Cedars of Lebanon, Long Hunter State Parks and Radnor Lake State Natural Area (near Nashville)
Periodically, cedar glades must be burned to prevent the encroachment of shrubs and trees. Fire is not always a bad thing!
One of the playgrounds at Cedars Of Lebanon SP.
is a protected area located within Long Hunter State Park. The limestone is close to the surface and in areas like this, there is no topsoil. I found Glade Phlox, Nashville Breadroot, False Garlic, and Gattinger's Lobelia blooming here. This was a creekbed flowing at the back of the glade.
Western Daisy; Astranthium integrifolium
Aster Family April 29, 2006 This was another "cheater", I found it blooming at the Long Hunter State Park visitors center.
(close-up)
What a disappointment it was to see this ugly, and illegal, dump along a road in the State Forest bordering the park. We stopped here during the wildflower pilgrimage motorcade. It is a shame people see these areas as useless, waste grounds. A close look in the cedar glades reveals a wealth of wildflowers and insects.
Prairie Larkspur; Pale Larkspur; Delphinium virescens
Buttercup Family April 29, 2006 I found 2 of these plants on the side of the road near a cedar glade at the edge of Cedars of Lebanon SP. I was used to seeing purple larkspurs, so this one was very different. Perennial map...
Downy Wood Mint; Blephilia ciliata
Mint Family April 29, 2006 I found this pretty mint blooming in the Couchville Cedar Glade. I like the way it blooms in "tiers"! It is a fairly common plant in Tennessee, I have found it in the Smokies and in Oak Ridge. Perennial map...
Prairie Broomweed; Amphiachyris dracunculoides
Aster Family July 21, 2007 Cedars of Lebanon SP This was another first time plant! I love getting new ones for my life-list. This one was #2103! map...
The Radnor Lake Visitor Center information on the history of the civil war battles fought in the south Nashville area. There are displays about local animals including 3 live snakes.
Baby Blue-eyes; Nemophila aphylla
Waterleaf Family Radnor Lake SNA April 27, 2007 I was excited to find these tiny blooming at Radnor Lake. It is always a thrill to find a flower blooming that I have looked at in my books! map...
These are 2 of the newer cabins at Cedars of Lebanon for folks who like to rough it in style! Some of them are handicapped accessable and others are "pet friendly" for campers who bring their "4-legged children".
Cedars Of Lebanon has a very nice swimming pool which was quite busy on this hot Saturday afternoon in July.
Gray-headed Coneflower; Prairie Coneflower; Ratibida pinnata
Aster Family June 22, 2006 I found this patch of coneflowers blooming along a road in the State Forest just outside the park. The flowers of this plant look like droopy Black-eyed Susans. map...
False Aloe; Rattlesnake Master; Manfreda virginica
Agave Family June 22, 2006 Don't confuse this plant with the other Rattlesnake Master, Erygium yuccifolium. which is in the Parsley Family. This odd flower has no petals, it is like a "stripped down" flower! Formerly known as: Agave virginica map...
The limestone of the Cedar Glades often have interesting fossils such as this large cephalopod (top) and the curled gastropod. It is hard to believe that middle Tennessee was once under a shallow ocean millions of years ago, but the fossil record is obvious. How else could ancient fossils end up hundreds of miles from the ocean?! When I was a child growing up in this area, I loved hunting for fossils in the limestone along the lakeshores. I once found a large crinoid stem filled with quartz crystals, what an exciting find!
Lance-leaf Gumweed; Grindelia lanceolata
Aster Family July 21, 2007 Cedars of Lebanon SP map...
Gattinger's Lobelia; Lobelia appendiculata gattingeri
Bluebell Family Height: 6" - 12" April 29, 2006 I was delighted to find this tiny flower blooming in the Couchville Cedar Glades. It was growing in the mowed trail and I saw another in the taller grass. This is another plant that is endemic to the glades. I was excited to find 5 plants that are endemic to the cedar glades on this trip! map...
Nashville Breadroot; Pediomelum subacaule
Pea Family April 29, 2006 This plant was one of the main reasons why we went to the Wildflower Pilgrimage at Cedars of Lebanon, so I was pretty discouraged when the lady in the visitors center said they were gone! Fortunately, there were still a few late bloomers hanging in there that I got to see. It is endemic to the cedar glades. Formerly known as: Psoralea subacaulis map...
Gattinger's Prairie Clover; Dalea gattingeri
Pea Family June 22, 2006 This was one of the flowers I had hoped to see at the park. I was lucky to find it in bloom, most of them had already finished blooming and had gone to seed. It is another glade endemic. Formerly known as: Petalostemum gattingeri map...
Purple Rocket; Iodanthus pinnatifidus
Mustard Family Radnor Lake SNA April 27, 2007 map...
Glade Sandwort; Arenaria patula
Pink Family April 29, 2006 These pretty little white flowers decorate the ground in the cedar barrens. map...
Purple Beardtongue; Hairy Beard Tongue ; Penstemon hirsutus
Family April 29, 2006 I found this plant blooming at the visitors center of Long Hunter SP near Mt. Juliet, TN. Note the curled stamens inside the flowers. Perennial map...
Cedars Of Lebanon has a very challenging Disk Golf (a.k.a. "Frisbee Golf") course. Golfer Josh celebrates a "hole in one"!
A young swimmer enjoys a plunge off the diving board at the Cedars Of Lebanon SP pool.
Tennessee Coneflower; Echinacea tennesseensis
Aster Family Rare; Endangered June 22, 2006 We stopped by Cedars of Lebanon State Park on the way to Nashville before we flew to California the next day. I was only able to find these flowers blooming in one spot, they had been planted, I didn't find any in the cedar glades. A park ranger told me that these beautiful flowers were once plentiful in the fields near Lebanon. map...
False Nettle; Boehmeria cylindrica
Radnor Lake State Natural Area April 27, 2007 This plant looks a lot like a mint at first glance because of the opposite leaves and the square stem, however the flowers are not mint-like. Fortunately, this is a "friendly" nettle, it doesn't have the nasty prickles! map...
Long-styled Glade Cress; Leavenworthia stylosa
Mustard Family April 29, 2006 When I heard that these plants had been blooming in profusion in March, I figured it would be next year before I could get to see it. However, I found 3 individual plants in 3 places that were in bloom! I was lucky to find it. I only need one flower to count! They are very small plants (~3" tall), so this one could have been easily crushed under the many feet of the pilgrimage participants. Many people were amazed that I had seen this tiny plant. I always have my "floral radar" on to help find new flowers. Winter annual map...
Slender Heliotrope; Heliotropium tenellum
Forget-Me-Not Family This little plant stumped me for a while since I'd never seen it before. This was one of those cases where it helped to know some of the plant family characteristics, I thought it must belong to the Forget-Me-Not Family due to the shape of the flowers. When I looked in that section of my field guide, sure enough, there it was! map...
Waterleaf Family Radnor Lake SNA April 27, 2007 This beautiful, fringed flower is a treat to find blooming in the spring woods. map...
Price's Oxalis; Oxalis macrantha
Wood Sorrel Family June 22, 2006 I had seen this flower during Cedars of Lebanon's Wildflower Pilgrimage in late April, but the flowers were wilted and the photos came out bad. I was glad to get a second chance! These flowers are much larger than the weedy Southern Yellow Wood Sorrel (a.k.a. "Sour Grass") found in yards. Formerly known as: Oxalis priceae map...
close-up Note the little bee visiting the flowers. These flowers do not look like the "typical" pea flower with the standard, wing, and keel petals.
Radnor Lake is a Class II State Natural Area, it has hiking trails but no picnic areas. It is a beautiful area to escape the city.
Glade Sandwort; Arenaria patula
Pink Family April 29, 2006 It is amazing how these plants can grow in such an inhospitable habitat as in cracks in limestone.
Slender-flowered Beardstongue; Penstemon tenuiflorus
Family April 28, 2006 Beardtongues are named for the hairy lower lip on the flowers. This was a fairly common plant at Cedars of Lebanon. Perennial map...
Cedars of Lebanon State Park has cabins for visitors. This is one of the 3 older cabins.
map... is not an east Tennessee park, it is in middle TN (just east of Nashville). However, it has such unique habitats and different plants I decided to include it on this site. Cedar Glades are areas of limestone with little or no soil. As the soil gets deeper, shrubs and small cedar (Juniper) trees can grow. I was excited to find 44 different wildflowers growing in the park, 5 were endemic, and 11 were new to me. It turned out to be a very "florally profitable" trip!
Wooly Croton; Croton capitatus
Spurge Family July 21, 2007 Cedars of Lebanon SP map... The monoecious flowers of Crotons are not very showy.
Limestone Fameflower; Talinum calcarium
Purslane Family June 22, 2006 If not for the hot pink flowers, these tiny plants would be easily overlooked. I found this one blooming on limestone in a cedar glade on the border of the park. I had looked in several areas and had about given up on finding it, this was our last stop. map...
Glade Savory; Calamintha glabella
Mint Family June 22, 2006 I had been told at the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage that people usually smell this plant before they see it. So, when I smelled a strong minty aroma as I went to photograph another flower, I started looking for this plant. The plants were small, about 6 - 8 inches, so they would have been easy to overlook. Fomerly known as: Satureja glabella map...
Tennessee Milk Vetch; Astragalus tennesseensis
Pea Family April 29, 2006 I was excited to find this plant blooming in one of the cedar glades in the park. The leaves and flowers are hairy, an adaptation to help it survive the harsh conditions of the glades. Plants in the Astragalus species are highly poisonous to cattle, horses, and sheep, they contain selenium, nitro compounds, swainsonine. map...
Glade Phlox; Phlox bifida stellaria
Pink Family Rare April 29, 2006 I saw only 3 of these flowers blooming at the Couchville Cedar Glades at Long Hunter State Park near Mt. Juliet. The plant has very thin leaves. It is endemic to the area. map...
Opuntia humifusa / Cactus Family April 29, 2006 I missed seeing the flowers of this cactus in bloom, we were a few weeks too early. It will have beautiful yellow flowers in May. These cacti are fairly common on the cedar glades. I've seen cacti in some places I never expected, the most surprising to me was near the beach in the U.S, Virgin Islands! Look at these interesting plants, but don't touch! The tiny thorns called "glochids" cause a lot of pain when they break off in your skin. Perennial
Radnor Lake State Natural Area
is located in southern Nashville just off I-65. It is a peaceful haven in a busy city. The park has hiking trails in the woods around the lake and is a wonderful place to look for birds. I saw swallows, kingfishers, many kinds of warblers, indigo buntings, and wood ducks in the woods or on the lake.
Widow's Cross; Sedum pulchellum
Sedum Family April 29, 2006 I remember seeing this plant when I went to Cedars of Lebanon as a kid on Girl Scout camping trips. We called it "Crow's Foot" then. Widow's Cross forms large pink mats that grow on the limestone soil. It can be seen from I-40 in some areas. It is related to the white-flowered Stonecrop found in east Tennessee. Winter annual map...
