Ramps
The ramp or ramps are one of those regional plants that most visitors don’t get a chance to experience. Part onion, part garlic and full of pungent flavor the ramp is one of those vegetables that you either love or hate. This part of the wild leek family is celebrated in food and in events […]
Plants in the Smokies
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is part of the International Biosphere Project. It houses thousands of species of plants from mosses that only grow at the top of the mountains to trees that tower over the surrounding country side. It is easy to see why this area was made a national park, the beauty […]
Old Growth Forest
One of the natural wonders in the Smoky Mountains are the sections of Old Growth Forest. Inside the 500,000+ acres of land lays 100,000 acres of old growth forest. Old Growth Forest in the GSMNP is defined as those areas that were not harvested for lumber during the heavy times of the lumber industry before […]
Rhododendron
The hillsides, valleys and peaks of the Smoky Mountains are covered with color in the late spring and early summer. As you drive across the mountains on Newfound Gap Road you will notice that the brilliant swatches of white and pink seem to be almost endless. The main source of these colors are the vast […]
Hemlock Trees
The hemlock is one of the iconic trees that you see in the Smokies. Covering the sides of the Smoky Mountains on both side of the state line, the hemlock forest are evergreens that keep their color and vibrancy throughout the year. Unfortunately the hemlocks in the Smokies are under an invasion from the Hemlock […]
Ginseng
Classification: Plantae – Angiosperms – Eudictos – Asterids – Apiales – Araliaceae – Aralioideae – Panax It is funny the plants that they have found in the Smokies over the years. The climate, the elevation the forest canopy and other factors have produced a biosphere that includes some very unusual plants and animals. One of […]
Non-Native Plants in the GSMNP
Much like the non-native animals that have made their homes in the Smokies, there are many non-native plants that are now trying to thrive and in some cases take over forest lands in and around the GSMNP. The trouble with these types of plants is that they are coming into a system that has been […]