Mint Family It seems a shame to give such a pretty flower such an ominous name! Note how the small flowers bloom on separate stems. I photographed this plant at Cove Lake State Park. Perennial Where seen: Oak Ridge Greenways, Great Smoky Mountains NP, Cove Lake SP
Teasel Family (INN) Rank 2 It could be easy to confuse this plant with a thistle, it has hundreds of tiny pinkish-purple flowers and the leaves and stems are very prickly. It is a member of the Teasel family, Thistles are in the Composite family. Teasel is a European import, it can grow in very thick patches along the interstates and other highways. The prickly dried seed heads were once used to "tease" wool. These were found when I stopped at a convenience store with my sisters-in-law in Kingsport; I never pass up a chance to take a picture. Biennial Where seen: Oak Ridge, Great Smoky Mountains NP, Kingsport
Pea Family Height: 12" - 32" June 23, 2005 There are 6 different kinds of plants in Tennessee called "Snakeroot" and none of them are even in the same family! This one has three long clover-like leaflets. The plant is a silvery-gray. It grows in open woods and along roadsides. Perennial Where seen: Big South Fork NRRA Formerly known as: Psoralea psoralioides
