Smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens)

©Photo by Mike Homoya
©Photo by Paul E. Rothrock

Kemper Code: K520

Common Name: smooth hydrangea
Zone: 3 to 9
Plant Type: Deciduous shrub
Family: Hydrangeaceae
Missouri Native: Yes
Native Range: Eastern United States
Height: 3 to 5 feet
Spread: 3 to 5 feet
Bloom Time: June - September Bloom Data
Bloom Color: White
Sun: Part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low

Best grown in average, medium moisture, well-drained soil in part shade. Tolerates full sun in the northern part of its range, but needs constant moisture. Intolerant of drought, with foliage tending to become significantly less attractive in dryish conditions. If left alone, this Hydrangea can become somewhat weedy in appearance and can spread rapidly by root suckers to form colonies. Blooms on new wood, and in cold winter climates, it is perhaps best grown as an herbaceous perennial (e.g., cut back to 1-2' from the ground in late winter).

Riverbank tussock sedge (Carex emoryi)

©Photos by Paul E. Rothrock

Carex emoryi Dewey
Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas
Perennial
Height: 16-44 inches
Family: Cyperaceae - Sedge Family
Flowering Period: April, May


Culms: Slender, triangular, usually rough on angles, base reddish-purple, leaves of previous years often persistent.
Leaves: Flat to rolled under from margins, usually longer than culms, 1/8 to 1/4 inch wide; margins rough.
Sheaths: Glabrous; lowest sheaths bladeless, outer surface reddish-brown, inner surface white-translucent.
Ligules: Shorter than width of blade.
Inflorescences: Lowest bract leaf-like, equaling inflorescence, others smaller; spikes unisexual; upper 2-3 spikes staminate, .8 to 2 inches long, more or less erect, stalked; staminate scales egg-shaped, brown with tawny mid-vein, tips rounded; lowest 2-3 spikes pistillate, erect to ascending, 1 to 4 inches long, sessile to short-stalked, bases slender, often with few staminate flowers at tip; pistillate scales 1/12 to 1/7 inch long, about as long as perigynia, ovate to elliptic, pale or reddish-brown, mid-vein tawny, tip tapering to point; perigynia numerous, somewhat flattened, ovate, dull green to straw-colored, 3- to 5-nerved on each side, surface granulated, beak minute.
Fruits: Achenes, lens-shaped, 1-seeded, dull brown; stigmas 2.
Habitat: Margins of streams, ponds, lakes and marshes; ditches, wet meadows; often in standing water; usually on calcareous soils.
Distribution: East 2/3 of Kansas.
Comments: From stout, scaly rhizomes. Named for Major William Helmsley Emory, 1811-1887, who participated in the boundary survey between the U.S. and Mexico.

Obedient plant (Physotegia virginiana)

©Photos by Marcia E. Moore

Kemper Code: G620

Common Name: obedient plant
Zone: 3 to 9
Plant Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Lamiaceae
Missouri Native: Yes
Native Range: Central and southern United States and northeastern Mexico
Height: 3 to 4 feet
Spread: 2 to 3 feet
Bloom Time: June - September Bloom Data
Bloom Color: Pink, white
Sun: Full sun
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Medium

Fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica)

from Missouri Botanical Garden Kemper Center for Home Gardening

©Photos by Hilary Cox


Kemper Code: L980

Common Name: fragrant sumac
Zone: 3 to 9
Plant Type: Deciduous shrub
Family: Anacardiaceae
Missouri Native: Yes
Native Range: Southeastern Canada to southern and eastern United States
Height: 2 to 6 feet
Spread: 6 to 10 feet
Bloom Time: April Bloom Data
Bloom Color: Yellow
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Dry to medium
Maintenance: Low

False blue indigo (Baptisia australis)

From Connecticut Botanical Society

©Photo by Anita Bracalente

Blue false indigo grows wild in Connecticut, but it is not clear whether it is truly native to Connecticut, or whether it escaped from gardens. It is definitely native farther south and west.

• Family: Pea (Fabaceae)
• Habitat: rich woods, thickets
• Height: 3-5 feet
• Flower size: 1 inch long
• Flower color: dark blue-purple
• Flowering time: May to June
• Origin: native?

Dense blazing star (Liatris spicata)

©Photo by EcoLogic

Symbol: LISP
Group: Dicot
Family: Asteraceae
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Forb/herb
Native Status: L48 N
CAN N

Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis)

©Photos by Marcia E. Moore

• Family: Bellflower (Campanulaceae)
• Habitat: streambanks, swamps
• Height: 2-4 feet
• Flower size: 1-1/2 inches long
• Flower color: red
• Flowering time: July to September
• Origin: native