Field Guide

A common spring wildflower found in forests nearly statewide, large bellwort has bell-shaped flowers that droop downward. The yellow petals sometimes look twisted, almost wilted.

White dogtooth violet, or white trout lily, is a small, early blooming lily that lives in wooded areas. Its flowers are white and its narrow leaves are purplish or brownish mottled. They are often found as a colony of blade-shaped, green-and-brown-mottled leaves poking out of the earth in spring, with only a few producing flowers.

One of our most stunning early spring wildflowers, bluebells is also a popular native plant for gardening. As with all native plant gardening, make sure you get your plants from ethical sources.

There are 3 species of Aureolaria in Missouri. Only combleaf yellow false foxglove is annual, has fernlike, delicately dissected leaves, and glandular hairs. It occurs in the Ozarks.

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.

Yellow lady’s slipper is found statewide. It is among our showiest native orchids, and suffers from its popularity. Although orchids rarely survive transplanting, people try digging them up anyway.

Anyone who’s seen what purple loosestrife has done to New England and the Northeast can tell you how invasive this plant is. Learn how to identify it, so you can report any findings to the Missouri Department of Conservation.

The showy, bright yellow flowers of celandine poppy really stand out in the shady woods and valleys where this plant grows. You should consider this species when you are planting a shade garden!

A big river floodplain species, decurrent false aster has declined as wetlands have been drained and converted to agricultural crop production.

The smooth, finely divided, fernlike foliage of pale corydalis is similar to that of the related wildflower Dutchman’s breeches. But in pale corydalis, the small yellow flowers appear tubelike and lipped.