|
Native Plant Program
Gardening with native plants only makes good
sense. Just what is a native plant? A native is a plant that originated in a
particular climate and was not introduced, or a plant that existed within the
state borders prior to the arrival of settlers. These plants generally display
better hardiness, disease and insect resistance and tolerate local weather
extremes. Native plants conserve soil and water because they don't require
fertilizers and pesticides. Native plants also provide habitat and food for
birds and other wildlife.
For more information about natives visit
Grow Native!,
the joint program of the Missouri Department of Conservation and
the Missouri Department of Agriculture. The Grow Native! program helps
protect and restore our state's biodiversity by increasing conservation
awareness of native plants and their effective use.
| Our native program is
divided into three categories
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
Perennials
|
 |
Asclepias tuberosa
Common Name: Butterfly Milkweed
Lots of bright orange, flat-topped flower
clusters open in early June. Plants bloom for many weeks. Host plant
for the monarch butterfly and a great nectar source for many other
butterflies and pollinators...
|
|
 |
Aruncus dioicus
Common Name: Goat's Beard
Large wands of frothy, creamy white flowers in
June. Tiny brown seed capsules dry and stay on females plants after
flowering is finished. Foliage is similar to astilbe but growth habit is
shrub like
|
|
 |
Amsonia illustris
Common Name: Shining Blue Star
Rounded spikes of starry, sky blue flowers
emerge in spring and last for several weeks. Deep green willowlike leaves
turn bright gold in the fall. The plant takes on a substantial rounded
form in the garden. Plant Of Merit and swallowtail butterflies love the
nectar.....
|
|
 |
Aster oblongifolius
Common Name: Aromatic Aster
One of the last wildflowers to bloom, this
aster is loaded with blue-purple daisylike flowers that persist into late
fall. This aster grows into a tidy, compact, self-supporting mound and is
a Plants of Merit.
|
|
 |
Baptisia australis
Common Name: Blue False Indigo
Clusters of indigo-blue, pealike flowers
followed by interesting blue-black pods. Foliage is blue-green and growth
habit is shrublike. Plant of Merit
|
|
 |
Calylophus 'Prairie Load'
Common Name: Evening Primrose
2007 GreatPlants.
Butter-yellow cup shaped flowers on spreading ground cover sub-shrub.
Outstanding selection of native. Flowers all summer if trimmed. |
|
 |
Callirhoe involucrata
Common Name: Purple Poppy Mallow
Showy, cup-shaped red-violet flowers bloom from
June through frost. The trailing stems will hang over walls and make an
excellent ground cover. This pretty ground cover is a Plants of Merit.
|
|
 |
Chelone obliqua
Common Name: Rose Turtlehead
Dense spikes of rose-pink flowers are a welcome
sight in late summer and early fall. Deep green foliage is handsome all
season long. Late bloomer.
|
|
 |
Echinacea paradoxa
Common Name: Yellow Coneflower
Each flower stem produces a single bloom with yellow ray petals around a
brown cone-shaped seed head. Very drought tolerant. |
|
 |
Liatris pycnostachya
Common Name: Prairie Blazing Star
Unbranched stalks bear dense spikes of magenta
flowers in July and August on strong stems. The nectar-rich flowers are a
favorite with butterflies and hummingbirds. Songbirds love the seed.
|
|
 |
Lobelia cardinalis
Common Name: Cardinal Flower
Strong, upright stems bear dozens of brilliant
red flowers in late summer. A favorite source of nectar for hummingbirds.
This striking plant is a Plant of Merit winner.
|
|
 |
Matteucia struthiopteris
Common Name: Ostrich Fern
Tall fronds unfurl in late April-early May. This large yet elegant
vase-shaped fern is very popular & often planted in open shade gardens. The
long arching light-medium green leaves are slender at their bases and widen
dramatically before their tips, thus its namesake. Will tolerate some sun if
kept moist. |
|
 |
Mertensia virginica
Common Name: Virginia Bluebells
Pink flower buds open to sky blue in March and
April. Foliage is blue-green. This plant is a spring ephemeral, meaning
the foliage goes dormant in summer. Great for naturalizing in a rich,
moist woodland environment....
|
|
 |
Oenothera macrocarpa
Common Name: Missouri Primrose
A showy, trailing plant with large, yellow,
fragrant flowers up to 4" across. Plants bloom for a long period from
spring through summer....
|
|
 |
Polystichum acrostichoides
Common Name: Christmas Fern
This beautiful native fern has glossy,
deep-green, lance-shaped fronds that emerge upright, then proceed to arch
gently and eventually 'lay down' to cover the ground as they mature. This
evergreen fern has 'hairy' brown leaf stems and fiddleheads. Plant of
Merit.
|
|
 |
Rudbeckia fulgida
Common Name: Orange Coneflower
Yellow petals surround a brown-purple central
seed head. Plants bloom from July-September and are good cut flowers.
Plants form large clumps after several years, especially in rich loose
soil, but are not invasive.
|
|
 |
Solidago speciosa
Common Name: Showy Goldenrod
Very showy clusters of bright yellow flowers
on stiff reddish stems with narrow leaves. Clump forming plants bloom in
late summer and early fall...
|
Trees & Shrubs
|
 |
|
|
 |
Callicarpa americana
Common Name: American Beautyberry
Small pink blooms in summer are followed by
clusters of brilliant fuschia berries in the fall. Berries color in early
October and remain until they are eaten by birds and small mammals in late
November.
|
|
 |
Ceanothus americanus
Common Name: New Jersey Tea
A low-growing, compact shrub that's excellent
for hot, dry sites. Billows of delicate white flowers form at the end of
young branches in May and June. Clusters of small black fruit form in July
and August.
|
|
 |
Cephalanthus occidentalis
Common Name: Buttonbush
Hundreds of ball-shaped, creamy white flowers
dangle from the bush in August. Butterflies and insects find the nectar
irresistible. The nutlike seeds are eaten by many waterfowl and many types
of birds use it as a nesting site. Will grow in bogs
|
|
 |
Cercis canadensis
Common Name: Eastern Redbud
Leafless horizontal branches are smothered in
small deep pink flowers in early spring. Red-purple, pea-shaped seed pods
follow the flowers. Heart-shaped leaves become a quilt of yellow and green
in fall....
|
|
 |
Celtis occidentalis
Common Name: Hackberry
A reliable all-purpose shade tree which is
pyramidal when young then develops a broad crown with ascending branches.
The leaves are medium green. Fall foliage is a soft yellow. Birds and
wildlife relish the small, round, orange-red or purple fleshy fruit.
|
|
 |
Cornus florida
Common Name: Flowering Dogwood
Small, low-branched tree with spreading
horizontal branches. Distinctive white flowers, 3" in diameter, bloom
mid-April to mid-May. Clusters of glossy red fruit in fall persist into
winter and are relished by birds. Consistent deep red fall leaf color.
|
|
 |
Hamamelis vernalis
Common Name: Ozark or Vernal Witchhazel
This unique native shrub flowers from late
winter into early spring, when little else is blooming in the landscape.
The fragrant flowers are clustered or solitary, yellow to dark red in
color, This Missouri native grows 6-10 ft. Plant of Merit
|
|
 |
Lindera benzoin
Common Name: Spicebush
A broad, rounded multi-stemmed shrub covered
with fragrant yellow-green flowers in early spring. The flowers open
before the leaves emerge and are held close to the branches. Aromatic
light green leaves turn deep yellow-gold in fall. Birds feed on the
brilliant red fruits of the female plant. Host plant for the spicebush
swallowtail and Plant of Merit
|
|
 |
Physocarpus
opulifolius
Common Name: Ninebark
Clusters of white to pinkish flowers resembling spirea bloom May-June. Birds
eat the seed formed in reddish drooping fruit clusters in fall. The bark
provides winter interest as it peels away in strips to reveal layers of
reddish to light brown inner bark on mature stems. This handsome shrub is a
Missouri Botanical Garden Plants of Merit winner. |
|
 |
Rhus
aromatica
Common Name: Fragrant Sumac
Low, irregular spreading shrub with lower branches that grow horizontally
then turn up at the tips. Tends to sucker and root along stems that touch
the soil, forming a dense stand. Yellow-green flowers appear before leaves
emerge. Clusters of fuzzy red fruit form on female plants August-September
and may persist into winter. Many birds and mammals feed on the fruit.
Leaves turn bright red-purple in fall. |
Grasses & Vines
|
 |
Panicum virgatum
Common Name: Switch Grass
A clump-forming, columnar grass that grows 3
ft. tall with flower heads rising 3 ft. above the foliage. Medium green
leaves turn yellow, sometimes with orange tints, in autumn, fading to tan
in winter. . Flower heads turn beige in fall with the seed plumes
persisting well into winter. Birds feed on the seed and plants provide
cover for wildlife..
|
|
 |
Schizachyrium scoparium
Common Name: Little Bluestem
A small, non-spreading, clump-forming grass
with blue-green leaves that turn reddish orange in the fall. Fluffy silver
seed heads are ornamental through winter. Tolerates heat and humidity
easily
|
|
 |
Sporobolus
heterolepis
Common Name: Prairie Dropseed
Very thin, emerald green leaves form a dense arching tuft. Seed heads form
in August and give off a distinct aroma. These graceful clumps turn yellow
or deep orange in fall. Provides food and cover for wildlife. Plant of
Merit. |
|
 |
Parthenocissus quinquefolia
Common Name: Virginia Creeper
A deciduous, climbing woody vine that attached
to flat surfaces by tendrils ending in adhesive tips. Leaves composed of
five leaflets emerge bronze in spring, mature to dull green in summer and
change to purple or crimson-red in autumn. Grow in full sun or full shade
in any kind of soil
|
|
 |
Passiflora
incarnata
Common Name: Passion Flower
An exotic flowering vine native to southern Missouri. Climbs by tendrils.
The intricately fringed flowers, produced from mid summer to early fall are
purplish blue with pink and white parts. Each flower is up to three inches
across. Can grow in extremely poor soil, in rich soil it will grow
rampantly! Extremely adaptable, prefers sun. |
|
 |
Campsis radicans
Common Name: Trumpet Creeper
Woody vine that attaches to any surface with
rootlike holdfasts. Hummingbirds feed on nectar produced by clusters of
orange-red trumpet-shaped flowers from July-September. Brown seed pods, up
to 6 in. long, form in late summer
|
|
 |
Celastrus scandens
Common Name: American Bittersweet
A twining woody vine that will grow vertically
or sprawl horizontally over bushes and fences. Hanging clusters of
yellow-orange fruit split open to show bright red-orange seed coats.
Plants are male or female
|
|
 |
Aristolochia tomentosa
Common Name: Dutchman's Pipe-vine
A high-growing woody vine that climbs by twisitng its trunk around a sturdy
support, such as a tree. Strongly curved, green-yellow, pipe-shaped flowers
bloom May-June. Dark green, heart-shaped leaves grow up to 15 in. long and
wide. Young stems and lower surface of leaves are covered with dense white
hairs. Interesting brown fruit capsules form in September. |
|
.gif)
