Gray's Lily

The Gray's Lily is a rare and endangered flower found only in this part of Appalachia (TN, NC and VA). The flowers pictured here were all found on Jane Bald, one of three balds in the Roan Highlands. Round Bald, Jane Bald and Grassy Bald -- all three offer breathtaking panoramic views. I've heard locals refer to them as the 'three sisters'. These grassy, treeless mountaintops, are unique and very fragile ecosystems. Here you will find plant species unique to Appalachia, like the Gray's Lily. It is named for Asa Gray, the father of American botany, who discovered the flower in 1841. See yesterday's post for directions to Roan Mountain.

Each moment of the year has its own beauty . . . a picture which was never before and shall never be seen again.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) philosopher and writer