13 Spring Ephemeral Wildflowers Native to the Southeast

Spring in the southeast is a magical time of year, especially if you love wildflowers. When I hear the gnatcatchers and warblers in the trees, I know the ground is about to explode with color from spring ephemerals. These native wildflowers emerge from the ground, flower, and disappear underground all within a few months.

Taking a hike to see the dazzling array of spring ephemerals is one of my March and April traditions. I wait for a sunny day, pack some snacks, and head out to my favorite wildflower area in North Georgia.

If you hope to do the same, it’s helpful to learn about some of the spring wildflowers native to the Southeast. Once you know their names, you’ll delight in seeing them year after year.

Harbinger-of-Spring

	botanical name Erigenia bulbosa
	sun requirements Partial to full shade
	height 6-10”
	hardiness zones 4-8

As its name suggests, this flower lets us know that spring is surely on its way. It’s typically the first spring ephemeral to appear each year.

The plants’ leaves appear in groups of three to five leaflets, and each leaflet is deeply lobed. After the leaves appear, the plants send up a tall flower stalk that’s topped with an umbel of small white blooms with deep red anthers.

Sharp-Lobed Hepatica

	botanical name Hepatica acutiloba
	sun requirements Partial to full shade
	height 4-8”
	hardiness zones 3-8

Sharp-lobed hepatica is also an early bloomer; you can often spot the flower in late February or early March. Look for clusters of white or light pink flowers atop long stems. Each flower appears on an individual stem and features six to eight petals arranged in a round shape.

The flowers of this hepatica species look similar to those of round-lobed hepatica (Hepatica americana), but their foliage is different. Sharp-lobed hepatica has pointed leaf tips, while the other species has rounded foliage.

Cutleaf Toothwort

	botanical name Cardamine concatenata
	sun requirements Partial to full shade
	height 8-12”
	hardiness zones 3-8

Although toothwort is an unassuming plant, its early bloom time makes it a valuable addition to the ecosystem. Hungry pollinators flock to the clusters of small pink or white blooms to gorge on pollen and nectar. These Southeast native wildflowers readily self-seed in late spring, so they often form dense patches after a few years of growth.

Just like the plants are some of the earliest blossoms to appear, they’re also some of the first to fade. These perennials can complete their life cycle in as little as a month and disappear underground by the middle to end of spring.

Carolina Spring Beauty

	botanical name Claytonia caroliniana
	sun requirements Partial shade
	height 3-6”
	hardiness zones 4-9

A simply adorable flower, Carolina spring beauty features small blooms with white petals painted with bright pink lines. The plants easily spread and cover rich woods with their small flowers.

The plant has the ability to close its petals at night and during sunny days, so don’t think closed buds mean the plant isn’t in bloom. With that said, sunny days are the best time to spot the charming blooms.

Bloodroot

	botanical name Sanguinaria canadensis
	sun requirements Partial to full shade
	height 6-10”
	hardiness zones 3-8

Beautiful flowers are the stars of many spring ephemerals, but bloodroot features interesting blooms, foliage, and roots. The deeply lobed, kidney-shaped leaves emerge from the ground, tightly curled and gently unfurling over time. A single stem grows through the curled leaf and is topped by a simple white flower with a yellow center.

After the leaves are fully open, the blossoms curl inward at night and open during the day. We typically only see the above-ground portions of plants, but digging up bloodroot will expose its bright red root system that’s used to create yellow and red dyes.

Trailing Trillium

	botanical name Trillium decumbens
	sun requirements Partial to full shade
	height 6-8”
	hardiness zones 6-8

When you first spot trailing trillium, you may think it’s the more commonly seen sweet Betsy, thanks to its maroon flowers and mottled bracts. However, this native Southeast wildflower emerges close to the ground in the spring, with its leaves seeming to rest on the soil surface.

This plant isn’t as widespread as other trillium species, but you can find it throughout portions of Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee. Look for the plants in rocky areas in moist, rich woods.

Yellow Trout Lily

	botanical name Erythronium americanum
	sun requirements Partial to full shade
	height 4-8”
	hardiness zones 3-8

Spotting a streambank or swath of moist woods covered with trout lilies is on my spring to-do list every year. The tiny plants first produce elongated leaves with green and deep purple markings. This mottled appearance inspires the plant’s common name.

Eventually, slender stems emerge from the base of the leaves. Each stem is topped with a single small, yellow lily featuring large stamens and back curved petals and tepals.

Sweet Betsy

	botanical name Trillium cuneatum
	sun requirements Partial to full shade
	height 12-18”
	hardiness zones 5-8

One of the most common spring native wildflower species in much of the Southeast, sweet Betsy is also known as bloody butcher, wood trillium, and whippoorwill flower. These beloved perennials produce three large, mottled bracts that appear as leaves. The leaves always have patches of green that are mixed with deep purple or lighter green.

Sweet Betsy produces upright blooms that contain three sepals and three petals. The flowers are typically maroon, but they can also appear light green. Each flower produces a fragrance that resembles rotting material in order to attract the flies that pollinate them.

Bent White Trillium

	botanical name Trillium flexipes
	sun requirements Partial to full shade
	height 18-24”
	hardiness zones 4-7

Some trilliums produce flowers that lay flat against the leaves, and others produce a pedicle (flower stem) that separates the single bloom from the three bracts. Bent white trillium is one of the latter. The plants produce large white blossoms that nod towards the ground.

The three bracts are solid green and have a beautiful shape that curves outward and features a pointed tip. Like most trilliums, this species grows best in shady areas with rich, moist soil. 

Large Bellwort

	botanical name Uvularia grandiflora
	sun requirements Partial to full shade
	height 18-24”
	hardiness zones 4-9

You can find large bellwort growing in most of the eastern United States, with the exception of the far north and south. This native spring wildflower grows readily in moist, rich woods throughout the Southeast, where it slowly spreads via rhizomes. It also goes by the name great merrybells.

The plants produce multiple long stems covered with droopy, oppositely arranged leaves. Each stem is topped with a nodding flower made up of multiple slender yellow petals. The petals often twist individually and as a group, giving the plant a fun and whimsical appearance. 

Rue Anemone

	botanical name Thalictrum thalictroides
	sun requirements Partial to full shade
	height 4-10”
	hardiness zones 4-8

Rue anemones produce round flowers made up of white or purple petals and elongated stamens. Although the blooms look similar to those of hepatica species, this species’ foliage is quite different. Rue anemone produces small, lobed leaves that are thinner and more delicate than those of lobed hepatica. The leaves appear after flowering begins, making the delicate petals stand out amongst the forest.

This ephemeral easily self-seeds to produce large clusters. Like all true spring ephemerals, the plants fade underground by the middle of summer.

Dutchman’s Breeches

	botanical name Dicentra cucullaria
	sun requirements Partial to full shade
	height 8-12”
	hardiness zones 3-7

Although it’s hard to pick a favorite spring ephemeral, Dutchman’s breeches definitely makes it into my top three. I love the combination of delicate, lacy green foliage and unique flowers that resemble white trousers hanging to dry.

Like many early-season ephemerals, Dutchman’s breeches emerges before deciduous trees have leafed out. The perennials thrive in rich, moist soil, so you’ll often see them growing alongside streams and in damp, wooded areas.

Purple Phacelia

	botanical name Phacelia bipinnatifida
	sun requirements Partial to full shade
	height 1-3’
	hardiness zones 5-8

There are hundreds of species in the Phacelia genus, but spotting purple phacelia in its native habitat is a treat. These biennials grow along streams and rivers in mountainous areas in the Southeast, where they thrive in the moist, rich soil.