Field Guide

Smooth spiderwort is the most common and widely distributed of Missouri's spiderworts. It has slender, straight or zigzag stems. The long, narrow leaves are folded lengthwise and attach to the stem in a thick node. The 3 petals of the triangular flower are blue, rose, purple, lavender, or white.

Three species of yucca grow wild in Missouri. Spanish bayonet was introduced from the Southwest and has escaped from cultivation, but our two soapweeds are native.

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.

Compass plant grows to 8 feet tall and has foot-long, deeply cleft leaves at its base. It got its common name because its leaves turn so that the surfaces face east and west to take full advantage of the sun’s rays.

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.

Narrow-leaved vervain is a short, slender perennial with single stems or with upper stems sparingly branched. Its many small flowers are crowded on narrow spikes. The corollas are tubular, deep lavender or purple, with 5 spreading lobes.

Sometimes called wild oregano, dittany, like true oregano, is a member of the mint family and can be used as a culinary herb and in teas. Look for it on dry, wooded slopes in Ozark counties.

Common ground cherry is closely related to the tomatillo, which you’ve probably seen in the grocery store or had in a delicious salsa verde at a Mexican restaurant. The fruits of ground cherry are edible, too.

You can find small colonies of lance-leaved loosestrife nearly throughout the state. It has showy but nodding yellow flowers and opposite, closely spaced, lanceolate or ovate leaves.

Horse nettle is a native perennial with spiny stems and leaves, white to purplish flowers, and toxic fruits that look like tiny yellow tomatoes. It does well in disturbed habitats, and many people consider it a weed.