Smoky Mountain Wildflowers

From the soft lavender hats of showy orchids to the blazing colors of the blue star, hidden treasures abound within the forest floors. But to find them you need a trained eye or better yet, an experienced escort. Karyn Munter-Bairski is the resident naturalist at Blackberry Farm. She has studied wildflowers for the past six years and is well-versed in the field of floral folklore. It was believed that for every illness man experienced, God put a cure in the plant kingdom.

Among the wildflowers growing at Blackberry Farm are the following.

• Anemones are named after the Greek god of winds and animals. The legend is that Venus was looking for her lost lover Adonis, and wherever her tears fell, an anemone grew.
  
• The name Jack-in-the-pulpit was given to that flower because under the leaf, there's a tall purple spadex that is said to resemble a preacher in the pulpit.
  
• Foamflower is a beautiful flower with peach-colored tips. It was often given as a gift of love.
  
• The long-spur violet has nectar down in the bottom of it.
  
• Trillium got its name because of its three leaves, steeples and petals. Trillium was once used by Indians as an effective eyewash.
  
• The mayapple plant was used by Indians for suicide because the root is very poisonous. However, after the flower is done blooming, the plant produces a little green apple, which mountain people use for mayapple wine and jelly.
  
• A maidenhair fern has beautiful black veining throughout in a circular pattern. It was named because Indian women used a component of the fern as a cream rinse for their hair.
  
• The yellow lady's slipper (or ladyslipper) was used by pioneer women to calm nerves and hysteria. It was nicknamed American Valerium because its properties do have a sedative effect.