Field Guide

Wildflowers, Grasses and Other Nonwoody Plants

Showing 11 - 20 of 290 results
Photo of lowland brittle fern fronds and fiddleheads growing in woods
Lowland Brittle Fern (Southern Fragile Fern)
Cystopteris protrusa (formerly C. fragilis var. protrusa)
Lowland brittle fern, also called southern fragile fern, is an easily recognized species. It’s a common springtime sight in moist forest soils.
Photo of a broad beech fern
Broad Beech Fern
Phegopteris hexagonoptera
Broad beech fern has broadly triangular leaves that tilt backward from their long, upright stalks. Wings of leafy tissue connect the main leaf lobes along the main axis, and the bottommost lobes usually point downward.
Photo of a bracken fern leaf against a background of forest-floor leaf litter
Bracken
Pteridium aquilinum
Bracken is a fern found nearly worldwide. Its 2–3 times compound leaves are triangular in outline and arise singly from the underground creeping rhizome.
Photo of a rattlesnake fern growing above leaf litter in a woodland
Rattlesnake Fern
Botrypus virginianus (syn. Botrychium virginianum)
Rattlesnake fern rises from the ground with a single stalk. A lacy-cut, bright green fern leaf is stalkless at its tip. At the same joint, a single upright stalk arises that bears clusters of tiny ball-shaped spore cases.
Photo of a cut-leaf grape fern showing whole plant
Cut-Leaf Grape Fern
Botrychium dissectum (syn. Sceptridium dissectum)
Cut-leaf grape fern appears as a single, leathery fern leaf. Another stalk grows upward from the base and bears yellowish spore cases that resemble tiny bunches of grapes. The fleshy leaves turn reddish brown in fall.
Photo of an Engelmann’s adder’s tongue with a black background
Adder's Tongues
Ophioglossum spp.
Four species of adder’s tongue ferns occur in Missouri. They don’t look like typical ferns. They have spoon-shaped leaves and an upright spore-bearing stalk.
Photo of hairy lip fern
Hairy Lip Fern
Myriopteris lanosa (syn. Cheilanthes lanosa)
Hairy lip fern is a hairy, perennial fern that usually grows on rock crevices and ledges. The spore clusters form on the bottom edge of the leaflets and are protected by the curled-under leaf edge.
Western ironweed flowerhead in bloom
Western Ironweed (Baldwin's Ironweed)
Vernonia baldwinii
Ironweeds are tough, grayish-green, branching plants known for their fluffy-looking clusters of reddish-purple florets. They are a familiar sight on roadsides and pastures. Identify western ironweed by the bracts at the base of the flowerheads.
Photo of false Solomon's seal plant with flower cluster
False Solomon's Seal (False Spikenard)
Maianthemum racemosum (formerly Smilacena racemosa)
False Solomon's seal can be distinguished from "true" Solomon's seal by differences in flower shape and placement, the color of the berries, and some characteristics of the leaves.
Photo of fire pink flowers
Fire Pink
Silene virginica
Fire pink is a low, clump-forming perennial with many slender, spreading stems that are sticky from glandular hairs, with open clusters of bright red flowers. This showy native Missouri plant is growing in popularity among home gardeners.
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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!