Native Plant Information
- Sun/Shade List
- Plant Picker: Find plants that fit your needs
- Alternative Species
- Seedling Identification
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American basket flower
(Centaurea americana)
Basket flower is an easy to grow annual that has a long flowering period. Flowers have a cream colored center with bright purple edges and they interestingly close at night. There is an interwoven pattern below the petals, thus the common name. Flowers are produced from May to August.
American Basswood
(Tilia americana)
A tall stately large tree with dark green leaves. In late spring, fragrant yellow flowers provide high quality nectar for bees. Fall color may be deep yellow.
American Beautyberry
(Callicarpa americana)
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.
American Bittersweet
(Celastrus scandens)
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. Both sexes are needed for fruit set.
American Filbert; Hazelnut
(Corylus americana)
A deciduous multi-stemmed shrub with dark green leaves that forms a rounded thicket. In spring, male flowers appear in showy, 2-3 in. long, yellow-brown catkins and female flowers develop as small, reddish, inconspicuous catkins. In July, female flowers mature into egg-shaped, 1/2 in. long, edible nuts which are encased in husklike bracts. Quail, grouse, blue jays, squirrel and deer feed on varaious parts of the plant. Fall color varies from combinations of orange, rose, purplish red, yellow and green to dull yellowish green.
American Holly
(Ilex opaca)
Evergreen tree with a narrow, pyramidal crown and dark green leaves. Female plants produce red berries which ripen in October and persist throughout the winter. Birds are attracted to the fruit.
American Hornbeam
(Carpinus caroliniana)
A small to medium multi-stemmed tree forming wide spreading rounded tops. A subtle beauty often overlooked. Simple toothed leaves are dark green and have variable yellow, orange,red or reddish purple fall color. Beautiful thin, bluish-gray bark that almost 'ripples'as the tree matures. Hence another common name 'Musclewood'.A Missouri Botanical Garden Plant of Merit-
American jointweed
(Polygonella americana)
An attactive, small shrub for a sunny, well-drained position. Masses of small, white to pinkish flowers are produced in many spikes (racemes) from June to Sept. The fruits mature in October. Twigs are light to dark brown with many joints (hence the common name) and appear scaly. A unique plant for a dry site.
American Smoketree
(Cotinus obovatus)
Considered a small tree or a large shrub. Rounded bluish to dark green leaves that turn a spectacular mix of yellow,orange and amber to red and burgundy in fall. Huge pale green clusters of flowerheads with silken hairs, up to 12" across, form the appearance of "smoke" in late spring. Bark is an attractive gray-brown and scaly when mature. Our native Smoketree is much better and easier to grow than its Asian cousins that are more often seen in the trade.
American Snowbell
(Styrax americana)
An unusual spring flowering native shrub. Fragrant white bell-shaped flowers with reflexed petals droop from the branches in late spring. The rounded leaves are dark green, bark is gray to reddish-brown. A shrub of subtle, elegant beauty. No appreciable fall color.
Aromatic Aster
(Aster oblongifolius)
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 winner.
Arrow arum
(Peltandra virginica)
An easy to grow, spectacular tropical-looking native plant that is great for containers or small ponds. Large arrowhead leaves are held on 18" stems. Greenish-white spathe and spadix flowers appear in late spring and then form green seedpods that ripen to shiny, metallic black seeds-very attractive! Requires sun or partial shade.
Arrowwood
(Viburnum dentatum)
Flat-topped clusters of white flowers in late spring are followed by blue-black, berry-like fruit, which are very attractive to birds and wildlife. Glossy, dark green leaves turn yellow, orange or red in fall.
