Field Guide

Deptford pink has straight, strong, narrow stems that bear small clusters of pink flowers with white dots. Common statewide in sunny, open locations such as pastures and roadsides.

This native lily looks a lot like the Asian “tiger lily” that is commonly cultivated in gardens. Michigan lily, however, has leaves mostly in whorls and lacks the round “bulblets” that tiger lily forms in its leaf axils.

A spectacular plant of the tallgrass prairie, royal catchfly is threatened by habitat destruction and degradation throughout its range. Missouri has most of the world's populations of this noble plant.

Whether you see the wild form or any of the many cultivated varieties, this poster child of the sunflower family cultivates its own sunny impression. Common sunflower is also the state flower of Kansas.

Brown-eyed Susan is a bushy perennial with much-branching stems and plenty of flowerheads. Compared to Missouri’s other Rudbeckia species, its flowerheads are the smallest, growing to only about one inch across.

Butterfly weed, a type of milkweed, is a favorite nectar plant for butterflies, and the leaves are eaten by monarch caterpillars. One of our showiest native wildflowers, butterfly weed is also a favorite of gardeners.

Hoary puccoon's small, tubular flowers arise on spirally condensed stalks that uncoil and elongate as more flowers open toward the tip. Occurs nearly statewide in prairies, glades, pastures, roadsides, and other open areas.

Milkweeds are a group of plants that used to have their very own family. Now part of the dogbane family, they’re still a pretty distinctive group.