Field Guide

Trees, Shrubs and Woody Vines

Showing 1 - 10 of 24 results
Illustration of red-berried elderberry leaves, flowers, fruits
Red-Berried Elderberry
Sambucus pubens
Red-berried elderberry reaches 24 feet in height and does not form colonies. Its white flowers, and later, red berries, are in pyramidal clusters. In Missouri, it’s known only from Marion County.
Illustration of shrubby St. John's-wort leves, flowers, fruits.
Shrubby St. John’s-Wort
Hypericum prolificum (formerly H. spathulatum)
Shrubby St. John’s-wort has shiny, somewhat leathery, opposite leaves, 2-edged twigs, and flowers with 5 bright yellow petals and many stamens. A shrub growing to 6 feet tall, it is scattered nearly statewide.
Illustration of buckbrush leaves, flowers, fruits
Buckbrush (Coralberry)
Symphoricarpos orbiculatus
Buckbrush, or coralberry, grows throughout Missouri. This familiar thicket-forming shrub bears dense clusters of pinkish-red berries that persist through most of the winter.
Illustration of white ash leaf, fruit.
White Ash
Fraxinus americana
White ash leaves turn shades of yellow and purple in fall, and that is one reason it has been a popular landscaping tree. Many birds and mammals feed on the paddle-shaped seeds.
Illustration of eastern red cedar stem, leaves, and fruits.
Eastern Red Cedar
Juniperus virginiana
By far the most common native conifer in the state, eastern red cedar is useful for its aromatic, red wood and beloved for its greenery, its resinous blue “berries,” and the spicy odor it lends the outdoors.
Illustration of bush honeysuckle leaves, flowers, fruit.
Bush Honeysuckles
Lonicera maackii (Amur) and Lonicera x bella (bella)
If there’s a giant green thicket in your woods, you may have a bush honeysuckle infestation. These invasive plants are shrubby natives of Asia. In America, where they have no natural controls, they leaf out early, grow fast, spread fast, and form dense thickets that crowd out native forest plants.
Illustration of flowering dogwood leaves, flowers, fruits.
Flowering Dogwood
Cornus florida
Flowering dogwood is a beautiful shrub to small tree with a straggling, spreading crown. Missouri’s official state tree, it presents lovely boughs of white inflorescences in springtime forests.
Illustration of red maple leaves and fruits.
Red Maple
Acer rubrum
Red maple is one of our most useful — and beautiful — native trees. You can find it in the woods as well as in landscape plantings statewide. Many horticultural varieties are available at nurseries.
Illustration of sugar maple leaves, twigs, fruits
Sugar Maple
Acer saccharum
Sugar maple is a tree that inspires much “oohing and aahing” during fall color season. Its sap is famous as a source for maple syrup, but its use in landscaping and for furniture is also widespread.
Illustration of eastern wahoo leaves, twigs, flowers, and fruit
Eastern Wahoo
Euonymus atropurpureus
Eastern wahoo is a native shrub or small tree that grows in wooded areas, near streams, and in thickets. In fall, dainty pink or purplish four-lobed fruit capsules dangle from its branches.
See Also

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.