Edible

  • Wildflowers, Grasses and Other Nonwoody Plants

  • Media
    Photo of self-heal flower head
    Species Types
    Scientific Name
    Prunella vulgaris
    Description
    A square-stemmed plant with opposite leaves, self-heal bears two-lipped blue, lavender, or violet flowers in a cylindrical head. We have two varieties of self-heal in Missouri, one native and one introduced.
  • Media
    Photo of shepherd’s purse plant and flowers
    Species Types
    Scientific Name
    Capsella bursa-pastoris
    Description
    Shepherd’s purse is a plant that started in Europe and western Asia and has been introduced nearly worldwide. Like the common dandelion, it has several adaptations that make it a successful colonizer of disturbed soil.
  • Media
    Photo of Solomon’s seal flowers and leaves
    Species Types
    Scientific Name
    Polygonatum biflorum
    Description
    Solomon's seal grows statewide in moist, rich earth. The greenish-white flowers dangle like little bells beneath the leaves, under the gracefully arching stems.
  • Media
    Photo of yellow rocket flower clusters
    Species Types
    Scientific Name
    Barbarea vulgaris
    Description
    Yellow rocket is a mustard native to Eurasia that was introduced long ago and today is found across North America. The mustard family used to be called the Cruciferae, because of the cross shape formed by the four petals.
  • Media
    Photo of slender mountain mint flowers
    Species Types
    Scientific Name
    Pycnanthemum tenuifolium
    Description
    Slender mountain mint has smooth, square stems, opposite, narrow leaves, and dense heads of 2-lipped white (or lavender) flowers. Aromatic and minty, it can be grown at home in the herb garden, and its leaves used for seasoning food.
  • Media
    Photo of smooth spiderwort flowers being visited by beelike syrphid flies
    Species Types
    Scientific Name
    Tradescantia ohiensis
    Description
    Smooth spiderwort is the most common and widely distributed of Missouri's spiderworts. It has slender, straight or zigzag stems. The long, narrow leaves are folded lengthwise and attach to the stem in a thick node. The 3 petals of the triangular flower are blue, rose, purple, lavender, or white.
  • Media
    Photo of spring beauty plants and flowers
    Species Types
    Scientific Name
    Claytonia virginica
    Description
    Our most widely distributed early spring flower, spring beauty has 5 white or pink petals with distinct pink veining, and 5 pink anthers. The narrow, bladelike leaves are fleshy. These flowers often grow in abundance, covering a patch of ground with the beauty of spring.
  • Media
    Photo of spring cress flower clusters
    Species Types
    Scientific Name
    Cardamine bulbosa
    Description
    Like many of its relatives in the mustard family, spring cress has a bitter or pungent flavor, similar to horseradish. It is sometimes used as a condiment and in salads. Or you could just enjoy the pretty white flowers!
  • Media
    Photo of woolly sweet cicely flower clusters
    Species Types
    Scientific Name
    Osmorhiza claytonii and O. longistylis
    Description
    Missouri has two species of sweet cicely, which can be hard to tell apart. Both have umbels of small white flowers, fernlike leaves, and sweetly aromatic, carrotlike roots.
  • Media
    Photo of tall thistle plants with flowers
    Species Types
    Scientific Name
    Cirsium altissimum
    Description
    Tall thistle is a native thistle that can grow to be 10 feet tall! To identify it, notice its leaves, which are unlobed (though they may be wavy or have only shallow, broad lobes), are felty-hairy beneath, and have prickles only along the edges.
  • Media
    Photo of toothwort plant with flowers
    Species Types
    Scientific Name
    Cardamine concatenata (formerly Dentaria laciniata)
    Description
    Toothwort is a member of the mustard family that blooms March–May in wooded slopes and valleys. The sharply toothed, deeply lobed leaves are distinctive. The bright white, 4-petaled flowers shine at forest visitors.
  • Media
    Photo of wild bergamot or horsemint plant with lavender flowers
    Species Types
    Scientific Name
    Monarda fistulosa
    Description
    Sometimes called beebalm, wild bergamot (or horsemint) is a native mint with a long history as a valued Missouri herb. Some people make tea from it, but most of us enjoy its large, colorful flowers.
  • Media
    Photo of wild hyacinth flower cluster
    Species Types
    Scientific Name
    Camassia scilloides
    Description
    In spring, wild hyacinth bears an elongated cluster of pale blue flowers with prominent anthers that sway on stalks up to 2 feet tall.
  • Media
    Photo of wild potato vine flowers and leaves
    Species Types
    Scientific Name
    Ipomoea pandurata
    Description
    Wild potato vine is related to the sweet potatoes we buy at grocery stores. This native vine is also related to the morning glories that decorate trellises and to the bindweed that plagues gardeners and farmers.
  • Media
    Photo of wild strawberry plant with flowers
    Species Types
    Scientific Name
    Fragaria virginiana
    Description
    Wild strawberry is one of the parents of the cultivated strawberry and is one of our prized native wild edibles. It’s also a valuable food for innumerable animals, and it’s attractive in native wildflower gardens.
  • Media
    Photo of soapweed, a type of yucca
    Species Types
    Scientific Name
    Yucca smalliana, Y. glauca, and Y. arkansana
    Description
    Three species of yucca grow wild in Missouri. Spanish bayonet was introduced from the Southwest and has escaped from cultivation, but our two soapweeds are native.
  • Media
    Photo of a spatterdock flower held against a leaf
    Species Types
    Scientific Name
    Nuphar advena (formerly N. lutea)
    Description
    Spatterdock is a native aquatic plant with deep yellow, saucer-or globe-shaped flowers to 3 inches across. It grows in ponds, lakes, and slow-moving to stagnant portions of streams, rivers, and spring branches.
  • Media
    Photo of common violet plant with flowers
    Species Types
    Scientific Name
    Viola spp.
    Description
    Violets, as a group, are fairly easy to identify, with their colorful five-petaled “faces” so welcome in springtime. Missouri has 17 species, and some are confusingly similar. This page introduces them as a group.
  • Media
    Photo of water shield showing leaves and a flower
    Species Types
    Scientific Name
    Brasenia schreberi
    Description
    Water shield is a long-stemmed aquatic plant with floating oval leaves that resemble small water lily leaves, only without a split. The stems and lower leaf surfaces have a thick, jellylike coating.
  • Media
    Photo of watercress flowers
    Species Types
    Scientific Name
    Nasturtium officinale (syn. Rorippa nasturtium-aquaticum)
    Description
    Spring branches and streams in the Ozarks are decorated with large colonies of these plants, which can grow like thick green garlands in the water. It has a long history of use as a salad green, and it is cultivated to sell to gourmet cooks. If you collect watercress from the wild, make sure to wash it thoroughly.
  • Media
    Photo of wild ginger flower
    Species Types
    Scientific Name
    Asarum canadense
    Description
    In spring, wildflower lovers locate wild ginger by looking for its unique, hairy, heart-shaped leaves, then by stooping to view the small, three-parted brown flowers that form between the leaf bases, close to the ground.
  • Media
    Photo of pink wild onion flower clusters
    Species Types
    Scientific Name
    Allium stellatum
    Description
    Wild onion is edible and is also favored by native-plant gardeners, who enjoy its showy umbels of pink flowers and tolerance of dry, rocky sites. This Ozark species blooms in summer and fall.
  • Media
    Photo of wood nettle leaves at top of plant.
    Species Types
    Scientific Name
    Laportea canadensis
    Description
    Wood nettle, or stinging nettle, often forms dense stands in bottomland forests, streamsides, and other places. There, canoeists, anglers, and others try to avoid touching its stinging hairs!
  • Media
    Photo of yellow violet plant with flower
    Species Types
    Scientific Name
    Viola pubescens (formerly V. pensylvanica)
    Description
    The yellow violet is Missouri's only all-yellow violet. This native wildflower is less common than violet violets. Look for it in low woods, rich slopes, and wooded floodplains.
  • Media
    Photo of yellow wood sorrel plant showing flowers and leaves.
    Species Types
    Scientific Name
    Oxalis stricta
    Description
    Yellow wood sorrel is both a garden weed and a wild edible. It has a pleasant sour taste, which is why some people call it sourgrass and add it to salads.