Summer Flowers - Roadsides - White and Cream-colored
Tall Flat-topped White Aster; Doellingeria umbellata
Aster Family There are LOTS of white asters in Tennessee, some can be difficult to identify; this one was fairly easy. I found it blooming on the East Overlook road at Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area in mid-August. Perennial Where seen: Big South Fork NRRA Big South Fork NRRA {Formerly known as Aster umbellatus}
Ox-eye Daisy close-up; Chrysanthemum leucanthemum*
Aster Family Note the small yellow disc flowers in the middle. They bloom from the outside in with the male parts of the flower blooming first and the female parts last. I found these blooming in my yard in June. Daisies can bloom well into November. Perennial Where seen:Oak Ridge, widespread
Hyssop-leaved Boneset; Hyssop-leaf Thoroughwort; Eupatorium hyssopifolium
Aster Family Bonesets were once used in folk medicine for setting broken bones, thus the common name. Perennial Where seen: Oak Ridge Greenways, Great Smoky Mountains NP, Warriors' Path SP
Pale Indian Plantain; Cacalia atriplicifolia
Aster Family Many of the white summer composites are unusual; these flowers do not have ray flowers (petals). I found these flowers blooming at Piney Falls State Natural Area in Grandview in mid-July. They can also be found blooming in openings in woods. Perennial Where seen: Oak Ridge, Piney Falls SNA, Cherokee NF, Great Smoky Mountains NP, Warrior's Path SP
Rose Family This odd white flower blooms in the woods during much of the summer. In the fall the little hooked seeds catch in your clothes and are spread when you pull them off! Perennial Where seen:Oak Ridge Greenways, University of Tennessee Arboretum, Great Smoky Mountains NP, Warriors' Path SP
Mint Family Aquatic This plant is a mint but it has no minty odor. The tiny white flowers are in tight clusters in the leaf axils. It can be easy to confuse this plant with Cut-leaf Water Horehound, a close look at the leaf will help in identification. Perennial Where seen:Oak Ridge Greenways, Great Smoky Mountains NP, Warriors' Path SP
Prairie Goldenrod; Solidago ptarmigoides
Aster Family I found this plant and many others like it growing in Oak Ridge. How a white, aster-like flower got called a "goldenrod" is beyond me! Perennial Where seen:Oak Ridge in Jefferson Middle School Cedar Barrens
* Cherohala Skyway, TN/NC border August 20, 2006 This is a common roadside wildflower. It was growing at over 5000 feet in elevation. It has some strange common names!
Boneset; Eupatorium perfolatium
Aster Family I liked the pretty wasp pollinating the flowers of this Boneset plant. Perennial Where seen: Oak Ridge Greenways, Great Smoky Mountains NP, Warriors' Path SP
close-up
Devil's Walkingstick; Aralia spinosa
Ginseng Family This small tree gets its name from the numerous straight, sharp spines on the stems and leaves because only the Devil could use one of these as a "walking stick!" Look closely at the leaves of this plant, each bipinnately compound leaf is about 3 feet long and made up of numerous leaflets. This plant was blooming in mid-July in Oak Ridge. Flower close-up following. Perennial Where seen:Oak Ridge Greenways, University of Tennessee Arboretum, House Mountain SNA, Great Smoky Mountains NP
Fogfruit; Capeweed close-up; Phyla lanceolata
Vervain Family This flower always fascinated me as a child when I found it blooming in Florida. I found these flowers blooming in Oak Ridge in mid-June. Perennial Where seen:Oak Ridge Greenways, Warriors' Path SP {Formerly known as: Lippia lanceolata}
Close-up
Upland Boneset; Eupatorium altissimum
Aster Family Note the bright green spider eating her prey (possibly her mate?!) below the flowers on the right side of the plant. Perennial Where seen: Oak Ridge Greenways
Narrow-leaf White-topped Aster; Sericocarpus linifolius
Aster Family I found this plant growing near Piney Falls parking area in Rhea County in August. {formerly known as Aster solidagineus} Perennial Where seen: Piney Falls SNA
Wild Quinine; Parthenium integrifolium
Aster Family These are not the most attractive of the wildflowers, but they are an interesting type of composite. Note the metallic green bee on the flowers in the center of the cluster. Perennial Where seen: Oak Ridge, Piney Falls SNA, Great Smoky Mountains NP
Swamp Azalea; Clammy Azalea; Rhododendron viscosum
Heath Family These wild azalea flowers have a very strong, sweet fragrance. They are also quite sticky (thus the name "viscosum") as I learned when I removed some loose, brown, wilted flower petals for this photograph! All parts of azaleas are deadly poisonous to people. Perennial Where seen: Piney River Pocket Wilderness, Great Smoky Mountains NP
Catalpa; Catawba Tree; Catalpa speciosa
Bignonia Family These trees are in the family Bignoniaceae, the same family as Trumpet Creeper vines and Cross Vine. The Catalpa moth lays her eggs on the big leaves of this tree and her large black and yellow caterpillars eat them. When my parents were dating in the 1940's my father would climb the Catalpa tree in his yard and pitch the caterpillars to my mother to collect for fishing bait. Now THAT was true love on her part! :) Perennial Where seen: Oak Ridge, Great Smoky Mountains NP, widespread, Warriors' Path SP
Horseweed - close-up of flowers; Erigeron canadensis
Aster Family This is a very common, late summer bloomer. The flowers are tiny clusters of even smaller composite flowers. Annual Where seen: Oak Ridge, Warriors' Path SP, widespread
Round-leaved Thoroughwort; Eupatorium rotundifolium
Aster Family The tiny flowers of the Thoroughworts and Bonesets add a sprinkling of white to the late summer fields and roadsides. Perennial Where seen: Oak Ridge Greenways, Great Smoky Mountains NP
Horseweed - whole plant; Erigeron canadensis
Aster Family This plant can grow to up to 7 feet in height, it is a very common roadside weed found blooming in August.
Shaggy Hedge Hyssop; Gratiola pilosa
Snapdragon Family Corbin, KY August 1, 2008 This little plant could be very easily overlooked. I was fortunate to have a rare plant expert, UK professor Dr. Thomas Barnes, show me where to find it in a badly overgrown powerline cut in the Daniel Boone National Forest. I told him, as we were wiping sweat from our brows, squishing through mud and swatting pesky gnats, we were either crazy or really loved what we do to go through such discomfort to find a few wildflowers! Thanks to his help that day I added 6 new flowers to my lifelist raising the total to 2123!
Fragrant Bedstraw; Galium triflorum
Madder Family This plant was once dried and used as mattress stuffing. It becomes more fragrant when it is dried. The tiny white flowers are in groups of 3. I found these in Oak Ridge growing along South Illinois Ave. Annual Where seen:Oak Ridge Greenways, University of Tennessee Arboretum, Great Smoky Mountains NP
Hairy Angelica; Angelica venenosa
Parsley Family Corbin, KY August 1, 2008 Danger - Poisonous I had the great opportunity to go on a hunt for rare wildflowers with University of Kentucky professor, Dr. Thomas Barnes in the Daniel Boone National Forest near Corbin, KY. He is the author of The Rare Wildflowers of Kentucky published in the summer of 2008 by the University of Kentucky Press. Dr. Barnes and I began corresponding 2 years ago when he found a wildflower on this website that he needed for his book. During our walk through the woods and the weeds, we came across several of these pretty, lacy wildflowers. I'm including the flowers we found on this trip in the Tennessee galleries because they are also found in our state. The only other Angelica found in Tennessee grows high in the Appalachian mountains. It is a larger and more robust plant.