Great Smoky Mountains National Park wildflowers form a blanket of color on hills, along streams, atop and down the sides of the mountains in the spring all the way through fall. A retired Blount County biology teacher, Maureen Sweitzer Baskin, has made a life work of studying wildflowers and their history and shares her knowledge with readers. Her favorite is the White Fringed Phacelia, which covers the hillsides with its white blooms in April and May near the Chimney's Picnic Area. They may be seen along Smokemont Nature Trail. A member of the Lily family, Trillium blooms range from white to deep purple in the spring.
Trilliums contain three petals, sepals and leaves each.
Trilliums bloom from April to July, depending on the specific species. They may be found throughout the Smokies, including between Cherokee Orchard and Rainbow Falls near Chimneys Picnic Area, along Pin-Oak, Big Locust, Buckeye and Smokemont nature trails. The Trillium cernum has white or pink flowers which nod below the leaves. Trillium vaseyi has the largest flowers of all Trilliums, which hang below the leaves and are dark maroon-purple. They are four inches across.