Storax Family April 15, 2005 These pretty little "bells" don't ring, but they do decorate the woodlands in the Smokies during April. The trees can grow to 30 feet. I found this one growing near the parking lot at the Townsend Wye. Perennial, tree Where seen: Great Smoky Mountains
Ebony Family Persimmon trees are dioecious, the tree in this picture has male flowers. I found this tree blooming in mid-May at Clark Center Recreation Park on Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge. After shedding their pollen, the male flowers fall to the ground (in the plant kingdom, males are expendible!). When I was young, a neighbor had a persimmon tree; I used to string the flowers like beads on a grass stem to make a necklace. Since the single flowers look a bit like a child's molar tooth, I once played a trick on my mother by giving her one in hopes that I might get some extra money from the Tooth Fairy! It didn't work! :) Perennial - Tree Where seen:Oak Ridge Greenways, Great Smoky Mountains NP, University of Tennessee Arboretum, Warriors' Path SP
Primrose Family April 12, 2005 These flowers seem to be turned inside out! There is a pink species in the western states. I have found these blooming in the Smokies in late April. Perennial Where seen:Great Smoky Mountains NP, Ijams Nature Center
