Field Guide

Wildflowers, Grasses and Other Nonwoody Plants

Showing 1 - 10 of 11 results
Photo of tall thistle plants with flowers
Tall Thistle
Cirsium altissimum
Tall thistle is a native thistle that can grow to be 10 feet tall! To identify it, notice its leaves, which are unlobed (though they may be wavy or have only shallow, broad lobes), are felty-hairy beneath, and have prickles only along the edges.
Photo of several decurrent false asters in bloom
Decurrent False Aster
Boltonia decurrens
A big river floodplain species, decurrent false aster has declined as wetlands have been drained and converted to agricultural crop production.
Photo of white heath aster flowers
White Heath Aster
Symphyotrichum pilosum (formerly Aster pilosus)
White heath aster is one of Missouri's most widespread and weedy native asters. It grows in uplands, bottomlands, and nearly all habitats in between. It has a shrubby, wide-branching habit, and the stem leaves are thin and needlelike.
Photo of New England aster plants with flowers
New England Aster
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae (formerly Aster novae-angliae)
One of our showiest native fall-blooming wildflowers, New England aster contributes to Missouri's colorful autumn landscape. The petallike ray florets of wild plants range from reddish purple to purple.
A cluster of white flowers with pink-tinged tips around a yellow daisylike center.
Philadelphia Fleabane
Erigeron philadelphicus
The antique belief that this plant might repel fleas gives the fleabanes their name. There are more than 170 fleabanes in the genus Erigeron in North America. This one is scattered to common nearly throughout Missouri. Native Americans used this species medicinally for a variety of ailments.
Closeup of single flowerhead of a New World aster with yellow disk florets and lavender ray florets
New World Asters (American Asters)
Symphyotrichum spp. (formerly Aster spp.)
Missouri has 24 species of New World asters in genus Symphyotrichum. Most have purple or white ray flowers and yellow disk flowers that turn reddish over time. Most bloom in late summer and fall.
Missouri ironweed cluster of blooming flowerheads
Missouri Ironweed
Vernonia missurica
Missouri ironweed is one of Missouri’s five species of ironweeds. Most common in the eastern half of the state, it is a hairy ironweed with a relatively large number of florets per flowerhead.
Giant ironweed flower cluster
Ironweeds
Vernonia spp.
Five species of ironweeds live in Missouri. Starting in the middle of summer, they bear showy clusters of magenta or purple flowerheads at the branching tops of upright stalks.
Curlytop ironweed flower cluster viewed from the side
Curlytop Ironweed (Arkansas Ironweed)
Vernonia arkansana
Curlytop ironweed is one of Missouri’s five species of ironweeds. It’s easy to identify because of its tapering, curling, threadlike involucral bracts. Also, it is usually a smooth, hairless plant.
Closeup of prairie ironweed flowerheads in bloom
Prairie Ironweed (Smooth Ironweed)
Vernonia fasciculata
Prairie, or smooth ironweed is one of Missouri’s five species of ironweeds. Mostly limited to northwestern Missouri, it’s a smooth or hairless plant. Verify your identification by noting characteristics of its flowerhead bracts.
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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!