Field Guide

Mud plantains have glossy, rounded or kidney-shaped leaves and purple or white flowers that have six petal lobes. One petal lobe points downward. They typically grow as emergent aquatic shoreline plants.

The handsome violet-blue flower spikes of pickerel weed stand out vividly at the edges of ponds. One of our few blue-flowering pond plants, pickerel weed is easy to identify by its color alone.

With its large, paddle-shaped, blue-green leaves, powdery thalia looks a lot like the tropical cannas used in landscaping. In late summer, this native pond or marsh plant produces tall spikes of purple flower clusters.

Showy orchis is a perennial wildflower of rich, moist, shady woods, slopes, ravines, and stream valleys, often found with other spring wildflowers. It’s about 6 inches tall when it produces its beautiful pink and white flowers.

Crested coral root is an orchid that lacks chlorophyll, so none of it is green. It obtains nutrients from fungi and decaying organic matter. Compared to our other coral roots, it is taller and has larger flowers. It grows in Ozark habitats.

Spring coral root blooms in April and May. Except for a few small sheathing bracts along the stem, it has no leaves. The purplish or brownish flowers are in a raceme at the tip of the stem. Each flower’s lower lip is white with purple markings.

Arrow-leaved violet, or arrowhead violet, is a native Missouri perennial spring wildflower that grows in prairies, glades, and woodland openings. It has distinctive arrowhead-shaped leaves.