Iris close-up
Smaller (Low) Hop Clover; Trifolium campestre*
Pea Family Height: 4" to 12" May 14, 2005 Hop Clover is a common, often weedy wildflower. I found these blooming in Oak Ridge. Clovers are members of the Pea Family. Annual Where seen:Oak Ridge, Great Smoky Mountains NP,Warriors' Path SP, widespread {Formerly known as: Trifolium procumbens}
Narrow-leaved Hawksbeard; Crepis tectorum
Composite Family May 26, 2005
close-up Notice the notched rayflowers (petals).
Sulphur or Rough-fruited Cinquefoil; Potentilla recta*
Rose Family "Cinquefoil" alludes to the 5 leaflets of each leaf. Sulphur Cinquefoil flowers are a pale yellow, other cinquefoils have darker yellow petals. These were photographed in Oak Ridge in May. Perennial Where seen:Oak Ridge, Great Smoky Mountains NP, Warriors' Path SP, widespread
Winter Cress; Yellow Rocket; Brassica rapa*
Entire fields and waste places can be overgrown with these plants in the early spring. They are pretty, but like other non-natives, they can take over.
Yellow Iris - grouping
Moneywort; Lysimachia nummularia*
Primrose Family Aquatic (INN) Rank 2 These yellow flowers grow on a small, creeping plant which lives in moist soil. I found these blooming at Clark Center Recreation Park in Oak Ridge in mid-May. Perennial Where seen:Oak Ridge, Great Smoky Mountains NP, Warrior's Path SP widespread