Field Guide

Wildflowers, Grasses and Other Nonwoody Plants

Showing 1 - 9 of 9 results
Photo of ground plum, top of plant, showing flowers and several leaves.
Ground Plum (Milk Vetch)
Astragalus crassicarpus (formerly A. mexicanus)
Ground plum is a legume that bears plumlike, edible fruits. Its short, spikelike clusters of pea flowers can be white, cream, yellow, pink, or violet.
Photo of Carolina false dandelion flowerhead.
Carolina False Dandelion
Pyrrhopappus carolinianus
One of several native plants called dandelions, Carolina false dandelion is an annual with sulphur yellow flowers and puffy seedheads.
Photo of eastern prickly pear plant with flowers
Eastern Prickly Pear
Opuntia humifusa (formerly O. compressa)
Cacti make us think of the desert southwest, but there is at least one species native to Missouri. This prickly pear grows in glades, sand prairies, rocky open hillsides, and other dry, sun-soaked areas.
Photo of common evening primrose, closeup of flowers.
Common Evening Primrose
Oenothera biennis
True to its name, common evening primrose is the most common and widespread evening primrose in Missouri. It is most noticeable late in the season, when it reaches its greatest height and the flowers at the top are most visible.
Photo of yellow wood sorrel plant showing flowers and leaves.
Yellow Wood Sorrel
Oxalis stricta
Yellow wood sorrel is both a garden weed and a wild edible. It has a pleasant sour taste, which is why some people call it sourgrass and add it to salads.
Photo of common ground cherry flower
Common Ground Cherry
Physalis longifolia
Common ground cherry is closely related to the tomatillo, which you’ve probably seen in the grocery store or had in a delicious salsa verde at a Mexican restaurant. The fruits of ground cherry are edible, too.
Common purslane plant growing on bare, dry soil
Common Purslane
Portulaca oleracea
Purslane can be an aggressive pest in gardens and is one of the worst agricultural weeds in the world. Meanwhile, it’s also a favorite wild vegetable served cooked or raw, and many people cultivate it.
Bur cucumber flowers and foliage
Bur Cucumber
Sicyos angulatus
Bur cucumber is a nonwoody, native, annual vine common in low, moist soils. It can spread across an area 20 feet wide, covering the ground and nearby shrubs. Note its lobed, gourd-family leaves, curly green tendrils, clusters of prickly, green, oval fruits, and 5-lobed, cream-colored flowers.
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.
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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!