Field Guide

As pretty as this wildflower is, the common name “Jacob’s Ladder” comes from its ladderlike leaves, which made people think of the story from Genesis in which Jacob dreams of a ladder reaching up to heaven.

Of the many invasive nonnative plants that were originally introduced to stop soil erosion and improve soils, kudzu is one of the worst. This “vine that ate the South” is often the first plant that comes to mind when we think of “invasive plants.”

Missouri bladderpod is a small, yellow-flowered member of the mustard family that is found only in southwest Missouri. It gets its name from the spherical fruits or “bladders” that contain seeds.

The flower of wake robin, or trillium, has 3 petals and 3 sepals, and 3 leaves that subtend the solitary flower. The petal color varies in this common woodland spring wildflower, but it is most commonly brownish or maroon.

The largest trillium in Missouri has white petals, and when it blooms in spring, the flowers droop or hang sideways. Look for white wake robin in eastern and east-central Missouri, and in counties bordering the Missouri River.

Ozark wake robin is a rare trillium that grows in the southern Ozarks of Missouri. It lives in shady locations in upland hardwood forests.

In spring, wildflower lovers locate wild ginger by looking for its unique, hairy, heart-shaped leaves, then by stooping to view the small, three-parted brown flowers that form between the leaf bases, close to the ground.

Bird’s-foot trefoil forms low patches of bright yellow flowers along roadsides, having been planted to stabilize soil after road construction. Up close, it clearly has pea flowers. The leaves are cloverlike, with two leafy stipules at the base of each.

Pencil flower is small and often overlooked. It has wiry stems, long, bristly hairs, three-parted leaves, and orangish-yellow flowers.

Wood betony has a tight spiral of tubular, hooded yellow flowers atop a plant adorned with deeply incised, fernlike leaves that are about as attractive as the flowers themselves. In early spring, these leaves have a beautiful wine-red coloration.