Field Guide

The interesting, bright yellow flowers of showy partridge pea are immediately recognizable. At night, the leaflets close and pull upward into a sleeping position.

Ground plum is a legume that bears plumlike, edible fruits. Its short, spikelike clusters of pea flowers can be white, cream, yellow, pink, or violet.

A slender little buttercup growing in rocky, dry areas with acidic soils, Harvey’s buttercup occurs mostly in southern Missouri. One key to identify it is to examine the basal and stem leaves, which are quite different.

Missouri bladderpod is a small, yellow-flowered member of the mustard family that is found only in southwest Missouri. It gets its name from the spherical fruits or “bladders” that contain seeds.

Pencil flower is small and often overlooked. It has wiry stems, long, bristly hairs, three-parted leaves, and orangish-yellow flowers.

There are 23 species of goldenrods in Missouri. They can be hard to identify to species, but as a group, the goldenrods are common and nearly unmistakable.

The flowers of southern wild senna don’t look much like typical pea-family flowers, but its leaves and bean pods show the family resemblance. Look for it in moist situations, mostly south of the Missouri River.

Similar to kudzu, Chinese yam is an aggressive vine that overtakes nearly everything within reach that stands still long enough! Learn more about this invasive plant — and please don’t plant it!

Yellow star grass grows throughout the tallgrass prairie region. Imagine the thoughts of pioneers when they gazed upon these bright little lilies during stops along their westward journey!

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.