Helianthus is a genus comprising about 70 species of annual and perennial flowering plants in the daisy family Asteraceae. Except for three South American species, the species of Helianthus are native to North America and Central America. The common names "sunflower" and "common sunflower" typically refer to the popular annual species Helianthus annuus, whose round flower heads in combination with the ligules look like the sun. This and other species, notably Jerusalem artichoke, are cultivated in temperate regions and some tropical regions as food crops for humans, cattle, and poultry, and as ornamental plants. The species H. annuus typically grows during the summer and into early fall, with the peak growth season being mid-summer.
Veronica hederifolia, the ivy-leaved speedwell, is a flowering plant belonging to the family Plantaginaceae. It is native to Eurasia and it is present in other places as an introduced species and a common weed. It is an annual herb growing from a taproot and producing a hairy, spreading stem up to about 60 centimetres (24 in) long. The stem is lined with rounded leaves with blades which are divided shallowly into three to five lobes and borne on petioles. Solitary blue flowers occur in leaf axils, each with a corolla up to one centimetre (0.4 in) wide. The fruit is a dehiscent capsule.
Phlox pilosa, the downy phlox or prairie phlox, is an herbaceous plant in the family Polemoniaceae. It is native to eastern North America, where it is found in open areas such as prairies and woodlands.
Collinsia verna, or blue-eyed Mary, is a winter annual that is native to the eastern and central parts of North America but has become endangered in the states of New York and Tennessee. The flowers are bicolored white and blue. It is a plant of valley bottoms and moist bottom slopes, in areas with moderate lighting and requires some shade.
Echinocystis is a monotypic genus in the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae. The sole species is E. lobata, commonly called wild cucumber, prickly cucumber or bur cucumber. It is an annual, sprawling plant that is native to North America.
Veronica anagallis-aquatica is a species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae known by the common names water speedwell, blue water-speedwell,,brook pimpernel, and sessile water-speedwell. It is also listed as Veronica catenata. Its true native range is not clear, but the plant is present on most continents, and in most places it is probably naturalized. It occurs in many types of moist and wet habitat, and it is semi-aquatic, often growing in shallow water along streambanks, in ponds, and in other wetland environments. It is a rhizomatous perennial herb with stems growing 10 centimeters to about a meter in maximum length. It may be decumbent, the stem spreading along the ground and rooting where it touches moist substrate, or erect in form. The oppositely arranged leaves are green, smooth-edged or toothed, and sometimes clasping the stem where the leaf pairs meet at the bases. The inflorescence is a raceme of many flowers arising from the leaf axils. Each flower is borne on a short, curving pedicel. The flower corolla is up to a centimeter wide with four lobes, the upper lobe being widest. It is blue, lavender, or violet with purple lines near the base of each lobe. At the center are two small protruding stamens.
Veronica cusickii is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common name Cusick's speedwell. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Montana to northern California, where it occurs in mountain meadows and forests.
Veronica scutellata is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common names marsh speedwell, skullcap speedwell, and grassleaf speedwell. It is native to northern North America, including most of Canada and the northern half of the United States. It occurs in moist and wet habitat, such as ponds, marshes, and other wetlands. It is a rhizomatous perennial herb producing a decumbent or upright stem 40 to 60 centimeters in maximum height. It is mostly hairless in texture. The purple-green or reddish leaves are oppositely arranged in pairs about the stem, the blades lance-shaped and smooth-edged. The inflorescence is an open array of several flowers on thin, straight pedicels. The flower is up to a centimeter wide with four lobes, the upper lobe being largest. It is white, blue, or purplish with purple veining. It yields a flat, notched capsule a few millimeters wide.
Spigelia gentianoides is a rare species of flowering plant in the Loganiaceae known by the common names purpleflower pinkroot and gentian pinkroot. It is native to Alabama and Florida in the United States, where a few small populations remain. It is threatened by the loss and degradation of its habitat, and is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.
Agalinis auriculata is a species of flowering plant in the family Orobanchaceae known as earleaf false foxglove, auriculate false foxglove, and earleaf gerardia. It is endemic to the United States, where it occurs from New Jersey west to Minnesota and throughout most southern states.
Silene regia is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common name royal catchfly. It is native to the central United States. A perennial herb, it grows from a fleshy taproot and has several erect stems growing up to 1.6 meters tall. The leaves are lance-shaped to oval and up to 12 centimeters long, becoming smaller farther up the stem. The inflorescence is an array of many flowers at the top of the stem. The elongate tubular calyx of sepals is up to 2.5 centimeters long and has 10 longitudinal veins. The lobes of the bright red corolla are 1 to 2 centimeters long.
Agalinis paupercula, commonly known as the smallflower false foxglove, is a hemiparasitic annual plant native to the eastern parts of the United States and Canada. Found in open, moist areas, its purple flowers are borne on a 30-to-70-centimeter stem, and bloom in August and September. The species has often been treated as a variety of Agalinis purpurea, the purple false foxglove, and preliminary genetic evidence suggests that the two are, in fact, a single species.
Chelone obliqua, the pink turtlehead, red turtlehead, or rose turtlehead, is a perennial flowering plant belonging to the family Plantaginaceae. This uncommon wildflower is endemic to the United States, where it is found in the Midwest and southeastern states.
Corydalis micrantha is a plant which goes by many common names including smallflower fumewort, southern corydalis, and golden corydalis. It belongs to the family Papaveraceae and is native to the United States.
Mimulus alatus, the sharpwing monkeyflower, is an herbaceous eudicot perennial that has no floral scent. It is native to North America and its blooming season is from June to September. The flowering plant has green foliage and blue to violet flowers. It has a short life span compared to most other plants and a rapid growth rate. Like other monkey-flowers of the genus Mimulus, M. alatus grows best in wet to moist conditions and has a bilabiate corolla, meaning it is two-lipped. The arrangement of the upper and lower lip petals suggests a monkey’s face. The winged stems together with the monkey face give the plant its common name.
Phacelia covillei is a North American species of annual forbs in the borage family. It is native to the eastern and central United States in scattered locations from Missouri to Maryland and North Carolina.
Polanisia jamesii, common name James's clammyweed, is a plant species native to the central part of the United States. It is reported from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma. It generally prefers sandy, disturbed soils. The species is considered locally endangered within the state of Minnesota. The species is also considered locally endangered within the state of Illinois.
Verbena stricta also known as hoary verbena or hoary vervain, is a small purple wildflower native to a large region of the central United States.
Asclepias hirtella, commonly called the tall green milkweed, is a species of flowering plant in the dogbane family (Apocynaceae). It is native to Canada and the United States, where its range is concentrated in the Midwest and Upper South.
Asclepias stenophylla is a species of flowering plant in the dogbane family (Apocynaceae) commonly called slimleaf milkweed and narrow-leaved green milkweed.
