Field Guide

Hedge parsley is an introduced plant that looks a lot like parsley. It was first collected in Missouri in 1909 and has become much more abundant in recent decades as it spreads along roadsides and railroads.

Tall bellflower is an abundant native bellflower that is easily identified by its stout, tall habit, short, wheel-shaped, blue corolla, and the curved, purple style that projects beyond the flower.

Hibiscus in Missouri? You bet! Hairy rose mallow is a native perennial whose 6-inch-wide blossoms look a lot like those of its tropical relatives. The stalks can get woody and can grow to 8 feet tall.

The showy, bright yellow flowers of celandine poppy really stand out in the shady woods and valleys where this plant grows. You should consider this species when you are planting a shade garden!

Common cinquefoil, or five-finger, is named for its leaves, which are divided into five fingerlike leaflets. One of seven cinquefoils in Missouri, it blooms from April to June and is scattered nearly statewide.

The flowers of southern wild senna don’t look much like typical pea-family flowers, but its leaves and bean pods show the family resemblance. Look for it in moist situations, mostly south of the Missouri River.

Often found on gravelly Ozark streamsides, shining blue star lifts its clusters of showy, light-blue flowers in late spring. A top choice for native wildflower gardening, it is interesting spring, summer, and fall.

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.

A tall, smooth, branching plant with red stems and juicy, dark purple berries, pokeweed is both toxic and a traditional edible potherb called poke salat. It is common statewide.

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.