Field Guide

Wildflowers, Grasses and Other Nonwoody Plants

Showing 41 - 50 of 55 results
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 three ox-eye or false sunflower flowerheads
Ox-Eye (Sunflower Heliopsis; False Sunflower)
Heliopsis helianthoides
Ox-eye is a sunflower lookalike. This member of the sunflower family is not a true Helianthus, but a Heliopsis. This attractive perennial is growing in popularity as a native garden flower.
Photo of two yellow coneflower flowerheads
Yellow Coneflower
Echinacea paradoxa
Yellow coneflower is the only coneflower with yellow ray flowers, not pink or purplish ones, which explains the species name, paradoxa. Although cultivated statewide, this prairie and glade wildflower grows natively only in the Ozarks.
Photo of yarrow or common milfoil flower cluster
Yarrow (Common Milfoil)
Achillea millefolium
Native to North America, Europe, and Asia, yarrow has been used for medicine and magic for millennia. This aromatic plant has fine, hairy, fernlike leaves and flat-topped clusters of little white flowers.
Photo of Missouri evening primrose flower with river in distance
Missouri Evening Primrose
Oenothera macrocarpa (formerly O. missouriensis)
The yellow flowers of Missouri evening primrose crown limestone bluffs in the Ozarks and sprawl along the tops of rocky road cuts, sweetening highway trips in the southern part of the state. It is an excellent and hardy native garden plant, too!
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.
Photo of common violet plant with flowers
Violets
Viola spp.
Violets, as a group, are fairly easy to identify, with their colorful five-petaled “faces” so welcome in springtime. Missouri has 17 species, and some are confusingly similar. This page introduces them as a group.
Prairie ragwort, single blooming flowerhead
Ragworts (Groundsels)
Packera spp. (formerly Senecio spp.)
Ragworts, or groundsels, have several common names, and separating the different species can be a little tricky. But members of genus Packera, with their bright yellow daisy-like flowers, are distinctive as a group. Seven species have been recorded in Missouri.
Prairie ragwort flower cluster in bloom on Friendly Prairie, May 1, 2012
Prairie Ragwort (Prairie Groundsel)
Packera plattensis (formerly Senecio plattensis)
Prairie ragwort is one of seven Packera species in our state. It grows in sunny, open habitats. Look for its clusters of bright yellow, daisylike flowers in May and June.
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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!