Pawpaw Holler Home

Here are some close-ups of spiderwort flowers.

This clump of Spiderwort has some extra petals –a natural hybrid?

Has anyone else seen a Spiderwort like this in the wild?

Related posts:

• East Tennessee Wildflower Of The Day: Spiderwort

Blessings,

Denese

Smooth Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum biflorum)

Great Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum canaliculatum –or- Polygonatum biflorum var. commutatum)

Solomon’s Seal is a common woodland wildflower found in full to part shade throughout most of North America, from Saskatchewan west to Quebec, south through Florida to New Mexico. It is called Solomon’s Seal because when the leafstalk falls off, a scar is left on the root and it resembles the official seal of King Solomon.

This graceful plant has an unbranched, arching stem with opposite leaves. The 1/2 inch long, pale-green, bell-shaped flowers appear from May-June and hang down from the leaf axils.

Smooth Solomon’s Seal grows to a height of 2-3 feet, with no more than two flowers per cluster, and the tip of the stem curves down -almost to the ground.

Great Solomon’s Seal may grow to a height of 7 feet and has 2 or more flowers per cluster.

The Great Solomon’s Seals here in the Pawpaw Holler grow to a height of 4-5 feet and the plant is a paler green than the Smooth Solomon’s Seal.

After flowering, green berries appear which turn dark blue-black in late summer and fall.

Caution: The berries of Solomon’s Seal are poisonous!

The roots of Solomon’s Seal are starchy and were used for food by the American Indians and colonists.

Solomon’s Seal may be seen along many trails in the  The Great Smoky Mountains including:

• Ace Gap (Cades Cove/Rich Mountain Rd. area)
• Cove Hardwood Self-Guided Nature Trail (Chimneys Picnic Area)
• Deep Creek (north of Bryson City. NC)
• Kanati Fork (north of Oconaluftee Visitor Center,NC)

For Great Smoky Mountains trail and wildflower information:

• Wildflower Walks in the Smokies
• Where To Look For Spring Wildflowers in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
• Directory of Trails by Location Within Park

Learn More About Solomon’s Seal

USDA Plants Profile: Polygonatum biflorum smooth Solomon’s seal

Native Plant Database: Polygonatum biflorum -Smooth Solomon’s seal, Great Solomon’s-seal

Plants For A Future :

• Polygonatum biflorum -Small Solomon’s Seal
• Polygonatum commutatum – King Solomon’s Seal

Picture of Solomon’s Seal root

Where To Buy Solomon’s Seal

Shadeflowers.com

Sunlight Gardens

Prairie Nursery –will ship seeds internationally with minimum order of $250

Crocus –UK (different variety)

Blessings,

Denese

Spiderwort (Tradescantia virginiana)

Spiderwort is another dainty wildflower that can be found in dappled woods, meadows and thickets in most of Eastern North America, from Maine to Minnesota and southward.

Spiderwort grows to a height of 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 feet with blue, purple or white flowers in spring and summer. For it’s height, spiderwort’s flowers are very small –only 1 to 2 inches across. The leaves are long, pointy and folded lengthwise, forming a channel.

Spiderwort is a perennial but also self-seeds abundantly –here in the holler they come up everywhere and they’re very hard to kill (not that I try to!).

These spiderworts grow in almost full shade and the flowers are a darker blue than the ones I have in the sun. I’ve also noticed that the shaded plants don’t have as many stalks as the ones in the sun do.

White spiderwort is rare in the wild -the flowers on this plant are almost white.

Spiderwort may be seen in The Great Smoky Mountains on Ace Gap Trail (Cades Cove/Rich Mountain Rd. area).

Learn More About Spiderwort

USDA Plants Profile: Tradescantia virginiana L. Virginia spiderwort

Native Plant Database: Tradescantia virginiana L. Virginia spiderwort, Spider lily

Plants For A Future Database: Tradescantia virginiana – L. Spiderwort –propagation and cultivation info

Where To Buy Spiderwort

Enchanters Garden

Pase Seeds

Chiltern Seeds –United Kingdom

Blessings,

Denese

I have sooo many wildflower photos to share that I’ve decided to post a different one each day –hope you all like them!

Four-leaved Milkweed (Asclepias  quadrifolia)

This dainty little milkweed is found in upland forests, usually on dry, rocky slopes. Their range is from Ontario to Vermont, south to Georgia and west to Oklahoma and Kansas.

It grows 1-2 feet high and rounded clusters of pale-pink blooms appear in late spring to early summer. The leaves are in pairs, except for the middle set, which is whorl of four. The white, downy seeds are contained in 2-3 inch thin, pointy seed pods which form after blooming.

These are beautiful here in the Pawpaw Holler when they bloom and my children enjoy picking the seed pods when they start to open –the seeds float away like little parachutes! I’ll post some pictures of the seed pods later in the year.

Four-leaved milkweed can be found in The Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Chestnut-tops Trail (across from the “Y” at the Townsend entrance to the park).

More Information

USDA Plants Profile: Asclepias quadrifolia

Connecticut Botanical Society: Four-leaved Milkweed (Asclepias quadrifolia) –more images

Biodiversity of Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Asclepias quadrifolia Jacq., Four-leaf Milkweed

Plants For A Future Database: Asclepias quadrifolia –cultivation and propagation information

Where To Buy Four-leaved Milkweed

Enchanters Garden

Hydroponics Online

Blessings,

Denese

April Fog

Redbuds

Snow!

Snow on the Pawpaw Blooms

Dogwoods

Large Flowered Trillium

Mayapples in the Rain

Baby Carolina Wrens

Wild Miniature Irises

Mulberry Blooms

Fire Pinks

Flame Azaleas

Laurel Buds

Wild Columbine

Stonecrop

Giant Ferns

Mayapple Blooming

Ginseng

Goldenseal

Yellow Trilliums

Baby Pawpaws

My Two Blooms

Blessings,,

Denese

Toadshade:  (Trillium sessile)

Toadshade, also known as Toad Trillium and Red Trillium, is an early spring wildflower found in rich woods from western New York to Illinois, and south to Georgia and Mississippi.

It is a member of the Trillium family, all of which have  leaves, petals and sepals in whorls of three.

Toadshade grows from 4-12 inches tall and blooms  from March to May. The flowers are maroon to purplish brown.

Reportedly, the young leaves of the Trillium species may be eaten in salads or as a cooked green, but it is advisable not to do so because they are threatened or endangered in some states.

Personally, I’ve never tried eating them -I only have the one clump and they’re just too pretty to eat!

Sources

Personal Experience

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers–E: Eastern Region – Revised Edition

Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide

A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants: Eastern and central North America (Peterson Field Guide Series)

More Information

USDA Plants Profile: Trillium sessile

Flora of North America: Trillium sessile

Dave’s Garden PlantFiles: Toadshade

Buy Toadshade

Viola Valley Wildflowers: Red Toad Trillium (Trillium Sessile) -Viola, Tennessee

Lazy S’S Farm Nursery: Trillium Sessile -Barboursville, Virginia

Wildflower Farm: Trillium Sessile -Ontario, Canada -pick up only

Kevock Garden Plants: Trillium Sessile -Scotland, United Kingdom

Denese

Dogwood Winter

This Saturday, April 4th,  is Herb and Wildflower Day in Townsend, Tennessee.

Visit with expert botanists, photographers and naturalists.
Buy locally grown plants, delicious baked goods, and fine hand made pottery.
Take a short walk in the woods or a longer exploration of a special place.
A Great Smoky Mountains 75th Anniversary event.

Location: Townsend Visitor’s Center
7906 E. Lamar Alexander Pkwy.
Townsend, TN 37882

Time: 9:00am – 5:00pm est

Cost: Free!

For More Information: (865) 448-6134 -or- (865) 525-6834

This is a fun, low-cost thing to do with the whole family…and educational, too!

Spring has sprung in the mountains of East Tennessee!

Yellow Trilliums

Mayapple

Rue Anemone

Large-flowered Trillium

Rebud

Wild Blue Phlox

Ramps (Wild Leeks) Yum!

Red Trillium (Toadshade)

For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. Isaiah 61:11

Hope you all enjoyed these.

Related Posts:

• Early Spring Wildflowers: Bloodroot in Full Bloom
• Last Day of Winter: A Walk in the Woods
• Early Spring Wildflowers: Bloodroot
• Foggy Rainy March
• Signs of Spring in the Holler
• Studying Nature with Children
• Homeschool/Education Freebies: Flowers and Wildflowers
• Neat Links: Nature and Spring

Denese

Bloodroot in full bloom in the sun.

Photo by Abby Davis

Related Posts:

Last Day of Winter: A Walk in the Woods

Early Spring Wildflowers: Bloodroot

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. Isaiah 40:8

Have a lovely day,

Denese