Lily Family Height: To 12" April 22, 2005 When I was in elementary school we sang a song called "White Coral Bells", which was about these beautiful, fragrant little flowers. "White coral bells upon a slender stalk, Lilies of The Valley by my garden walk. Oh, don't you wish that you could hear them ring? That will happen only when the fairies sing!" These non-native plants are garden escapes or can be found around old homesites. As pretty as these flowers are, they are also highly poisonous. They contain cardiac glycosides and saponins which are toxic to dogs, goats, cats, and humans. Perennial Where seen: Oak Ridge
Madder Family Height: 4" - 40" My little "point and shoot" Sony just couldn't handle these tiny flowers! This plant has leaves in whorls of 4, a similar plant, Fragrant Bedstraw, has leaves in whorls of 6. This plant was growing at the University of Tennessee Arboretum in Oak Ridge in mid-May. The plant is in the Madder Family. Annual Where seen: University of Tennessee Arboretum
Waterleaf Family I couldn't believe what it took to get a picture of this flower! I had tried for 3 weeks in a row to find it in bloom. Each trip involved going about 1/2-mile (one way)along the Wildflower Greenway trail in Oak Ridge. Hiking 1/2-mile is not difficult, but this trail has several large trees that have fallen over it which involves a lot of crawling under or climbing over 9 branches and trunks. There is also a lot of mud to walk through on the trail and a creek to cross. When I finally found the flowers blooming, I was dismayed to see that some insect had eaten the leaves off all the plants! My legs were itching from wood nettles and mosquito bites, then I started feeling raindrops and hearing thunder, so I had to head back dissatisfied because I wasn't happy with my pictures. When I went to cross back over the creek, I suddenly noticed a group of the flowers with the leaves intact! My "mission" was finally accomplished! Perennial Where seen:Oak Ridge Greenways, Big South Fork NRRA, Great Smoky Mountains NP, Warriors' Path SP (story)
