Best Asteraceae

Yellow coneflower, Ratibida pinnata, is a perennial wildflower native to prairies, savannas, and open woodland edges in central and eastern North America. Its flower heads have long, drooping yellow ray florets surrounding an elongated gray-brown central disk, and its leaves are deeply divided. Bloo...

Prairie dock, Silphium terebinthinaceum, is a long-lived perennial in the aster family native to tallgrass prairies and open habitats of central North America. It forms a basal cluster of large, rough-textured leaves and sends up tall, mostly leafless stalks bearing yellow flower heads in summer. It...

A Eurasian annual widely naturalized in North America, valued for centuries in herbal medicine for its anti-inflammatory properties and commonly brewed as a calming tea.

Common yarrow, Achillea millefolium, is an aromatic perennial herb native across much of the temperate Northern Hemisphere and naturalized elsewhere. It has finely divided, fernlike leaves and flat-topped clusters of small flowers, usually white but sometimes pink. The genus name refers to Achilles,...

Cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum) is a tall perennial wildflower native to central and eastern North America, where it grows in prairies, floodplains, and other moist, sunny habitats. Its opposite leaves join around the square stem, forming cup-like basins that can retain rainwater and provide drinki...

Maximilian sunflower (Helianthus maximiliani) is a tall perennial sunflower native to the central and western regions of North America. It grows from rhizomes and bears numerous yellow flower heads along the upper portions of its stems, generally flowering later in the growing season than many prair...

Spotted Joe-Pye weed, Eutrochium maculatum, is a tall perennial native to moist meadows, marsh edges, and stream banks across much of North America. It has whorled leaves, stems commonly marked with purple spots or blotches, and broad clusters of small pink to purplish flowers that attract many inse...

Smooth aster, Symphyotrichum laeve, is a perennial member of the aster family native to much of North America. It is distinguished by relatively smooth, often waxy blue-green stems and leaves, along with flower heads bearing violet or blue-purple rays around yellow central discs. The species blooms...

Mistflower, Conoclinium coelestinum, is a perennial wildflower native to eastern and central North America. Its compact flower heads contain many fine blue to violet tubular florets, creating a soft, fuzzy appearance similar to that of ornamental ageratum. It grows in moist meadows, woodland margins...

Green-headed coneflower, Rudbeckia laciniata, is a tall perennial wildflower native to much of North America. Its flower heads have elongated yellow rays that droop around a raised yellow-green central disc, while its leaves are commonly divided into several lobes. The species favors moist soils alo...

Wreath goldenrod, Solidago caesia, is a perennial wildflower native to eastern North America and a member of the aster family. Small yellow flower heads appear in clusters from the leaf axils along slender, often arching stems, producing the wreath-like arrangement reflected in its common name. Unli...

Common goldenrod, Solidago canadensis, is a perennial flowering plant in the aster family, native to much of North America and introduced elsewhere. It produces branching clusters of small yellow flower heads in late summer and autumn, providing nectar and pollen for many insects. Its conspicuous bl...

Sky blue aster, Symphyotrichum oolentangiense, is a perennial wildflower native to central and eastern North America. It produces branching clusters of flower heads with pale blue to violet ray florets surrounding yellow disk florets, usually in late summer and autumn. The species grows in prairies,...

Tall goldenrod, Solidago altissima, is a perennial member of the aster family native across much of North America. It forms upright stems topped by branching clusters of numerous small yellow flower heads, providing late-season nectar and pollen for many insects. Goldenrods are often blamed for hay...

Rosinweed, Silphium integrifolium, is a tall perennial wildflower native to prairies and open grasslands of central North America. It bears yellow, composite flower heads resembling small sunflowers on sturdy stems during summer and early autumn. The common name refers to the sticky, resinous materi...

Robin's Plantain (Erigeron pulchellus) is a herbaceous perennial wildflower in the aster family, Asteraceae, native to eastern North America. It produces daisy-like flower heads with yellow centers and pale violet, lavender, or nearly white rays, typically in spring and early summer. The plant grows...

Calico aster (Symphyotrichum lateriflorum) is a perennial wildflower in the aster family native to eastern and central North America. Its branching stems carry many small flower heads with white or faintly pink rays surrounding disk florets that often change from yellow to reddish purple as they mat...

Boneset, Eupatorium perfoliatum, is a perennial plant in the aster family native to eastern and central North America. It grows in wet meadows, marsh edges, ditches, and other moist habitats, producing clusters of small white flower heads in summer and early autumn. Its paired leaves join around the...

Heriades truncorum is a small solitary bee native to Europe, notable for building linear nest cells inside hollow plant stems and sealing the entrance completely with sticky resin.

Stiff aster (Ionactis linariifolia) is a compact perennial wildflower in the aster family native to eastern North America. It has stiff, narrow leaves and flower heads with violet to blue-purple rays surrounding yellow disk florets, generally appearing in late summer and fall. The species is adapted...

Tall thistle (Cirsium altissimum) is a biennial or short-lived perennial in the aster family native to eastern and central North America. It develops a basal rosette before producing a tall, branching flowering stem with pink to purple flower heads, often reaching well above surrounding vegetation....

Daisy fleabane, Erigeron annuus, is an annual or biennial member of the aster family native to North America and naturalized in many other regions. Its branching stems carry numerous flower heads composed of a yellow disc surrounded by many narrow white rays, sometimes tinged with pink. It grows in...

Field thistle, Cirsium discolor, is a biennial or short-lived perennial thistle native to eastern and central North America. It develops a basal rosette before sending up a branching flowering stem with spiny leaves that are green above and densely white-woolly beneath. Its purple flower heads suppl...

A North American woodland perennial whose toxic tremetol compound caused milk sickness, the disease that killed Abraham Lincoln's mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, in 1818.

Salsify (Tragopogon species) are European plants naturalized in North America, historically grown for their edible taproot and recognized by their large, dandelion-like seed globes.

An introduced Eurasian biennial whose flowers open only in the morning, earning the folk name 'Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon,' and producing large dandelion-like seed heads at maturity.

A Eurasian perennial (Tussilago farfara) introduced to North America, one of the earliest spring bloomers, producing yellow flowers before its leaves emerge in late winter.

Prickly Lettuce (Lactuca serriola) is a Eurasian annual naturalized worldwide and widely considered the closest wild ancestor of cultivated lettuce (Lactuca sativa).