Folklore and Facts About Smoky Mountain Wildflowers

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a humid and soggy temperate rainforest without regulated temperatures, creating the perfect biodome for wildflowers! Springtime brings the essence of renewal with its vibrant petals, lush greens, and velvety breezes. Great Smoky Mountains National Park is home to around 1,500 different kinds of flowering plants and ranks as the highest among all other national parks for flowering plants! One of the best ways to get to know mother nature a bit better is to book a cabin in Gatlinburg with Heartland Cabin Rentals.

Book a Gatlinburg cabin rental with Heartland Cabin Rentals and get a whole new perspective on our flowering residents of the Smoky Mountains. You may even find some of these vibrant beauties neighboring your Heartland cabin rental! We’ve got some wildflower lore laid out below to kick off our spring in the right direction.

Facts and Folklore About Smoky Mountain Wildflowers

Springtime Beauties

Springtime beauties are pink-striped flowers that were one of the first documented wildflowers to grace our forest floor. They are a native plant that was harvested as food by the Cherokee and the early settlers as it produced a potato-like tuber that tastes like chestnuts. Down here we like to call them fairy spuds!

Mountain Laurel

Mountain Laurel is a flowering shrub or bush that holds an incredibly strong structural system. Mountain laurel’s petals can be plucked from the shrub revealing a tacky liquid. Back in the day ladies would pull the blooms and place them on their ears as ornamental jewelry as well as in their hair. You can find plenty of it along the Laurel Falls trail.

Purple Iris

The wild-looking, purple iris is the iconic state flower of Tennessee. Much like the purple iris we have in our flower beds at home, the Smokies have a dwarf version of this iris called the crested dwarf iris, which can be found peppered throughout Appalachia.

Witch-Hobble

Witch-hobble can be identified as a white bloom with heart-shaped leaves that sprouts from a woody branch. Legend has it that witch-hobble was used for protection. When witch-hobble branches begin to tangle, its protective properties are “activated” creating an impossible obstacle for witches to trip on and be captured by.

Trout Lily

Cherokee lore of the trout lily states that if you lay your gaze upon a trout lily, motherhood is near. The trout lily gets its name from the unique leaves which look like a brook trout and its lonely yellow bud that droops and dangles from the stem.

Hey, wait a second before you go! Be sure to check our Current Cabin Specials, Deals, and Discounts to see if your stay qualifies for a special discount! Book your cabin in Gatlinburg with Heartland Rentals for a memorable moment in the mountains.