Missouri Natives

Prairie Milkweed (Asclepias sullivantii), also known as Sullivant’s Milkweed, is a native Midwestern perennial with broad blue-green foliage, rosy pink flower clusters, and exceptional value for monarch habitat. Upright plants bring a polished look to prairie gardens, pollinator borders, and naturalized plantings while supplying nectar to bees and butterflies.

Carex comosa is a large tufted wetland sedge. The narrow leaves are lime green and shiny. In late spring triangular culms rise above the foliage to 5’ bearing large chartreuse bottlebrush shaped spikes. Attractive warm brown seed spikes follow. This bold sedge flourishes in sun or part sun in damp or wet sites. Plants prosper in difficult wet mucky soils or even in shallow water.

Red Annual Phlox is a favored variety that produces vivid lipstick-red blooms and stands out among compact wildflowers. Plants grow about 1 foot tall, making them well suited to borders, containers, and mass plantings. The bright flowers provide dependable color while maintaining a manageable garden height.

The Eastern Pollinator Blend is a wildflower mixture for pollinator conservation in the eastern United States and southeast Canada. The western planting boundary would be a line straight south from the eastern borders of North and South Dakota. This mix contains a balanced blend of native annuals and perennials that provide nectar and pollen throughout the growing season. If you have specific mix requirements for pollinator conservation projects, please contact us regarding a custom mix for your area. Plant at 5 oz. per 1,000 sq.ft. or 7-14 lbs. per acre.

The Buffalo Grass is a warm-season grass that is the predominant component of the shortgrass prairies of the Great Plains. Once established, it is extremely drought tolerant and tough. It can be used as a xeriscape lawn grass for water conservation, and it is a common component in range mixtures. White Tailed Deer, Bison and Prairie Dogs utilize it for forage, and it is a larval host for the Green Skipper. Plants are stoloniferous and can invade flower beds if an edging or barrier is not used.

Every season brings something new from Black Chokeberry, a hardworking native shrub. Aronia melanocarpa opens clusters of white spring flowers, then sets glossy black berries packed with antioxidants that are great in juice, jams and baking. In fall, the leaves turn brilliant shades of red and orange. This multi-stemmed shrub adapts to both wet and sandy soils, making it ideal for rain gardens, hedges and naturalized plantings.

Distinctive corky, warty bark sets this tough, adaptable native shade tree apart at a glance. Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) handles wind, drought, poor soil and city conditions with ease, and its small, sweet purple fruits are relished by birds through fall and winter. Its spreading, elm-like crown makes it a dependable choice for shade, windbreaks and street plantings. This seed was collected in the northern part of the species' range for extra cold hardiness.

While almost nothing else is blooming in late winter, this compact native shrub brings color to the garden. Ozark Witch Hazel (Hamamelis vernalis) covers its bare stems with small, spidery flowers in shades of yellow to coppery red, and their spicy fragrance carries on mild days. This multi-stemmed shrub is easy to tuck into borders, woodland edges or streambank plantings, and its leaves turn a clear butter yellow in fall.

Fragrant white blossoms cover this tough, thicket-forming native in early spring, before the leaves emerge. American Plum (Prunus americana) follows its flowers with small, sweet-tart red to yellow plums in late summer, perfect for fresh eating, jams and pies. It is extremely hardy and drought tolerant, and its dense growth makes a great windbreak, wildlife shelter or edible hedge on farms and larger properties.

Among the tallest trees in eastern North America, this towering native hardwood has straight trunks and uniquely shaped, four-lobed leaves that turn golden yellow in fall. Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) blooms in late spring with tulip-like flowers of yellow-green banded in orange, rich in nectar for bees. Fast growing and long lived, it is a superb shade tree for large properties, parks and reforestation projects.

From the northern plains to mountain foothills, this hardy, adaptable native thrives. Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) bears fragrant, bottlebrush-like spikes of white flowers in spring, followed by clusters of glossy, dark red to black cherries in late summer. The tart fruit makes wonderful jelly and syrup, and birds flock to it. Its suckering, thicket-forming habit is excellent for windbreaks, wildlife plantings and stabilizing slopes.

Homemade syrups, jams, pies and wines all start with the dark purple berries of this fast-growing native shrub. American Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) is crowned in early summer with broad, flat clusters of creamy white flowers, which are used for cordials and teas, before heavy clusters of berries follow. It thrives in moist soil, spreads into an attractive thicket, and is a magnet for pollinators and songbirds. This northern collection is especially cold hardy.

Feathery needles that turn rusty orange before dropping each fall give this stately native conifer a look all its own. Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum) has a narrow, pyramidal shape and soft foliage, and it is famous for thriving with its feet wet, yet it adapts surprisingly well to ordinary lawns and dry sites once established. Its fast growth, tidy form and fibrous, reddish bark make it a standout shade or specimen tree, and it is a favorite for rain gardens, pond edges and bonsai.

Northern wild senna produces clusters of butter-yellow flowers above handsome divided foliage in midsummer. Dark anthers add contrast, followed by flat seedpods that remain ornamental into autumn. This durable prairie plant handles heat and supports sulphur butterfly caterpillars.

Late Figwort, also called Maryland Figwort, is an eastern and central North American perennial whose genus name recalls its long history in herbal use. Tall square stems carry small reddish-green, nectar-rich flowers from midsummer into fall. Native bees, wasps, butterflies, and hummingbirds visit the blooms, while birds use the plant for food and shelter. Grow it in loamy or sandy soil from full sun to shade after 60 days of cold, moist stratification, and surface sow the tiny seeds.

Water Horehound is native to nearly all of the contiguous United States and has long occupied open marshes, fens, and wet meadows. Although it belongs to the mint family, its foliage lacks the strong mint scent; small white flowers sit in the leaf axils. Those flowers can serve small pollinating insects, while the stems add cover in wetland habitat. Give it sun or partial shade and moist to wet soil.

Seedbox is a North American native of moist prairies and marsh edges, named for its distinctive cube-shaped seed capsule. Small yellow flowers appear at the leaf joints on reddish stems. Bees visit the blooms and leaf-feeding insects use the foliage. Grow it in sun to partial shade in medium-wet soil or a rain garden.

Common Rush has been cultivated more widely than other rushes and occurs across much of the world, including North American wetlands. Bright green, nearly leafless stems make a fine-textured stand beside ponds. Wetland birds forage and shelter among the stems and seeds. Grow in full sun on medium to wet soil.

Bottle Gentian is a slow-growing North American perennial whose closed blue flowers have earned the older name Closed Bottle Gentian. Bumblebees are strong enough to push into the late-season blossoms and are its principal pollinators. The long-lived plants bring color to wet meadows when many summer flowers have faded. Grow in sun to partial shade and medium to moist soil.

Blunt Spike Rush is a small North American wetland native with a different life history from many rushes: it is an annual that reseeds. Upright stems and compact seed heads offer cover for frogs and perches for dragonflies. Aquatic beetles, leafhoppers, and shore flies also use its wet habitat. Sow in full sun on mud or consistently wet soil.

Wood Reed Grass is native from eastern Canada through the eastern and central United States, where it grows in damp woods and thickets. Its tall, wavy seed panicles turn tan late in summer, adding movement to shaded plantings. Seed heads and dense stems give birds forage and cover, while deer usually leave mature stands alone. Grow it in partial to full shade and moist, fertile soil.

Hairy-fruited Lake Sedge has a long natural role in North American marshes and lake-edge sedge beds. Underground rhizomes create extensive stands that shelter wetland insects and waterbirds. Because this cool-season sedge spreads strongly, it fits restoration-scale plantings better than small beds. Give it full sun and wet ground.

Awl-fruited Oval Sedge, also called Blunt Broom Sedge, is a native of North American wet lowlands. Its pale green blades and July seed spikes give it a lighter look than many other sedges. Moth, skipper, and butterfly larvae use sedge foliage, and waterfowl and songbirds eat the seeds. Plant in sun or partial shade in moist to wet soil.

Copper-shouldered Oval Sedge, also called Bicknell's Sedge, is a native of North American prairies and open uplands. This cool-season perennial forms upright clumps and tolerates loam, clay, or sand from medium-wet to fairly dry. Grasshoppers feed on its leaves, and seed-eating birds including Prairie Chickens and sparrows use its fruit. It is a useful sedge for sunny, mixed native plantings.

Blue Joint Grass is a widespread North American wetland grass with a long natural role in streamside and meadow plant communities. Pink-green summer seed heads rise above rhizomes that help hold damp soil in place. Its dense growth offers cover for wetland insects and birds, and it can spread quickly across restoration sites. Give it full sun to partial shade and moist to wet ground.

Elm-leaved Goldenrod (Solidago ulmifolia) is a distinctive North American native plant. Arching sprays of yellow flowers appear from midsummer into fall above elm-like leaves, bringing late nectar to woodland edges. It matures at approximately 36 inches tall and flowers from early to mid summer through mid to late summer through early to mid fall. Plant it in full sun to partial shade, in dry-medium to medium conditions, with loamy soil or sandy soil. Space plants 18–24 inches apart for healthy growth and airflow.

Downy sunflower forms upright colonies of silver-green foliage topped with clear yellow daisies. The soft leaves and sturdy stems give sunny prairie plantings a distinctive texture from spring through fall. Once established, it tolerates dry soil and offers seeds for birds after bloom.

Saw-tooth Sunflower (Helianthus grosseserratus) is a distinctive North American native plant. Tall reddish-purple stems and sharply toothed leaves support clusters of yellow blooms that feed insects and seed-eating birds. It matures at approximately 96 inches tall and flowers from mid to late summer through early to mid fall. Plant it in full sun to partial shade, in dry-medium through medium-wet conditions, with loamy soil or clay soil. Space plants 36–48 inches apart for healthy growth and airflow.

Shrubby St. John's Wort (Hypericum prolificum) is a distinctive North American native plant. This well-behaved native shrub forms a rounded habit and covers itself with bright yellow flowers that are especially attractive to bumblebees. It matures at approximately 48 inches tall and flowers from early to mid summer through mid to late summer. Plant it in full sun to partial shade, in dry-medium through medium-wet conditions, with loamy soil, clay soil, sandy soil or poor soil. Space plants 36–48 inches apart for healthy growth and airflow.

Allegheny Monkeyflower (Mimulus ringens) is a moisture-loving native perennial with violet-blue, snapdragon-like flowers. It thrives along pond margins, in wet meadows, and in rain gardens where soil stays consistently moist. The upright plants bloom through summer and provide nectar for bees and other pollinators. Mature flowering stems typically reach about 18 to 24 inches tall.

Don't let the name fool you! This is mainly an Eastern native plant. Known botanically as Helianthus occidentalis, the Western Sunflower has a distinctive growth habit that makes it easy to recognize. Most of its leaves cluster in a rosette at the plant’s base, while a slender stalk rises from the center and can reach about three feet tall. A brilliant yellow flower head appears at the top of the stem. Because the stalk bears very few leaves, the species is also commonly called the “naked-stemmed sunflower” or “few-leaved sunflower.”