Field Guide

Wildflowers, Grasses and Other Nonwoody Plants

Showing 1 - 10 of 12 results
Water primrose flower, bud, and leaves
Water Primrose
Ludwigia peploides
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.
Photo of Chinese yam showing leaves and bulbils
Chinese Yam
Dioscorea oppositifolia (sometimes called D. batatas)
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!
Photo of cleavers flower cluster with developing fruits
Cleavers (Bedstraw; Goose Grass)
Galium aparine
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!
Photo of common dayflower flower and buds.
Common Dayflower
Commelina communis
The flowers of dayflower are truly blue, and they have only two conspicuous petals. A fast-growing, sprawling, but shallow-rooted weed, this introduced species commonly annoys gardeners.
Photo of water smartweed plant and flower cluster
Water Smartweed
Persicaria amphibia (formerly Polygonum amphibium)
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.
Photo of hedge bindweed flowers
Hedge Bindweed
Calystegia sepium (also Convolvulus sepium)
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.
Photo of butterfly pea plant with flowers
Butterfly Pea
Clitoria mariana
Butterfly pea is a low, shrubby, or twining perennial in the pea family, with showy, butterfly-like flowers. The leaves are compound with three leaflets. This species grows in the southern parts of Missouri, in acid soils.
Photo of sand vine, leaves with flower cluster.
Sand Vine (Climbing Milkweed)
Cynanchum laeve
Bees, butterflies, and other insects love its nectar, but sand vine is also a problem weed that can be difficult to eradicate. Some people cultivate it as an ornamental. Beekeepers value it as an excellent honey plant.
Rope dodder stems
Dodders
Cuscuta spp.
Dodders are easy to identify, even though at first you might not recognize them as plants. These parasitic plants usually look like a hairlike mass of yellow or orange, leafless, wiry, vining stems wrapping around the stems of other plants.
Ground ivy or creeping Charlie flowers and leaves
Ground Ivy (Creeping Charlie)
Glechoma hederacea
Ground ivy, or creeping Charlie, is a creeping, nonwoody plant that often forms loose mats. A native of Eurasia, this member of the mint family has been introduced nearly throughout the United States. It is considered a lawn and garden weed.
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!