Thanks for the guidebook top. I don’t believe I’ve seen that particular guide; I have “Fall Color and Woodland Harvests” by Bell & Lindsay and it’s nicely done. Especially like the pocket guide you can take on the trail.

Sure. A good starter for this area is Wildflowers of North Carolina (Second Edition) by William S. Justice, C. Ritchie Bell, and Anne H. Lindsay.
The other plant, in case you did not know, is Spotted Wintergreen, also called Pipsissewa.
And while we’re on the subject… in your 100 Hikes book the picture of the tree taken at Johnston Mill Nature preserve is a sycamore — not a beech as you say in the book. I’m by no means a botanist, but you may want to check with one before you ID plants for publication.

Heavens to Mergatroyd, Jim! I’ve mistaken the mottled leaves of the trout lily with the heart-shaped mottled leaves of wild ginger! What an incredible rookie mistake; I need to get out on the Eno River Association’s Spring Wildflower Hikes when they start in March. Apologies for the false alarm. I’ll take a wildflower guide on my next scouting trip. (Any recommendations?)