Field Guide

Wildflowers, Grasses and Other Nonwoody Plants

Showing 1 - 10 of 11 results
American, or common boneset, flower clusters and upper stem leaves
American Boneset (Common Boneset)
Eupatorium perfoliatum
American, or common boneset has small, white flowerheads in flat-topped clusters at the top of the plant. The leaves are hairy, narrowly triangular, and in opposite pairs fused around the stem.
Photo of a tall thoroughwort plant in bloom.
Tall Thoroughwort (Tall Boneset)
Eupatorium altissimum
A stout perennial that can grow to 6 feet tall, tall thoroughwort is a member of the sunflower family that has dull white flowers and distinctive leaves that are opposite, slender, very short-stalked, and with three quite noticeable veins.
Photo of closed gentian flowers
Closed Gentian (Bottle Gentian)
Gentiana andrewsii
Closed gentian, or bottle gentian, never opens — it stays closed and budlike throughout the pollination process. How is it pollinated? Bumblebees push their way into the flowers!
Photo of many blooming ashy sunflower plants, showing gray-green leaves.
Sunflowers
Helianthus spp.
Most people recognize sunflowers when they see them, with their bright yellow ray flowers and rather flattened center of dark disk flowers. There are 16 species of Helianthus in Missouri.
Late boneset plant in bloom, vertical image
Late Boneset (Late-Flowering Thoroughwort)
Eupatorium serotinum
Late boneset, or late-flowering thoroughwort, is a native perennial wildflower with clusters of white, fuzzy-looking flowers. It’s one of nine similar-looking species of thoroughworts in Missouri.
Photo of common boneset plant flower clusters.
Thoroughworts (Bonesets)
Eupatorium spp.
Nine white-flowering species of thoroughworts, or bonesets, have been recorded for Missouri. They have rounded flower clusters that look rather fuzzy, because each little composite flowerhead lacks petal-like ray florets.
Blue sage blooming at Runge Conservation Center
Blue Sage
Salvia azurea
Blue sage is easily identified by its wandlike clusters of sky-blue, two-lipped wildflowers. It blooms July–September in prairies, roadsides, and other open habitats.
American bugleweed blooming on Tucker Prairie
American Bugleweed
Lycopus americanus
Not the showiest of wildflowers, American bugleweed will catch your eye with its interesting geometry. The narrow, toothed leaves are opposite on the stalks and occur at right angles to the pair below.
Eastern figwort flowers
Eastern Figwort (Carpenter's Square)
Scrophularia marilandica
Eastern figwort occurs statewide in rich woods, woodland borders, and bottomlands. It’s usually 2-5 feet high, has square stems and lance-shaped, toothed leaves, and bears spreading clusters of small, green scoop-shaped flowers with brown petal lobes.
American blue hearts blooming flower stalk
American Bluehearts
Buchnera americana
American bluehearts is a single or few-stalked wildflower of prairies and glades. It has distinctive, showy purple flowers that turn black as they age.
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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!