Southern Red Trillium (Trillium sulcatum) is also known as Barksdale's Trillium and offically as Furrowed Wakerobin. This is a herbaceous plant, it is a perennial which can reach 40cm in height (16inches). The leaves are whorled. Each of the three leaves is entire. The flowers have 3 Regular Parts and are up to 7cm wide (2.75 inches). They are rich burgandy or red. Blooms first appear in mid spring and continue into late spring. The flower is on a long pedicel to 10cm (4"). The petals are cupped at the base spreading beyond the ovary. Odor not particularly unpleasant. Its habitat is rich moist woods, ranging from West Virginia south to north west Georgia and north east Alabama. Mostly in gorges of the Cumberland Plateau.

The classification of the yellow lady's-slipper orchids has not been settled. Formerly, they were considered to be the same species as Eurasian yellow lady's-slippers -- Cypripedium calceolus. The modern trend is to separate the American plants from the Eurasian, but the number of American species is under debate. Some botanists recognize two species in northeastern U.S. -- Cypripedium parviflorum and Cypripedium pubescens, but these species are defined differently by different authorities. Following the Flora of North America, it is best classified as Cypripedium parviflorum it is classified as a species of special concern in Alabama.

Pool Sprite (Amphianthus pusillus), one of the rarest plants in Alabama, was recently flowering in Almond, AL. It grows only on granite outcrops in small pools that have filled with water. It is often overlooked and has such a narrow niche that its habitat is rapidly being lost.