Wildflowers of Orchard Knob

Wildflowers in bloom at Orchard Knob Reservation

NPS/W. Wilson

by Alaina Krakowiak
University of Tennessee, Chattanooga

Orchard Knob in east Chattanooga was the scene of the opening shots in the Civil War Battles for Chattanooga in November 1863. From this hillside, General Ulysses S. Grant and other senior leaders of the Union Army watched the victorious assault on Missionary Ridge on November 25. In the 1890s, this small hillside was added to the newly-established Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, and monuments and other commemorative features quickly sprang up on its heights.

Like most areas of the park, Orchard Knob was preserved for its historic significance. However, historic preservation had an unintended consequence. Chattanooga grew exponentially during the late 1800s and first half of the 1900s, which led to the near complete loss of prairies and glades (open, rocky areas) once more common in the area. Orchard Knob represents one of the final remnants of these habitats left in Chattanooga. Today, it is a refuge for more than 200 species of plants, including seven that are rare in the state of Tennessee.

Clematis Fremonitii (left) on Orchard Knob, and a specimen of the same flower found in Chattanooga by Major George Grubs, 42nd USCT, in April 1865 (right)

NPS/C. Barr (left) and Chicago Academy of Sciences, Cat #6513 Elizabeth Atwater Colelction, EEA-1954 (right)

One of the rarest plants found here is Clematis fremontii, also known as Fremont’s leather flower. This species is found at only two sites in Tennessee, and only three east of the Mississippi River.

Interestingly, this species is where Orchard Knob’s Civil War and botanical histories collide. On April 3rd, 1865, Major George W. Grubbs of the 42nd USCT collected and pressed a specimen of Fremont’s leather flower. Though his label reads only “Chattanooga,” it is plausible that he found his specimen at Orchard Knob, as it is both a historically significant and geographically prominent landmark, a site worthy of his exploration. His specimen is now preserved in perpetuity at the Chicago Academy of Sciences.

Young people work to identify wildflowers on Orchard Knob with a resident of the Orchard Knob neighborhood.

NPS C. Barr

From the nearly glowing hoary puccoon and blue false indigo in the spring, to orange butterfly milkweed and yellow prairie coneflower in the summer, to golden waves of grass and humble white and purple asters in the fall, (and many, many others), a visit to Orchard Knob is worthwhile in any season. The wildflowers start blooming at the end of March, but the show continues late into the year. When one visits Orchard Knob, it is hard not to envision the hardships that Civil War soldiers faced here during the battles in Chattanooga. But the next time you visit, try also imagining the happy moment that Major Grubbs spent, smiling down at a strange, pink flower.