Early spring sees broad swaths of green creeping up the sheltered coves and sunny ridges of the Oconoluftee Valley. White trilliums blanket the slopes along the Kanati Fork trail, along with a huge variety of other early-blooming flowers.

The white trillium, pictured here, takes on a pink shade as it ages, signaling insects that pollination has ceased. The base is flanked with 3 broad green leaves, giving the trillium its name. The rhizomes of the plant were once chewed by Native Americans in hopes that it would protect them against snakebite.