Wildflowers, Grasses and Other Nonwoody Plants
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Scientific Name
Viola pedata
Description
In springtime, bird's-foot violet can make a glade or bluff top heavenly with its pretty lavender and purple "faces." When you see your first big colony of bird's-foot violets, you will probably never forget it.
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Phlox pilosa
Description
Downy phlox, also called prairie phlox, is a perennial wildflower with lance-shaped leaves and showy, rounded clusters of pink or lavender flowers. It is similar to blue phlox, but it grows more often in prairies and other open, sunny, and drier habitats.
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Glandularia canadensis (formerly Verbena canadensis)
Description
One of our jazziest spring flowers, rose verbena catches your eye in the prairies and open areas it prefers. At first glance, you might think this is a type of phlox, but the rough, lobed and toothed foliage will tell you a different story.
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Scientific Name
Monarda fistulosa
Description
Sometimes called beebalm, wild bergamot (or horsemint) is a native mint with a long history as a valued Missouri herb. Some people make tea from it, but most of us enjoy its large, colorful flowers.
See Also
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!