Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, Oneida, TN April 11, 2010 This acid soil-loving plant grew at the rim of the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River. These are very small evergreen shrubs.
close-up May 22, 2005 Look closely at a newly opened flower. The stamens are tucked into little maroon-colored pockets. When a bee lands on the flower the stamens pop up, showering her with pollen, which she carries to the next flower. One stamen has been released from its pocket.
Heath Family May 2003 Mountain Laurel is one of the most interesting wildflowers that blooms in the spring. The leaves, flowers, nectar, and pollen of the moutain laurel shrub are highly poisonous. It has been said that the old mountaineers would feed honey from their bee hives to their dogs before eating it themselves in case the honey was made from laurel nectar, if the dogs lived they would use the honey. The toxin found in Mountain Laurel is andromedotoxin, it is poisonous to all domesticated animals. This shrub was photographed on the Angel Falls Overlook Trail in Big South Fork in May 2003. Perennial - Shrub Where seen: Great Smoky Mountains NP, Frozen Head SP, Big South Fork, Piney River, Piney Falls, Cherokee National Forest, Warriors' Path SP, Cumberland Trail
