Tennessee State Parks has put together a list of 14 wildflowers and flowering shrubs that you can find in state parks this season.
Before you take off, be sure to download the iNaturalist app for iPhone and Android. In the app, click 'observe,' snap a picture of the plant you're looking at, and hit "what did you see." iNaturalist will then provide you with the name, image, and description of the species it thinks you've found. Make sure to record the park location and share to help state park naturalists keep track of the living things in the parks. You can also search the app and look at plants already found in your neighborhood.
Find the list of 14 wildflowers below and see where they have been spotted before. View pictures and more information about each flower at the Tennessee State Parks website here.
1. Spring Beauty; Claytonia virginica
Viewing: January – May
West Tennessee: Meeman-Shelby State Park
Middle Tennessee: Long Hunter State Park, David Crockett State Park, Port Royal State Park, Bledsoe Creek State Park, Henry Horton State Park, Booker T. Washington State Park, Old Stone Fort State Park.
East Tennessee: Cove Lake State Park
2. Nashville Gladecress; Leavenworthia stylosa
Viewing: March – May
Middle Tennessee: Long Hunter State Park, Cedars of Lebanon State Park
3. Early Buttercup; Ranunculus fascicularis
Viewing: March – May
Middle Tennessee: Long Hunter State Park, South Cumberland State Park
4. Virginia Bluebells; Mertensia virginica
Viewing: March - June
West Tennessee: Meeman-Shelby State Park
Middle Tennessee: Radnor Lake State Park, Edgar Evins State Park, Old Stone Fort State Park, Dunbar Cave State Park, Montgomery Bell State Park, Cedars of Lebanon State Park, Burgess Falls State Park, Standing Stone State Park
East Tennessee: Frozen Head State Park, Sycamore Shoals State Park
5. Glade Phlox; Phlox bifida
Viewing: March - May
Middle Tennessee: Long Hunter State Park, Radnor Lake State Park, Cedars of Lebanon State Park
6. Bloodroot; Sanguinaria canadensis
Viewing: March - April
Middle Tennessee: Edgar Evins, Dunbar Cave State Park, South Cumberland State Park
East Tennessee: Frozen Head, Red Clay State Historic Park, Sycamore Shoals State Park, Roan Mountain State Park
7. Round-lobed Hepatica; Hepatica americana
Viewing: March
Middle Tennessee: Old Stone Fort State Park, Cummins Falls State Park
East Tennessee: Big Ridge State Park, Roan Mountain State Park
8. Sharp-lobed Hepatica; Hepatica acutiloba
Viewing: March
Middle Tennessee: Burgess Falls State Park, Cummins Falls State Park, South Cumberland State Park
East Tennessee: Frozen Head State Park, Warriors Path State Park
9. Wood Anemone / Nightcaps; Anemone quinquefolia
Viewing: March – June
Middle Tennessee: Bledsoe Creek State Park
East Tennessee: Roan Mountain State Park, Frozen Head State Park, Norris Dam State Park
10. White Trout Lily; Erythronium albidum
Viewing: February – April
Middle Tennessee: Cedars of Lebanon State Park
11. Prairie Trillium; Trillium recurvatum
Viewing: March – May
Middle Tennessee: South Cumberland State Park, Dunbar Cave State Park
West Tennessee: Meeman-Shelby State Park, T.O. Fuller State Park, Old Forest State Natural Area in Overton Park.
12. Red Buckeye (shrub); Aesculus pavia
Viewing: March – May
Middle Tennessee: Radnor Lake State Park, Montgomery Bell State Park
West Tennessee: Meeman-Shelby State Park, T.O. Fuller State Park, Old Forest State Natural Area in Overton Park.
13. Bulbous Bittercress; Cardamine bulbosa
Viewing: April
West Tennessee: Old Forest State Natural Area in Overton Park, Pinson Mounds State Park, T.O Fuller State Park
Middle Tennessee: Montgomery Bell State Park
East Tennessee: Cove Lake State Park
14. Butterweed; Packera glabella
Viewing: March – May
West Tennessee: Big Hill Pond State Park, Ghost River State Natural Area (Mineral Slough trail and boardwalk)
East Tennessee: Cove Lake State Park, Norris Dam State Park