Field Guide

Geocarpon is a tiny, inconspicuous plant found almost exclusively on sandstone glade outcrops. Extremely rare, it is a species of conservation concern. It is related to carnations!

Pencil flower is small and often overlooked. It has wiry stems, long, bristly hairs, three-parted leaves, and orangish-yellow flowers.

The flowers of purple milkweed are pale purple to reddish purple to dark purple, with greenish or red tints. The scientific name means “becoming purple”: The flowers start off rather pale and become more intensely purplish as they mature.

Deptford pink has straight, strong, narrow stems that bear small clusters of pink flowers with white dots. Common statewide in sunny, open locations such as pastures and roadsides.

This native lily looks a lot like the Asian “tiger lily” that is commonly cultivated in gardens. Michigan lily, however, has leaves mostly in whorls and lacks the round “bulblets” that tiger lily forms in its leaf axils.

A spectacular plant of the tallgrass prairie, royal catchfly is threatened by habitat destruction and degradation throughout its range. Missouri has most of the world's populations of this noble plant.

Butterfly weed, a type of milkweed, is a favorite nectar plant for butterflies, and the leaves are eaten by monarch caterpillars. One of our showiest native wildflowers, butterfly weed is also a favorite of gardeners.

Hoary puccoon's small, tubular flowers arise on spirally condensed stalks that uncoil and elongate as more flowers open toward the tip. Occurs nearly statewide in prairies, glades, pastures, roadsides, and other open areas.

The bright red of Indian paintbrush colors our native prairielands, reminding us (through its name) of the Osage, Kansa, Pawnee, and many other people who lived in these prairies before the pioneers.

Milkweeds are a group of plants that used to have their very own family. Now part of the dogbane family, they’re still a pretty distinctive group.