Downy Phlox (Phlox pilosa)

 

Photo by Leticia Provencio

     Downy phlox is a native, perennial wildflower.  It grows six to 24 inches tall. The flowers grow in rounded three-inch clusters at the top of the stems.  Each flower has five petals that are pale pink, lavender, or purple. The flowers are 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide. The stems are upright and sometimes branched near the top. Leaves and stems are hairy and the plant is sticky. The leaves can be up to three inches long and 1/2 inch wide. It is found in prairies and open woodlands.(EW)

Yellow Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris)

     The Yellow Marsh Marigold is a native, perennial wildflower. It grows one to two feet tall. Its numerous round, green and yellow buds open into five to nine petal-like sepals that are up to 1-1/2 inches wide. The flowers are shiny yellow. It bears heart-shaped, basal leaves that are two to seven inches wide and has a thick, hollow, branching stem. It grows in shade or part shade in wet woods, marshy hollows, and stream edges. It likes muddy humus-rich soil. (EW)

 

Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica)

     The Spring Beauty is a native, perennial wildflower. It grows six to ten inches tall. It bears  loose clusters of 1/3-inch pink or white flowers, striped with dark pink veins in the upper part of the stem. A pair of smooth, grass-like leaves occurs halfway up the slender stem, four to twelve inches long. It grows in part shade in rich, moist soils.  (EW)

 

Shooting Star (Dodecatheon meadia)

     

 Top photo by Gary Kurtz and Bottom photo by Carla Wells

     The Shooting Star is a perennial, native Wisconsin wildflower. It reaches a height of 10 to 20 inches. The flowers are purple and sometimes white.  Each plant has only one stalk with one to five nodding flowers, an inch wide with five petals. It has toothless, lance-shaped basal leaves that are up to six inches long with rounded tips. It is typically found in glades, rocky wooded slopes, bluff ledges, meadows, and prairies. (EW)

Wood Betony (Pedicularis canadensis)

     

             Wood Betony is a perennial, native wildflower in Wisconsin. It grows five to 14 inches in height.  The flowers appear in a spike cluster, one to three inches tall. The plant bears yellow, white, or red tubular flowers that are about an inch long. The leaves are highly divided, fern-like in appearance, one to three inches long, and covered in fine white hairs. It grows in dry woods and prairies. (EW) 

Pasqueflower (Pulsatilla nuttaliana)

    

      

 

 

 

Pasqueflower can grow up to 16 inches tall. The flowers are one to three inches wide. They have five to eight sepals, usually lavender or blue-purple, sometimes nearly white. The center of the flower is bright yellow with a mound of 150 to 200 stamens surrounding the styles. The flower stems are fuzzy. The one to two-inch wide basal leaves are ternately compound (divided into three parts) and densely covered with silky hairs. It enjoys dry to moderate moisture soils and full sun. It is generally found on sandy hillsides and prairies. (EW)

 

Golden Alexander (Zizia aurea)

     Golden Alexander is a perennial, native wildflower that grows one to three feet tall. Its tiny, cream yellow 1/4-inch flowers form clusters that are five to six inches wide. It has compound leaves that divide into three stalks. Each stalk has three to seven narrow, coarse-toothed, pointed leaflets. It grows in wet, sun to partial shade in ditches, along roads, in moist fields, and in woodlands and woodland edges. (EW)

 

Round-lobed Hepatica (Hepatica americana)

     The Round-lobed Hepatica is a native, perennial wildflower in Wisconsin. It grows four to six inches tall. Its flowers comes in white, pink and lavender. The flowers have five to nine petal-like sepals with three green bracts underneath. Its flowers emerge even before its own leaves, so you can sometimes see a forest floor with hundreds of clusters of 1/2 to one-inch-wide flowers peeking out. It has fuzzy, four to six-inch stems. The three-lobed, basal leaves are evergreen, green in spring and summer, turning burgundy in fall and winter. The leaves in the photo above are still from the previous year. This Hepatica survives in dry or moist, humus soil in shade or part shade in woodlands and woodland edges.  (EW)

 

Sweet White Violet (Viola blanda)

Photo by Carla Wells 

The Sweet White violet is a native, perennial wildflower in Wisconsin. It grows six to 12 inches in height. It produces small white flowers. The lower petals have purple veins, and the upper petals are often twisted or bent backwards. The basal leaves are heart-shaped and grow one to two inches long. It grows in mesic and riparian woodlands, swamps, shaded roadsides, ditches, and lawns. (EW)

Downy Yellow Violet (Viola pubescens)

 

     The Downy Yellow Violet is a native, perennial wildflower in Wisconsin. It reaches a height of 8 to 16 inches. It has several 3/4-inch yellow flowers per plant. Its flowers have 5 petals with several dark purple veins. Each flower grows on its own stalk.  It has hairy heart-shaped, alternate leaves with round or scalloped teeth. It grows in wet, cool, shade, in deciduous woodlands. (EW)
      

Large-flowered Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum)

 

Top photo by Carla Wells

Large-flowered Trillium grows up to 18 inches tall and is a native perennial in Wisconsin. The flower is white but becomes pink-tinted later in the season. It has three large, white petals that are two to three inches across and usually have ruffled or wavy edges. Its petals are arranged around a central group of several yellow stamens. The plant's leaves are three to six inches long and two to five inches wide. They are ovate shaped with a pointed tip and a tapered base. The leaves are arranged in a whorl. Large-flowered Trillium does best in partial shade in woodlands of deciduous hardwood trees in humus-rich well-drained soil. (EW)

Wood Anemone (Anemonoides quinquefolia)

 

     The Wood Anemone is a native, perennial in Wisconsin. It grows four to eight inches tall. It bears a single white flower, 3/4 inch wide, that rises above the leaves. Each flower has five petal-like white sepals. It bears a set of whorled, deeply cut basal leaves. Each leaf has three to five coarse-toothed and pointed lobes, 1-1/4 inch long. It grows best in part or full shade in damp, rich, mucky soil. It tends to form colonies and provide ground cover in open woodlands. (EW)

     

Large-flowered Bellwort (Uvularia grandiflora)

     The Large-flowered Bellwort, a native, perennial wildflower, stands 10 to 20 inches tall. The drooping, pale yellow, bell flowers are one to two inches long and often appear to be wilting. Each flower has six petals. The leaves are one to three inches long, lance-shaped and drooping. The stem passes through the base of its alternating leaves. This flower grows best in the wet shade of deciduous woodlands. (EW)

 

Rue Anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides)

     Rue Anemone is a native, perennial wildflower in Wisconsin. It grows four to eight inches tall. It bears two or three white-to-pink or lavender flowers. Each flower is about an inch wide and made up of five to 10 sepals and a green center. The simple leaves consist of five to eight lobes, growing in a whorl just below the flowers. Each leaf is an inch long with 3 teeth ending in a rounded tip. They can be found in wet, deciduous woods. (EW) 

Yellow Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum)

     Top photo by Carla Wells and Bottom photo by Sevie Kenyon 

     Yellow Trout Lily is a native, perennial wildflower. It grows to a height of five to 10 inches and has nodding yellow flowers. Each flower is an inch wide and has six backward curving petals. The plant has mottled foliage that resembles the markings of a brook trout. The leaves are eight inches long, elliptical, pointed, and basal. Yellow Trout Lily is most commonly found in dry, deciduous woodlands, where sugar maple, American beech, and other deciduous trees are present. (EW)

Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium montanum)

Photo by Debi Nitka

     

     Photo by Laticia Provencio 

     Blue-eyed Grass is a native, perennial Wisconsin wildflower. It grows to a height of four to 12 inches tall and produces small blue or violet flowers with yellow centers that resemble miniature irises. The leaves are narrow and grass-like in appearance. Blue-eyed Grass grows best in full sun to partial shade in moist to dry soils in prairies, meadows, open woodlands, rocky slopes, or along roadsides. (EW) 

Cut-leaved Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata)

 

Photos by Gary Kurtz

     Cut-leaved Toothwort is a native, perennial wildflower in Wisconsin. It grows to a height of eight to 10 inches. It bears small groupings of three to 15, half-inch long white or pale lavender flowers. Each flower has four petals. The three-lobed leaves form whorls. The leaves are up to three inches long and across. Each leaf is coarsely toothed. Cut-leaved Toothwort grow in shady deciduous woods. (EW)

Wild Strawberry (Fragaria viginiana)

     The Wild Strawberry is a native, perennial wildflower. It grows three to six inches tall. It has 3/4 inch flowers with round petals surrounding a yellow center. The three-inch, three-part basal leaves are coarsely toothed. The leaflets are an inch long. It likes dry soil and sun. It can be found near woodland edges. (EW)

Early Buttercup (Ranunculus fascicularis)

      Early Buttercup is a native, perennial wildflower, about six inches tall and six inches wide. Its yellow flowers are about 3/4-inch wide. The flowers have five petals that are often bent backwards. The leaves are longer than wide, compound and usually basal. Leaflets are up to an inch long and lobed into three to five parts. It grows in dry areas where there is sparse ground vegetation in sun or partial shade. It can be found in hill and sand  prairies, meadows, rocky and sandy savannas, disturbed areas, and fields. Hummingbirds are among its pollinators. (EW)

Prairie Smoke (Geum triflorum)

Photos by Carla Wells

     Prairie Smoke is a perennial, native wildflower in Wisconsin.  It grows six to 16 inches tall. The flowers form in groups of three or six droopy, reddish brown, bell-shaped flowers, 3/4 inches long, growing on each stalk. Each flower has five-pointed petal-like sepals that alternate with narrow bracts and five very small petals. The plant has basal leaves that are four to nine inches long and divided into many small-toothed leaflets. It grows in dry prairies. (EW)