Field Guide

Called “crane’s bill” for its sharply pointed seed capsules, wild geranium is a gardening favorite, and there are cultivated varieties of this woodland wildflower bred for unique petal and leaf colors.

Mayapple is a common spring wildflower that makes its biggest impression with its leaves, which resemble umbrellas arising from a single stalk. It often grows in colonies.

Hibiscus in Missouri? You bet! Hairy rose mallow is a native perennial whose 6-inch-wide blossoms look a lot like those of its tropical relatives. The stalks can get woody and can grow to 8 feet tall.

Pinesap is a plant that puts the "wild" in wildflower! It lacks chlorophyll, so its roots connect to fungi underground and absorb nutrients from the fungi.

Water lilies are among the most beautiful of all water plants. They have large, round leaves 8–16 inches across, each with a single V-shaped notch.

The bizarre, complicated flowers attract attention! The fruits are edible. Passion flower is a nonwoody vine that climbs via tendrils on trees or other structures. It is native to the southeastern United States, including southern Missouri.

Climbing false buckwheat is a rampant, native, annual or perennial climber that often forms curtainlike masses of twining red stems, covering shrubs and trees. Look for it in moist, open or shaded bottomlands, alluvial valleys, and floodplains.

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!

One of seven species of windflowers, or anemones in Missouri, liverleaf or round-lobed hepatica occurs in the eastern and southern portions of the Ozarks. It's a hairy plant with one flower per stalk; flowers may be white, pink, blue, or lavender.

Instantly recognizable as a type of morning glory, hedge bindweed is common in disturbed habitats and can be a serious agricultural weed, but it is not as problematic as its relative field bindweed.