Cove Hardwood nature trail~ The Smokies

Our last wildflower hike in The Great Smoky Mountains National Park…

Cove Hardwood nature trail

The Cove Hardwood trail starts from the Chimneys picnic area. It is a short .7 mile hike with an elevation gain of 235 feet.

Easy walk thru the woods.

The Cove Hardwoods Nature Trail tours a pristine swath of old growth hardwoods, and features a spring wildflower display considered tops in the Park. In April the forest floor comes alive with phacelia, trillium, bishops cap, spring beauty, toothwort, bleeding heart, and many more

 

One of my favorite wildflowers from our trip to the Smokies..

White Fringed Phacelia- Phacelia fimbriata

White Erect Trillium Trillium erectum albiflorum

White Erect Trilliums  bloom in April and May, reach a height of up to 12",  and grow in large colonies from the foothills to elevations  up to 5000'. The blossom generally has a dark center which helps to distinguish it from  the Large-Flowered Trillium.

The predominant flower on this trail was Trillium

Large-flower Trillium 

Huge sections of Trillium..

In large clumps..

Rue Anemone
Thalictrum thalictroides / Buttercup Family
Height: 4" - 12"

Small water crossing..

Miterwort; Bishop's Cap
Mitella breweri

Sweet little red squirrel posing nicely…

The path crossed water several times…easy crossings when we were there.

It might be different after a hard rain.

Does anyone know what this is?

Mystery solved that’s to naturalist extraordinaire

Jim McCormac 
"Your mystery plant is a cool liitle fern called Walking Fern, Asplenium rhizophyllum. The long tips of the fronds root where they touch ground, and form another shoot which then does the same. Thus, the plants "walk" about, and spread themselves in this curious manner."

..check out Jim’s blog here.

Arrow shaped leaves.

Solomon Seal

Yellow Trout Lily Erythronium americanum

Sharp-leaved Hepatica; Liverleaf
Hepatica acutiloba /Buttercup Family

Flower sepals may be blue, purple, pink, or white depending on the pH of the soil --- a "natural litmus test." Alkaline soils produce blue flowers, acidic soils produce pink, and neutral soils produce white.

 

Fern fronds..

Another one of my favorites of this trip.

Squirrel Corn Dicentra canadensis / Bleeding Heart

Close up of the flower..looks much like bleeding heart.

A carpet of Phacelia

Carolina Spring Beauty Claytonia caroliniana

Fringed Phacelia….

from what I have read..as the flowers get older they get a purple tinge to them.

Rue Anemone
Thalictrum thalictroides / Buttercup Family
Height: 4" - 12"

This was a super walk in an old growth hardwood forest with beautiful spring wildflowers.

I hope you all are able to experience spring wildflowers in

The Great Smoky Mountains!

Here we are- look what I found!

Here we are...nestled in Sicksta and Ghetto boys side yard.

I put up a few feeders next to the ones Sicksta had out. I added a few dishes of water. Also put a feeder on the tree near our bedroom window in hopes of late night visits from the flying squirrels.

Sickstas flowers are blooming all around us.

Viburnum

Camilla 

Sweet little violets. 

One of Sickstas many plant obsessions- potted maples.

Dogwood on display.

Choke berry 

Honeysuckle vine

I thought I would check the woods behind Sickstas yard for Morels.. I usually find a half dozen or so in the same area every spring.
I found one.. Then two ..wow!

The woods were kind to me! Over a dozen and I left some small ones behind and will pick them later.
I am a happy gal!

All photos taken with my iPod.

Wildflower walks~Chestnut top trail

A few days ago Jeff and I joined a ranger lead group for a wildflower walk opposite the Sugarbush visitor center.

 

We found a few wildflowers we had not seen previously on our trip.

Long-spurred Violet Viola rostrata

Large-flower Bellwort Uvularia grandiflora

Eastern Swallowtail sipping nectar from a Long-spurred violet

Look what I found!

I found two other Morel Mushrooms this trip. Already cooked and eaten.:) 

We met a nice couple on our ranger led walk and they joined us for a short hike up..

Chestnut top trail

to see more wildflowers..

The walk is a steady uphill climb..

but, with so many wildflowers to stop and admire,it was an easy uphill walk..

If you see a flower I have not Identified correctly please let me know. I am always learning.

We were very excited to see another new flower.

Purple Phacelia Phacelia bipinnatifida

The phacelia blanketed many areas around the path.

Any Ideas what this critter is?

Mite?

The Rue Anemone was in bloom here..

Rue Anemone Thalictrum thalictroides

False Solomon's Seal; Solomon's Plume  Smilacina racemosa

Showing off its plume..not fully open yet.

Lemon Trillium; Yellow Trillium Trillium luteum

A gorgeous clump of

Star Chickweed Stellaria pubera

I have not ID this yet…what do you think?

Buttercup of some sort?

Another new flower for us on the trail.

Hairyjoint Meadow Parsnip ~Thaspium barbinode

Stonecrop Sedum ternatum

These leaves look like Hepatica

Are these the seed heads of the Hepatica?

Wildflower mix

Yellow Trillium, Star Chickweed and Bloodroot leaves.

More new flowers!

Yellow Mandarin Disporum lanuginosum

Isn't this the sweetest little Iris?

Dwarf Crested Iris Iris cristata

Yeah..I need a polish change..

Look how tiny these are.

Oh..wow..another new one for us!

Fire Pink Silene virginica

Gorgeous!

Smooth Solomon's Seal
Polygonatum biflorum

Squawroot Conopholis americana

Alum Root (Heuchera)

 

I now know what this beautiful sculptural plant turns into.

Northern Maidenhair, Five-Fingered Maidenhair Fern~Adiantum pedatum

Thanks  Lorraine for pointing that out.

  Maidenhair fern

Unidentified fern unfolding.

Wood Betony; Canadian Lousewort ~Pedicularis canadensis

Solitary Pussytoes Antennaria solitaria

We walked until the wildflowers became less and less..

Took in the view and headed back down..

Past the phacelia..

Past the..

Miterwort; Bishop's Cap Mitella diphylla

Such lovely little caps..

Another awesome Wildflower walk in

The Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.