Field Guide

Called “crane’s bill” for its sharply pointed seed capsules, wild geranium is a gardening favorite, and there are cultivated varieties of this woodland wildflower bred for unique petal and leaf colors.

Mayapple is a common spring wildflower that makes its biggest impression with its leaves, which resemble umbrellas arising from a single stalk. It often grows in colonies.

Hibiscus in Missouri? You bet! Hairy rose mallow is a native perennial whose 6-inch-wide blossoms look a lot like those of its tropical relatives. The stalks can get woody and can grow to 8 feet tall.

The bizarre, complicated flowers attract attention! The fruits are edible. Passion flower is a nonwoody vine that climbs via tendrils on trees or other structures. It is native to the southeastern United States, including southern Missouri.

Climbing false buckwheat is a rampant, native, annual or perennial climber that often forms curtainlike masses of twining red stems, covering shrubs and trees. Look for it in moist, open or shaded bottomlands, alluvial valleys, and floodplains.

Instantly recognizable as a type of morning glory, hedge bindweed is common in disturbed habitats and can be a serious agricultural weed, but it is not as problematic as its relative field bindweed.

Winged loosestrife is a native Missouri wildflower that should not be confused with the nonnative invasive purple loosestrife. Learn to distinguish between the two so you can report infestations of the latter!

Bees, butterflies, and other insects love its nectar, but sand vine is also a problem weed that can be difficult to eradicate. Some people cultivate it as an ornamental. Beekeepers value it as an excellent honey plant.

A common, eye-catching native spring wildflower common in woodlands, blue phlox occurs nearly statewide.

Perennial phlox has big, showy clusters of flowers. A tall, late-blooming native wildflower of woodland borders, steamsides, and gravel bars, it is also an old-fashioned garden favorite.