Wildflowers, Grasses and Other Nonwoody Plants
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Scientific Name
Krigia biflora
Description
There are several members of the aster family that look something like common dandelions. But unlike the familiar lawn weed, two-flowered Cynthia is a native Missouri wildflower.
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Scientific Name
Heterotheca camporum (syn. Chrysopsis villosa var. camporum)
Description
Golden aster can cover entire valleys with its bright yellow flowers. It blooms June through October and is scattered mostly south of the Missouri River.
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Oxalis stricta
Description
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.
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Scientific Name
Hypericum perforatum
Description
In Europe, St. John’s-wort was long used as a medicinal herb and to ward off evil magic. Today, researchers are finding it can treat depression. Yet it poisons livestock and in some places is an invasive weed.
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Phytolacca americana
Description
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.
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Scientific Name
Lilium michiganense
Description
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.
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Scientific Name
Commelina communis
Description
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.
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Scientific Name
Verbesina virginica
Description
White crownbeard is a tall native perennial wildflower with clusters of white flowerheads. It's called “wingstem” for the narrow green wings running along the stem. It’s called “frostweed” because it forms "frost flowers": strange and beautiful formations at the stem bases after a sudden hard frost.
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Silphium terebinthinaceum
Description
Of Missouri’s six rosinweeds, prairie dock is identified by its large, leathery, unlobed leaves, which are nearly all in a basal whorl. Only a few small leaves grow on the stem.
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Scientific Name
Passiflora lutea
Description
Yellow passion flower is the smaller of Missouri’s two Passiflora species. Both are vines that climb via tendrils. This one has yellowish-green flowers about an inch wide. Look for it along and south of the Missouri River.
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!