Native Wildflowers of Wisconsin

Snow Trillium (Trillium nivale)

Photo by Jeff Nesta

Snow trillium (Trillium nivale), a threatened wildflower in Wisconsin, blooms from late March through late April, making it one of the very first spring ephemerals to appear—often while snow is still on the ground. It typically grows to a height of 3 to 6 inches. Its single flower, measuring up to 2 inches across, features three elegant white tepals—structures that combine the characteristics of petals and sepals—alongside three green sepals and six yellow stamens. Below the bloom, three olive green or green leaves are arranged in a whorl, each up to 2 inches long and 1-1/4 inches wide. Snow trillium prefers filtered sunlight during the spring, before the trees leaf out, and light shade during the summer. It also likes loamy or rocky mesic to dry soil enriched with decaying leaf matter. It is commonly found in rich woodlands, thinly wooded bluffs, and upper riverbanks.

Sources:

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources — Snow Trillium species profile

USDA Plants Database — Trillium nivale

Illinois Wildflowers — Snow Trillium overview

Flora of North America — Trillium nivale botanical description

NatureServe Explorer — Conservation status for Trillium nivale

(EW)

Table of Contents

1. Early Spring Wildflowers

2. Late Spring Wildflowers

3. Summer Wildflowers

4. Summer/Fall Wildflowers

Field Thistle (Cirsium discolor)

Field thistle, often confused with its aggressive relatives, plays a crucial role as a native perennial in the ecology of eastern and central North America. Reaching heights of three to five feet, it bears soft lavender flowerheads—two inches across, perched atop bristled green cups that nourish late-season pollinators.

Its long, lobed leaves, spined at the tips and stretching up to a foot, catch sunlight and offer shelter to a host of creatures. Despite its formidable appearance, field thistle is a generous host: bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds flock to its nectar-rich blooms, while goldfinches feast on its seeds and line their nests with its silky down. Among its many visitors, the painted lady butterfly lays eggs on field thistle, its caterpillars feeding on its leaves.

Thriving in dry, open spaces—fields, roadsides, and prairie remnants—field thistle plays a quiet but essential role in restoration. It reseeds readily, anchoring disturbed soils and stitching together fragmented habitats. In native gardens, it offers both beauty and ecological function, though it’s often overlooked due to confusion with aggressive non-native thistles like Cirsium vulgare. Unlike those invaders, field thistle blends into the community without overwhelming it.

Field Thistle (Cirsium discolor)

Field thistle typically grows 3 to 7 feet tall, with upright, hairy stems that may branch near the top. Its flower heads are 1½ to 2 inches across, composed entirely of tubular disc florets in shades of pink to lavender, rarely white. Each head is surrounded by fish-scale-like bracts tipped with bent spines. Leaves are deeply lobed and spiny, up to 9 inches long and 3 inches wide, with a distinctive white underside due to dense hairs. The stems are also hairy but not spiny. This biennial thrives in open habitats—moist to dry prairies, pastures, savannas, roadsides, and forest edges—especially in areas with reduced competition and full sun (SF)

Cup Plant (Silphium perfoliatum)

Cup plant is a powerhouse of prairie biodiversity. Its water-holding leaf cups offer a rare resource for birds and insects during dry spells, while its abundant nectar and pollen support a wide array of native bees, butterflies, and beetles. The plant’s sturdy stems and late-season blooms provide critical structure and forage in restored prairies, wetlands, and riparian buffers. As a deep-rooted perennial, it also contributes to soil stabilization and carbon sequestration, making it a valuable ally in ecological restoration and climate resilience.

Cup plant is a native of eastern North America, including Wisconsin. It can grow up to nine feet tall, bearing numerous three to four-inch, yellow flowers. Each flower head has 20 to 30 yellow rays and darker yellow disks. Leaves often more than ten inches long are joined at the stem to form a small cup. Cup plant thrives in moist, sunny habitats like floodplain woods and prairie edges, in rich, loamy soils. (SF)

Meadow Blazing Star (Liatris ligulistylis)

Meadow Blazing Star (Liatris ligulistylis)

Meadow blazing star typically reaches 2 to 5 feet in height, with slender, erect stems that may be green to reddish and lightly hairy. Its feathery, thistle-like flower heads are 1 to 1.3 inches wide, composed of 30 to 100 pinkish-purple disc florets per head, arranged in a loose raceme along the upper stem. Leaves are lance-shaped, alternate, and vary from 4 to 8 inches long and up to 1.5 inches wide, with sparse white hairs and a smooth texture. The basal leaves are larger and more oblanceolate, while upper leaves are narrower and sessile. Meadow blazing star prefers full sun and well-drained soils—especially sandy, loamy, or rocky substrates—and is most at home in prairies, meadows, and streambanks across the Midwest.

Purple Giant Hyssop

Purple Giant Hyssop (Agastache scrophulariifolia)

Purple giant hyssop grows up to 6 feet tall, forming upright clumps with square stems that may be purplish and lightly hairy. Its flower spikes range from 1 to 6 inches long, bearing numerous ¼-inch tubular flowers in pale purple to lavender hues. Each flower has a two-lobed upper lip and a three-lobed lower lip, with four stamens that extend beyond the corolla. Leaves are opposite, stalked, and sharply pointed—up to 4 inches long and 2 inches wide—with coarsely toothed margins and short hairs on the petioles. This mint-family perennial prefers moist, sandy or loamy soils in dappled shade or woodland edges, thriving in thickets, upland woods, and disturbed floodplain margins. It’s sensitive to competition and benefits from occasional habitat disturbance.

Wild Cucumber

Wild Cucumber (Echinocystis lobata)

In late summer, when the woods and roadsides of Wisconsin begin to soften into autumn colors, a curious spectacle often appears: trees and shrubs draped in garlands of pale, starry flowers. Look closer, and you’ll find the source is not the woody plant itself, but a vigorous vine with leaves and blooms that resemble those of a cultivated cucumber. This is Echinocystis lobata, commonly known as wild cucumber or balsam-apple—a native annual in the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae) that slowly weaves its way into the landscape until it bursts into view.

The genus name Echinocystis comes from the Greek echinos (hedgehog) and cystis (bladder), a nod to the plant’s spiny, inflated fruit. Though often overlooked in its early stages, wild cucumber grows rapidly from seed each spring, germinating after the last frost. Its cotyledons resemble those of garden cucumber, and its fleshy, grooved stems soon give rise to large, palmate leaves with three to five pointed lobes. These leaves alternate along the vine, each borne on a long petiole, and from their axils emerge curling, three-pronged tendrils that grasp onto nearby vegetation with remarkable tenacity. In ideal conditions, the vines can stretch up to 30 feet, climbing trees, fences, and anything else in reach.

By mid-summer, wild cucumber begins to flower. Its pale yellowish-white blooms are fragrant and abundant, arranged in long racemes that rise from the leaf axils. The plant is monoecious, producing separate male and female flowers on the same vine. Male flowers cluster in showy spikes, each with six slender petals that give a star-like appearance. Female flowers are fewer, nestled among the males, and distinguished by a small, spiny ovary beneath their petals. Pollinated by insects, these ovaries quickly swell into the plant’s signature fruit: a puffy, green pod covered in soft spines, superficially resembling a small cucumber.

Despite its name, wild cucumber’s fruit is not edible. In fact, it can cause skin irritation in some people. As the season ends, the pods dry and turn brown, eventually bursting open at the base to eject their seeds with surprising force. Each capsule contains four large, flat seeds—two per chamber—propelled outward by hydrostatic pressure. For those wishing to collect seed, bagging the pods before they mature is essential, lest the seeds vanish into the underbrush.

Wild cucumber thrives in moist, sunny habitats—streambanks, swamps, thickets, and roadside ditches—and is found throughout Wisconsin. Though rarely planted intentionally, it may appear in home landscapes, especially near rural edges. Its ornamental potential is undeniable: the vines can elegantly cover arbors, fences, and walls, creating a lush, ephemeral curtain of foliage and flowers. It grows best in rich, moist soil and full sun, and can be started from seed either indoors or directly in the garden once the soil warms. However, seed availability is limited, so gardeners often collect their own in fall.

Yet caution is advised. Its aggressive growth can overwhelm small trees and shrubs, earning it a reputation as a weed in cultivated settings. Fortunately, it is easily controlled by pulling or hoeing young plants before they flower. Because it self-seeds readily, early intervention is key to preventing unwanted spread. In the shifting light of late summer, wild cucumber offers a fleeting spectacle—an exuberant native vine that climbs, blooms, and bursts with life, often admired for its ornamental charm and just as often managed for its too vigorous growth. (SF)

Thinleaf Sunflower (Helianthus decapetalus)

A native perennial of eastern and central North America, including Wisconsin, thinleaf sunflower typically grows 3 to 6 feet tall, forming loose colonies through rhizomes. Its bright yellow flower heads measure 2 to 3 inches across, each with 8 to 12 ray florets surrounding a central brownish disc. Flowers bloom in loose clusters from late summer into early fall, attracting a wide range of pollinators. Leaves are lanceolate to ovate, thin-textured, and rough to the touch. They range from 3 to 6 inches long and 1 to 3 inches wide. Upper leaves are arranged oppositely, while lower leaves may be alternate. Stems are slender, often smooth or slightly hairy, and branch gracefully near the top. Thinleaf sunflower thrives in partial shade to dappled sun, favoring moist, well-drained soils in woodland edges, thickets, and shaded slopes. It is a valuable species for pollinator support and naturalistic plantings in restoration and garden settings.

Common Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale)

Common Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale): A Keystone of Late-Season Biodiversity

Despite its name, common sneezeweed won’t make you sneeze. The misnomer stems from historical use—its dried leaves were once used as snuff, prompting sneezing to supposedly rid the body of evil spirits. In reality, this vibrant native wildflower is a boon to Wisconsin’s late-season pollinators, not a trigger for allergies.

Thriving in moist, sunny habitats such as wet meadows and streambanks, Helenium autumnale grows three to five feet tall and bursts into bloom from late summer into fall. Each plant can produce up to 100 flower heads, each one to two inches wide, with 10 to 15 fan-shaped petals tipped in three distinct lobes. These surround a protruding, ball-like center of yellow-green disk florets. Its lance-shaped, stalkless leaves—up to two inches wide and six inches long—add to its robust presence in riparian and prairie-edge ecosystems.

The ecological value of sneezeweed is huge. Its nectar-rich flowers attract a diverse array of native pollinators, especially long-tongued bees like bumblebees and leaf-cutting bees. Syrphid flies and native wasps also frequent its blooms, contributing to pollination while offering pest control in surrounding habitats. Additionally, the plant serves as a larval host for the rigid sunflower borer moth (Papaipema rigida). In wet meadow communities, sneezeweed complements the needs of butterflies such as Duke’s Skipper (Euphyes dukesi), which rely on nearby native sedges for reproduction but benefit from the late-season nectar sneezeweed provides. (SF)

Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia)

Sometimes mistaken for creeping bellflower, harebell is a native perennial wildflower found in Wisconsin and across much of North America. It thrives in a variety of open or lightly shaded environments, including rocky outcroppings along rivers, meadows, and prairies. It prefers well-drained soils. Despite its fragile appearance, harebell is well-adapted to dry, sandy, and gravelly soils, making it a common sight in rugged landscapes. It is resistant to deer and drought. Its long blooming period, from late spring to early autumn, ensures a continuous display of delicate flowers throughout the growing season.

It grows up to 20 inches tall, with thin, wiry stems that support its nodding, bell-shaped flowers. Each flower is less than an inch long and consists of five fused petals, forming a soft, pale bloom. The basal leaves, withering by flowering time, are round, measuring between half an inch to one inch wide, while the upper leaves are grass-like, reaching about three inches in length and only 1/8 to 1/4 inch wide. These leaves alternate along the stem, contributing to the plant’s airy and delicate structure.

Harebell’s historical and cultural significance adds to its charm. In folklore, it has been associated with fairies and enchantment, earning names such as "witch’s thimble" and "bluebell of Scotland." Despite its whimsical reputation, it remains a tough and adaptable plant, capable of thriving in challenging conditions.

Sources:

USDA Plants Database — Campanula rotundifolia

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center — Campanula rotundifolia Profile

Illinois Wildflowers — Harebell

Minnesota Wildflowers — Harebell

Flora of North America — Campanula rotundifolia

Wisconsin State Herbarium — Campanula rotundifolia

(LS)

Purplestem Angelica (Angelica atropururea)

Purple-stemmed Angelica is a perennial native to eastern and central North America—including Wisconsin. It can grow up to ten feet tall with most plants in the four to eight foot range. Its flowers are small, only about a quarter inch across, but they bloom in large umbrella-like clusters called umbels that span 8 to 10 inches wide. The flowers are typically white to greenish-white and bloom from late spring into summer. The leaves are compound and can reach up to 24 inches in both length and width. Each leaflet grows to about 4.5 inches long and 2.5 inches wide, with a toothed, oval to lance-oval shape. The stems are hollow, smooth, and purple. They are typically 1 to 2 inches thick. Purple-stemmed Angelica prefers moist to wet, nutrient‑rich soils, with a slightly acidic to neutral pH. It thrives in sunny marshes, wet meadows, and along streambanks, especially where the soil has some lime content, but can survive in partial shade.

Ecologically, purple angelica—as a member of the carrot family—plays a valuable role in supporting biodiversity. Like many other Apiaceae species, it features umbels of flowers that are especially attractive to a wide range of pollinators, including bees and flies. While specific larval host associations for purple angelica remain under-documented, related species in the family are known to support caterpillars of butterflies and moths. By offering nectar, pollen, and shelter, purple angelica contributes to the ecological richness of the wetland environments where it thrives.

Sources:

USDA PLANTS Database — Angelica atropurpurea species profile

Minnesota Wildflowers — Angelica atropurpurea (Purple‑stemmed Angelica)

Illinois Wildflowers — Purple‑stemmed Angelica (Angelica atropurpurea)

Flora of North America — Angelica atropurpurea botanical description

Michigan Flora / University of Michigan — Angelica atropurpurea account

NatureServe Explorer — Angelica atropurpurea conservation status and distribution

UW–Madison Division of Extension — Native wetland plants of Wisconsin

(LS)

Cow Parsnip (Heracleum maximum)

Cow parsnip (Heracleum maximum) is a tall, native wildflower found across North America, including Wisconsin. It typically grows 4 to 10 feet tall and bears broad, flat‑topped compound umbels of small white flowers, each umbel spanning 4 to 12 inches across. Individual flowers are about a quarter inch wide, with larger, showier blossoms often forming a lacy ring around the edge. The leaves are enormous and divided into three large lobes or leaflets, with basal leaves reaching up to 18 inches long and wide; their surfaces are softly hairy and coarsely toothed. The stem is thick, hollow, ridged, and covered in fine white hairs, sometimes approaching 2 inches in diameter. Cow parsnip thrives in full sun to partial shade in moist, nutrient‑rich soils, especially along streambanks, forest edges, wet meadows, and cool alluvial flats. Its sap contains furanocoumarins that can cause skin irritation when exposed to sunlight, making it a plant best admired without handling. Ecologically, cow parsnip is an important summer nectar source, supporting a wide range of pollinators—including bees, flies, beetles, and butterflies—drawn to its abundant, accessible umbels.

Sources:

USDA PLANTS Database — Heracleum maximum species profile

Minnesota Wildflowers — Heracleum maximum (Cow Parsnip)

Illinois Wildflowers — Cow Parsnip (Heracleum maximum)

Flora of North America — Heracleum maximum botanical description

Michigan Flora / University of Michigan — Heracleum maximum account

NatureServe Explorer — Heracleum maximum conservation status and distribution

UW–Madison Division of Extension — Native wetland and riparian plants of Wisconsin

(LS)

Sessile-leaf Bellwort (Uvularia sessilifolia)

Sessile‑leaf bellwort carries a little woodland intrigue: after it blooms, the plant relies on ants to disperse its seeds, each tipped with a tiny food reward that lures the insects into carrying them deeper into the forest. This delicate spring wildflower grows 4 to 12 inches tall and produces a single drooping, pale yellow flower about an inch long, with six slender, slightly curved tepals. Its leaves—up to 3 inches long and an inch wide—attach directly to the stem without stalks, and the upper stem forks into a subtle zig‑zag pattern that helps position the blossom in the dim understory light. The upper stem often shows a faint reddish‑purple tint as it matures. Blooming early in the season, it offers nectar to the first solitary bees of spring, a valuable resource when few other flowers are open. Sessile‑leaf bellwort thrives in shaded to partly shaded forests with moist, well‑drained, humus‑rich soils and spreads by slender underground stolons, forming loose colonies in long‑undisturbed woodland habitats.

Sources:

USDA PLANTS Database — Uvularia sessilifolia species profile

Minnesota Wildflowers — Uvularia sessilifolia (Sessile‑leaf Bellwort)

Illinois Wildflowers — Sessile‑leaf Bellwort (Uvularia sessilifolia)

Flora of North America — Uvularia sessilifolia botanical description

Michigan Flora / University of Michigan — Uvularia sessilifolia account

NatureServe Explorer — Uvularia sessilifolia conservation status and distribution

UW–Madison Division of Extension — Spring woodland wildflowers of Wisconsin

(LS)

American Fly Honeysuckle (Lonicera canadensis)

Not all honeysuckle plants are invasive. American fly honeysuckle is native to Wisconsin. It is a flowering, deciduous shrub that typically reaches a height of 24 to 72 inches. Its light yellow, tubular flowers bloom in late spring, appearing in pairs and measuring about ½ to ¾ inch long. The leaves are simple, light green, and range from 1½ to 3½ inches in length, growing in opposite pairs along the branches. The shrub’s stems are loosely branched, with light brown to brownish-gray bark, while its twigs can vary from green to purplish. This honeysuckle thrives in moist, well-drained soils but can tolerate rocky or gravelly conditions. It is fundamentally a cool forest shrub. It is commonly found in shady woodlands, stream banks, forest edges, and rich understory areas.

Sources:

USDA PLANTS Database — Lonicera canadensis species profile

Minnesota Wildflowers — Lonicera canadensis (American Fly Honeysuckle)

Illinois Wildflowers — American Fly Honeysuckle (Lonicera canadensis)

Flora of North America — Lonicera canadensis botanical description

Michigan Flora / University of Michigan — Lonicera canadensis account

NatureServe Explorer — Lonicera canadensis conservation status and distribution

UW–Madison Division of Extension — Native woodland shrubs of Wisconsin

(LS)

Seneca Snakeroot (Polygala senega)

Seneca snakeroot is a perennial herb typically 10 to 18 inches tall. Its flowers form dense, spike‑like racemes at the stem tip, with each small bloom about 1/6 inch long and colored white to greenish‑white, ending in a distinctive fringed crest. The leaves are 1 to 3 inches long and 1/3 to 1 1/3 inch wide, linear to lance‑elliptic, widest at or just below the midpoint, and either smooth or minutely hairy.

This species grows in full to partial sun and favors dry to mesic, well‑drained soils—especially sandy, gravelly, or rocky substrates. In Wisconsin it is found in prairies, savannas, open woodlands, and dry, rocky stream margins or slopes. Its presence often signals intact, undisturbed native plant communities.

Sources:

USDA PLANTS Database — Polygala senega species profile

Minnesota Wildflowers — Polygala senega (Seneca Snakeroot)

Illinois Wildflowers — Seneca Snakeroot (Polygala senega)

Flora of North America — Polygala senega botanical description

Michigan Flora / University of Michigan — Polygala senega account

NatureServe Explorer — Polygala senega conservation status and distribution

UW–Madison Division of Extension — Dry prairie and savanna species of Wisconsin

(LS)

Showy Goldenrod (Solidago speciosa)

White Rattlesnake-Root (Nabalus albus)

Photo by Gary Kurtz

Shining Lady’s Tresses (Spiranthes lucida)

Photo by Jeff Nesta

Spiranthes lucida, commonly known as shining lady’s tresses, is a perennial orchid native to northeastern North America, including Wisconsin where it reaches the western edge of its range. It typically grows up to 15 inches tall and produces white flowers in a spiral arrangement along a single spike, each featuring a yellow lip. The basal leaves are lance-oblong and remain during flowering.

The species blooms from late May and fruits by mid-Summer. It inhabits saturated but not flooded, calcareous soils in places such as streambanks, fens, river terraces, and old quarries. Its range extends from Nova Scotia to northeastern Wisconsin, and south to Virginia, Arkansas, and Missouri.

Pollination is primarily carried out by short-tongued bees, particularly from the Halictidae family. In some regions, including Wisconsin, it is listed as a species of special concern due to habitat sensitivity.

Sources:

USDA PLANTS Database — Spiranthes lucida species profile

Minnesota Wildflowers — Spiranthes lucida (Shining Lady’s Tresses)

Illinois Wildflowers — Shining Lady’s Tresses (Spiranthes lucida)

Flora of North America — Spiranthes lucida botanical description

Michigan Flora / University of Michigan — Spiranthes lucida account

NatureServe Explorer — Spiranthes lucida conservation status and distribution

UW–Madison Division of Extension — Calcareous fen and groundwater‑dependent plant species

(LS)

Bottle Gentian (Gentiana andrewsii)

Photo by Jeff Nesta

Bottle Gentian is a Wisconsin native, perennial wildflower. It typically grows to a height of one to two feet and spreads about one to 1-1/2 feet wide. Its unique flowers are one to 1-1/2 inches long, tubular, and bottle-shaped, usually deep blue to violet in color, and remain closed even when mature. The leaves are up to four inches long and two inches wide, ovate to lanceolate in shape, tapering to a pointed tip, and arranged in opposite pairs along the stem. They attach directly to the stem without stalks and have smooth or slightly fringed edges with shiny, hairless upper surfaces. Bottle Gentian thrives in moist, rich soils and prefers part shade to full sun, commonly found in moist prairies, stream sides, floodplain forests, thickets, fens, and other swampy areas near water. (SF)

Sawtooth Sunflower (Helianthus grosseserratus)

Sawtooth Sunflower is a native, perennial wildflower. It can grow up to 12 feet tall. It bears bright yellow, daisy-like flowers that measure 2-1/2 to four inches across. The flowers are composed of 10 to 20 ray petals that surround a center disk of small, tubular florets. These blooms are held in loose clusters at the end of branching stems. It has smooth stems that are reddish to reddish-purple. The leaves are lanceolate and can range from four to 12 inches long and one to four inches wide. The lower leaves are usually opposite and the upper leaves are alternate. The upper surface of the leaves is medium to dark green and rough in texture while the lower surface is pale green and softly hairy. The edges have sawtooth-like edges. It prefers full sun and well drained soils. Sawtooth Sunflowers can be found in prairies, meadows, and along roadsides. (SF)