Sweet flag is a deciduous, spreading, marginal aquatic perennial that features iris-like, sword-shaped leaf blades (to 3/4" wide). Mature leaves have one wavy edge and a prominent midrib. It thrives in wet, boggy soils and is commonly grown as a foliage accent in water gardens and pond margins.

Allegheny Serviceberry is a small, deciduous, usually multi-trunked understory tree or tall shrub. It is found in open woods, on sheltered slopes and along wood margins. White flowers are showy, five-petaled and slightly fragrant. They appear in drooping clusters in early spring before the leaves. Flowers give way to small, round, edible berries which ripen to dark purplish-black in June. The berries give the tree one of its common names, Juneberry, and resemble blueberries in size, color and taste. Berries are often used in jams, jellies and pies. Finely-toothed, obovate leaves emerge with a bronzish-purple tinge in spring, mature to lustrous dark green in summer and turn red-orange in fall. This tree is primarily distinguished from the very similar Missouri native downy serviceberry (A. arborea - see H290) by its hairless (laevis means smooth) foliage, purplish-tinged new growth and tastier (sweeter and juicier) berries.

A deciduous ground cover with soft green, kidney-shaped leaves. A single, reddish-brown flower, up to 1" across, blooms under the leaves in late spring. Forms large colonies in cool, moist woodland areas across the Ozarks.

This native milkweed species is the most common. The dense round clusters of dull lavender flowers have an extremely sweet fragrance and produce abundant nectar, attracting a wide variety of pollinators, among them the large and striking Monarch Butterfly. Milkweed plays a critical role in the life cycle of the Monarch, serving as the preferred host plant for its conspicuously black and yellow striped larvae and for the green chrysalis rimmed with gold dots attached to the bottom of a leaf.

This native deciduous holly is a small to medium-sized deep green shrub with yellow fall color. It is grown for its outstanding berry display. The showy red berries ripen in September and will sometimes persist well into January. The bark is attractive in winter and it is often found in wet areas.

In late spring, beardless, crestless, deep copper flowers bloom. The flowers are attractive to and are pollinated by hummingbirds. The leaves are bright green and sword shaped; they remain attractive all season long.

This is the quintessential Black-eyed Susan of the native stars with its large golden yellow flowers and dark-brown, conical centers. It is easy to grow and is a species often used in native wildflower seed mixes. Plants produce a bright show of color mid-spring through summer, and will self-seed for a later display.

Clumped or few-stemmed shrub with reddish-brown to dark brown or almost black limbs. Branches are spreading to erect, yellowish-green to dark brown. Leaves are dark green above, white-glaucous beneath, hairy when young, becoming smooth with age. The leaves are narrowly lance-shaped and serrated. Catkins emerge with the leaves; flowers in May and fruits follow in June. Found in wet meadows, along stream banks and shores and other wet places.

This shorter aster is usually less than three feet tall and is an excellent late bloomer for the mixed border. Loads of blue flowers with yellow centers bloom in fall. The foliage is blue-green and stems are dark. Butterflies love the nectar.