Finding Spring Wildflowers in Southern Illinois

As the days get longer and temperatures rise, the forests floors are waking up. The early spring days, before all the leaves emerge on trees and the sun still shines through the woods are when the spring wildflowers bloom. 

These early flowers are critical for pollinators, like bees and butterflies, that have fewer nectar sources in the early spring. Many of these special plants only grow in protected forests where there has been little disturbance of the soil. Spring wildflowers include Virginia bluebells, rue anemone, trilliums, and celandine poppies.  

Southern Illinois is blessed with a diverse ecosystem that supports a wide variety of wildflowers, thanks to its rich soil, ample rainfall, and temperate climate. From early March to late May, the region comes alive with a kaleidoscope of colors as native wildflowers burst forth in a riot of blooms.

Here are some recommendations for finding them this spring.

• Bohm Woods Nature Preserve, Edwardsville, IL. Bohm Wooods is one of the few remaining old growth forests in the St. Louis Metro East. With a newer trail created in 2024, it’s easier than ever to see some of the beautiful blooms of this forest. Look for large flowered bellwort, trout lillies, and trilliums.
• Knobeloch Woods Nature Preserve, Belleville, IL. Similar to Bohm Woods, Knobeloch Woods is one of the few old growth forests remaining in the Metro East. The preserve has a stunning display of phlox and dutchman’s breeches.
• White Rock Nature Preserve, Valmeyer, IL. This forest is bluff-side, making it a special places to experience trilliums and wild geraniums. When you reach the top, the views of the Mississippi River bottomland are breathtaking.
• Patriot’s Park, Greenville, IL. Check out the woods behind the lake at Patriot’s Park for larkspur, downy pagoda plants, and mayapples.
• Giant City State Park, Makanda, IL. The trillium trail is known as one of the best trails in southern Illinois to see wildflowers. The state often hosts wildflower walks, too.
• Rim Rock National Recreation Trail, Gallatin County, IL. The rock formations may be the main draw of this trail, but the flowers are a close second! Visiting here,  you may see shooting stars, bluebells, and flowering dogwoods.
• Posen Woods Nature Preserve/Washington County State Recreation Area, Nashville, IL. You could spend an entire day at Washington County State Recreation Area. Tucked into the east side is a nature preserve with beautiful displays of wildflowers, like spiderwort.
• Piney Creek Ravine Nature Preserve, Ava, IL. While known for its rock art and ravines, this nature preserve has an impressive display of wildflowers in the spring, including trilliums, jacob’s ladder, buttercups, trout lillies, and more.

Merrybells  or Large-flowered Bellworth (Uvularia grandiflora)