If you are new to native plants and working to convert your garden areas to natives, learning to be able to identify emerging plants is important. Here we have photos of common native plants as they emerge in Spring. This list will be continually updated as we have time.
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For more detail on individual native plants, refer to our NATIVE PLANT PROFILES.
- CLICK IMAGES FOR LARGER VIEW.
- CLICK COMMON NAME FOR A DETAILED PLANT PROFILE ON EACH PLANT.
COMMON NAME | SCIENTIFIC NAME | SEEDLING IMAGE | EMERGING PLANT IMAGE | MATURE PLANT |
Anise Hyssop | Agastache foeniculum | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Aromatic Aster | Aster oblongifolius | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Bee Balm | Monarda didyma | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Big Bluestem | Andropogon gerardii | ![]() | ![]() | |
Black Eyed Susan | Rudbeckia hirta | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Blanket Flower | Gaillardia grandiflora | ![]() | ![]() | |
Blazing Star | Liatris spicata | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Blue False Indigo | Baptisia australis | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Blue Lobelia | Lobelia siphilitica | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Blue Vervain | Verbena hastata | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Brown-Eyed Susan | Rudbeckia triloba | ![]() | ![]() | |
Butterfly Weed | Asclepias tuberosa | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Canadian Goldenrod | Solidago canadensis | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Cardinal Flower | Lobelia cardinalis | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Eastern Red Columbine | Aquilegia canadensis | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Cup Plant | Silphium perfoliatum | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Eastern Purple Coneflower | Echinacea purpurea | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Pale Purple Coneflower | Echinacea pallida | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Tennessee Coneflower | Echinacea tennesseenis | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
False Sunflower | Heliopsis helianthoides | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Fire Pink | Silene virginica | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Royal Catchfly | Silene regia | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Foxglove Beardtongue | Penstemon digitalis | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Garden Phlox | Phlox paniculata | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Giant St. John’s Wort | Hypericum ascyron & Hypericum pyramidatum | ![]() | ![]() | |
Giant Sunflower | Helianthus giganteus | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Golden Alexander | Zizia aurea | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Grayhead Coneflower | Ratibida pinnata | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Hairy Beardtongue | Penstemon hirsutus | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Hairy Wood Mint | Blephilia hirsuta | ![]() | ![]() | |
Halberd-Leaf Rose Mallow | Hibiscus laevis | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Heart Leaf Aster | Symphyotrichum cordifolium | ![]() | ||
Indian Blanket | Gaillardia pulchella | ![]() | ||
Indian Tobacco | Lobelia inflata | ![]() | ||
Ironweed | Vernonia baldwinii, Vernonia fafsciculata, Vernonia gigantea, vernonia glauca, Vernonia missurica, Vernonia noveboracensis | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Jack in the Pulpit | Arisaema triphyllum | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Joe Pye Weed | Eutrochium pupurea, Eutrochium maculatum, Eutrochium fistulosum | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Prairie Blazing Star | Liatris pycnostachya | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Tall Larkspur | Delphinium Exaltatum | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Lanceleaf Coreopsis | Coreopsis lanceolata | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Little Bluestem | Schizachyrium scoparium | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Mexican Hat Flower | Ratibida columnifera | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Common Milkweed | Asclepias syrica | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Mountain Laurel | Kalmia latifolia | ![]() | N/A | ![]() |
Blunt Mountainmint | Pycnanthemum muticum | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Virginia Mountain Mint | Pycnanthemum virginianum | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
New England Aster | Symphyotrichum novae-angliae | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
New York Ironweed | Vernonia noveboracensis | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Obedient Plant | Physostegia virginiana | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Orange Coneflower/ Perennial Black-Eyed Susan | Rudbeckia fulgida | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Orange Jewelweed | Impatiens capensis | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Partridge Pea | Chamaecrista fasciculata | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Pink Muhly Grass | Muhlenbergia capillaris | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Plains Coreopsis | Coreopsis tinctoria | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Pokeweed | Phytolacca americana | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Purple Giant Hyssop | Agastache scrophulariifolia | ![]() | ![]() | |
Purple Top Grass | Tridens flavus | ![]() | ||
Self-Heal | Prunella vulgaris | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Short’s Aster | Symphyotrichum shortii | ![]() | ![]() | |
Showy Goldenrod | Solidago speciosa | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Showy Tick Trefoil | Desmodium canadense | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Sideoats Grama | Bouteloua curtipendula | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Smooth Blue Aster | Symphyotrichum laeve | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Spicebush | Lindera benzoin | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Spotted Bee Balm | Monarda punctata | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Spring Beauty | Claytonia virginica | ![]() | ||
Swamp Milkweed | Asclepias incarnata | ![]() | ![]() | |
Turtlehead Flower | Chelone glabra | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Virginia Bluebells | Mertensia virginica | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
White Snakeroot | Ageratina altissima or Eupatorium rugosum | ![]() | ||
Whorled Milkweed | Asclepias verticillata | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Wild Bergamot | Monarda fistulosa | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Wild Cucumber | Echinocystis lobata | ![]() | ||
Hairy Wild Petunia | Ruellia humilis | ![]() | ![]() | |
Wild Sunflower | Helianthus annus | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Wild Violet | Viola soroia | ![]() | ![]() | |
Winecup Flower/ Purple Poppy Mallow | Callirhoe involucrata | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Yellow Jewelweed | Impatiens pallida | ![]() |
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