Waterfall Hero Hikes: Falls Lake Wildflowers

Falls Lake is a great place to see wildflowers blooming. The 12,000-acre lake is surrounded by more than 26,000 acres of protected land that supports a diversity of wildflowers. Most of the land as Butner-Falls of Neuse Game Land is publicly accessible, with the 60-mile Falls Lake Trail providing great wildflower hikes. Spring, before the leaves pop out on the canopy, is the best time to view wildflowers but flowers can be found most of the year.

White Flowers:

Partridge berry (Mitchella repens) is a non-climbing vine that produces small white flowers.

Slender toothwort (Cardamine angustata) produces clusters of small white flowers that can be slightly pink or purple.

The atamasco lily (Zephyranthes atamasca), which typically blooms in April, is one of the most beautiful wildflowers found around the lake.

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) is a less common wildflower that is named for its red sap that resembles blood.

An uncommon species of wildflower is the Dutchman's breeches (Dicentra cucullaria), named for their white flowers that resemble breeches.

Yellow Wildflowers:

Trout lilies are one of the first flowers to pop up in late winter and early spring. Their speckled leaves resemble the patterning of trout and the small flowers are bright yellow. I'm not sure whether they're Erythronium americanum or Erythronium umbilicatum.

Yellow jessamine (Gelsemim semprevirens) is a twining vine that produces yellow flowers. All parts of this plant are poisonous.

Green Wildflowers:

Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) produces an unusual green flower. The spathe or "pulpit" wraps around the spadix or "jack".

Bladder sedge (Carex intumescens) produces a bladder-like green flower.

Blue and Violet Wildflowers:

Azure bluets (Houstonia caerulea) are a common early-spring wildflower. Although their flowers are small, they tend to grow in large clusters.

Dwarf crested irises (Iris cristata) are a small, but very pretty species of iris that can be found along Falls Lake.

The classification of Hepatica is not agreed upon, so I'm not sure if this is Hepatica nobilis or Anemone hepatica. Either way, Hepatica is named for its three-lobed leaf that resembles the liver.