Field Guide

Trees, Shrubs and Woody Vines

Showing 61 - 70 of 93 results
european black alder
European Alder (Black Alder)
Alnus glutinosa
Native to Europe and Asia, European, or black alder is planted widely as an ornamental. In some parts of the United States and elsewhere in the world, this species becomes weedy, even invasive. In Missouri, you are most likely to encounter it in landscaped areas, and not in the wild.
Illustration of poison ivy leaves, flowers, fruits.
Poison Ivy
Toxicodendron radicans
Poison ivy is a toxic plant that contains an oil in all its parts that, if you come into contact with it, can cause an intense skin reaction. Learn to recognize it, and sidestep it on your outings.
Illustration of woodbine leaves, flowers, fruit
Woodbine
Parthenocissus vitacea (syn. P. inserta)
Woodbine is a climbing woody vine that usually sprawls over bushes and rocks. Its leaves have five coarsely toothed leaflets. Unlike the closely related Virginia creeper, its tendrils generally lack sucker disks. It is rarely found in Missouri.
Illustration of marine vine leaves, flowers, fruit
Marine Vine
Cissus trifoliata (syn. C. incisa)
Marine vine is a climbing or trailing woody vine to 30 feet high, climbing by tendrils. Uncommon in Missouri, it is found only in our far southwestern counties.
Illustration of New Jersey tea leaves, flowers, fruits.
New Jersey Tea
Ceanothus americanus
A very small shrub of our native prairies and other open sites, New Jersey tea was used by patriotic American colonists as a substitute for black tea imported from England during the Revolutionary War.
Illustration of ninebark leaves, flowers, fruits.
Ninebark
Physocarpus opulifolius
An attractive shrub with wide-spreading, graceful, recurved branches and bark peeling off in conspicuous thin strips, ninebark is found throughout southern and eastern Missouri on gravel bars, rocky stream banks, and bluffs along streams. It's very popular as a native landscaping shrub, too.
Illustration of American black currant leaves, flowers, fruits
American Black Currant
Ribes americanum
American black currant is uncommon in Missouri, known from only one location in Schuyler County. The leaves have orange, resinous glands on the undersurface. A spineless shrub, it bears flowers, and later black berries, in clusters of 6–15.
Illustration of Missouri gooseberry leaves, flowers, fruits
Missouri Gooseberry
Ribes missouriense
Missouri gooseberry is our state’s most widespread and common gooseberry. People brave its prickly stems to collect its tart, tasty fruits to make pies, jams, and jellies.
Illustration of round-leaved catbrier leaves, flowers, fruits
Round-Leaved Catbrier
Smilax rotundifolia
Round-leaved catbrier is a climbing, perennial woody vine to 20 feet long with tendrils and stout spines, sometimes forming tangled thickets. In Missouri, it is found mainly in the Bootheel and nearby southeastern Ozarks.
Illustration of bristly greenbrier leaves, flowers, fruit
Bristly Greenbrier
Smilax hispida (syn. S. tamnoides var. hispida)
Bristly greenbrier is a stout woody vine with bristlelike black spines, climbing high by tendrils to a length of 40 feet. It is the most common greenbrier in Missouri and is found statewide.
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About Trees, Shrubs and Woody Vines in Missouri

There are no sharp dividing lines between trees, shrubs, and woody vines, or even between woody and nonwoody plants. “Wood” is a type of tissue made of cellulose and lignin that many plants develop as they mature — whether they are “woody” or not. Trees are woody plants over 13 feet tall with a single trunk. Shrubs are less than 13 feet tall, with multiple stems. Vines require support or else sprawl over the ground.