Field Guide

In summer, you’re almost guaranteed to see big colonies of crown vetch along Missouri's highways. This weedy nonnative plant stabilizes the dirt after road construction but degrades our natural ecosystems.

Water primrose is a common shoreline plant with bright yellow flowers and long, trailing stems. It grows in dense mats in the shallow areas of ponds, lakes, and streams.

Similar to kudzu, Chinese yam is an aggressive vine that overtakes nearly everything within reach that stands still long enough! Learn more about this invasive plant — and please don’t plant it!

The tiny white flowers of this native plant are not very memorable, but the curious, sticky-feeling whorls of narrow leaves and lightweight, 4-sided stems make cleavers unique. And then there’s the tiny, round, “Velcro” covered balls of the seeds, which “stick tight” to your socks!

Pondweeds are rooted aquatic plants with underwater leaves on long, flexible, jointed stems. Some have floating leaves, too, that are differently shaped. Missouri has about 10 species in the pondweed genus.

One of the worst invasive species in the world, Japanese knotweed can thrive in many places and can even damage foundations of buildings — not to mention the harm it causes in natural habitats. Learn to recognize it so you can prevent its spread.

Climbing false buckwheat is a rampant, native, annual or perennial climber that often forms curtainlike masses of twining red stems, covering shrubs and trees. Look for it in moist, open or shaded bottomlands, alluvial valleys, and floodplains.

Wild potato vine is related to the sweet potatoes we buy at grocery stores. This native vine is also related to the morning glories that decorate trellises and to the bindweed that plagues gardeners and farmers.

Water smartweed can live submerged in water, or on wet banks or other soggy ground, yet it can also live in merely moist areas. The stems often sprawl as they grow, taking root at the swollen nodes. The small, pink flowers develop in long, erect clusters.

Instantly recognizable as a type of morning glory, hedge bindweed is common in disturbed habitats and can be a serious agricultural weed, but it is not as problematic as its relative field bindweed.