Field Guide

Wildflowers, Grasses and Other Nonwoody Plants

Showing 1 - 10 of 18 results
Photo of soapweed, a type of yucca
Yuccas (Spanish Bayonet; Soapweed)
Yucca smalliana, Y. glauca, and Y. arkansana
Three species of yucca grow wild in Missouri. Spanish bayonet was introduced from the Southwest and has escaped from cultivation, but our two soapweeds are native.
Photo of several big bluestem seed heads against a blue sky.
Grasses
All true grasses (species in the grass family)
Missouri has 276 species in the grass family, including well-known crop plants and our native prairie grasses. Distinguishing between the species can be difficult, but it’s easy to learn some basics about the group.
Photo of prairie alum root flower stalk with flowers
Prairie Alum Root
Heuchera richardsonii
Prairie alum root lifts its small, greenish, bell-shaped flowers high on a hairy stalk. The leaves are all in a basal clump, have long stalks, and look a bit like maple leaves.
Photo of white avens flower and upper stem leaves.
White Avens (Red Root)
Geum canadense
White avens, a common wildflower in the rose family, may not catch your eye during hikes, but you will probably notice the seeds clinging to your socks when you get home!
Whorled milkweed flowers.
Whorled Milkweed (Horsetail Milkweed)
Asclepias verticillata
Whorled milkweed has rounded clusters of small white flowers. The leaves are soft, threadlike, and grow in whorls from the stem. It occurs in upland prairies and fields.
Photo of pale Indian plantain flower clusters.
Pale Indian Plantain
Arnoglossum atriplicifolium (also Cacalia atriplicifolia)
The stout, smooth leaves of pale Indian plantain, with their glaucous-white coating beneath, look almost artificial. They are irregularly shaped, with pointed lobes. At the base of the plant, they can be 6 inches wide. They become gradually smaller up the stem.
Photo of path rush, closeup showing drying fruits.
Rushes
Juncus spp. and Luzula spp.
Missouri has 24 species in the rush family. Distinguishing between these grasslike plants can be tricky, but it’s easy to learn some basics about the group.
Photo of eastern woodland sedge plant growing among leaf litter.
Sedges
Carex, Schoenoplectus, Scirpus, and other genera
Missouri has more than 200 species in the sedge family. Distinguishing between these grasslike plants can be difficult, but it’s easy to learn some basics about the group.
Stand of switchgrass in a prairie in late summer
Switchgrass
Panicum virgatum
Switchgrass is a native perennial, warm-season, clump-forming mid or tall grass. In midsummer, delicate-looking, open, multiply-branching flowering clusters rise above the foliage.
Virginia wild rye flowering heads backlit against a background of shrubs and trees
Virginia Wild Rye
Elymus virginicus
Virginia wild rye can be identified by its bristly seed heads, which are held erect and whose bristle-like awns stay straight. This is a common native perennial tuft-forming, cool-season midgrass usually reaching about 2–4 feet in height.
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About Wildflowers, Grasses and Other Nonwoody Plants in Missouri

A very simple way of thinking about the green world is to divide the vascular plants into two groups: woody and nonwoody (or herbaceous). But this is an artificial division; many plant families include some species that are woody and some that are not. The diversity of nonwoody vascular plants is staggering! Think of all the ferns, grasses, sedges, lilies, peas, sunflowers, nightshades, milkweeds, mustards, mints, and mallows — weeds and wildflowers — and many more!