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Large-flowered penstemon flowers develop in the axils of the stem leaves in pairs. (Occasionally a triplet will arise.) Individual flowers are up to 2" long, pale lavender or pink, tubular, sightly flattened vertically but flaring at the aperture, with a two-lobed upper lip and 3-lobed lower lip with purple lines on the interior. The bluish-green calyx has five teeth. A distinct longitudinal ridge runs along the upper surface of the corolla, intersecting the aperture between the two upper lobes. A white style with a tiny stigma runs along the inside of the corolla under the longitudinal ridge and protrudes from the throat. The four fertile stamens are recessed, with their filaments wrapped around the inside of the corolla like a ribcage and the anthers on either side of the dorsal midline; the fifth (sterile) stamen runs along the lower midline and ends in a recurved or coiled tip with a prominent pad bearing short, brilliant-yellow hairs. The fruit is a teardrop-shaped seed pod nestled in the remains of the calyx. Large-flowered penstemon prefers poorer but well-drained soils with significant rocky material or sand. This species is officially listed as "endangered" in Illinois.

Penstemon

Penstemon grandiflorus

large-flowered penstemon [Blooms: May-Jul]

Hairy beardtongue is 1-2.5' tall and blatantly hairy — backlit plants seen from a distance show a white nimbus around the stems. The flowers are slender, lavender colored, with white lips; the aperture of the flower is nearly occluded by the arched lower lip. Like the other beardtongues/penstemons the tubular flowers have an upper and lower lip have a total of five lobes (two above, three below). The calyx, flower stems, and the flowers themselves are densely covered by glandular hairs; the stems are densely covered with fine white hairs. The stem leaves are pointed, triangular with toothed margins, and occur in opposite pairs; the leaf pairs are oriented at 90° to the pairs above and below them on the stem.

Penstemon

Penstemon hirsutus

hairy beardtongue [Blooms: May-Jul]

Pale beardtongue stems terminate in a 4-10" long panicle of flowers that is longer than broad. Flowers are 3/4" long consisting of a short, green calyx with five teeth, a tubular, white corolla similar to that of other penstemons/beardtongues, four fertile stamens with brown anthers, a bright yellow "beard" on the lower lip (as in hairy beardtongue), and a single style. The upper lip of the corolla has the usual two erect lobes, but the lower lip has three rounded lobes that project forward well beyond the margin of the upper lip. The outer surfaces of the flowers and flower stalks are covered with hairs. The throat of the corolla's lower surface has three thin purple veins, a narrow patch of long, bright yellow hairs, and a pair of low ridges/grooves, one on either side of the midline. The fruit is an egg-shaped capsule 1/4" long nestled in the persistent calyx. Both pale beardtongue and foxglove beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis) have white flowers and might be confused. However, the flowers of pale beardtongue are smaller, the flowers have two distinct ridges on the interior of the lower half of the corolla, and the three lobes on the lower lip are parallel to the floor of the corolla and extend well beyond the upper lip. None of these traits are present in foxglove beardtongue. In Jackson Park, pale beardtongue is less common than hairy beardtongue and much less common that foxglove beardtongue.

Penstemon

Penstemon pallidus

pale beardtongue [Blooms: May-Jun]

Cleft phlox flowers are supported by 1" pedicels, are 3/4" across, white or pale violet, with a tubular corolla that flares into five petal-like lobes that are each deeply cleft at their tips; the throat is very narrow. A three-lobed stigma and the orange anthers of the stamens lie just within the opening to the throat of the flower. Cleft phlox is endemic to the Midwest. The cleft petal lobes distinguish cleft phlox from all other Phlox species.

Phlox

Phlox bifida

cleft phlox [Blooms: Apr-?]

Woodland phlox is a 1-1.5' tall plant with a fuzzy to hairy stem, light green or reddish brown in color. Leaves are opposite (or sometimes in a three-leaf whorl), sessile or clasping the stem, three times longer than wide, lance-shaped with smooth margins, and fuzzy to hairy overall with short hairs around the margins. The flowers are 1" across, pale blue-violet, lavender, or (rarely) white, and with a long, narrow tubular throat that abruptly flares into five petal-like, spoon-shaped lobes. The calyx is green or reddish-green, hairy, with five long, narrow teeth almost half the length of the flower, spreading near their tips. The five stamens and style are hidden within the throat. Woodland phlox has relatively broader leaves than other Phlox species and has a more intense blue-violet (and less pink) color.

Phlox

Phlox divaricata

woodland phlox [Blooms: Apr-May]

Smooth phlox is a 1-2' tall plant with an unbranched, hairless stem topped with a slightly domed cluster of 3-20 pink or lavender flowers. Each flower is about 3/4" across and has a long, tubular throat that abruptly flares into five petal-like lobes; each lobe is wedge-shaped and overlaps the next lobe clockwise. The calyx (also hairless) consists of five triangular segments that taper rapidly to sharp points; the calyx is <1/3 the length of the corolla tube. The five stamens and single style with a three-part stigma either lie within the corolla tube or are just visible in the throat. After fertilization, a narrow seed capsule filled with numerous seeds fills the persistant calyx. Smooth phlox prefers moist to wet habitats. Smooth phlox flowers resemble prairie phlox (P. bifida) but the latter species is quite hairy on the stems, leaves, and the exterior of the flower (the calyx); smooth phlox is hairless. Checking the hairiness (or lack thereof) of the calyx is the quickest way to tell prairie phlox from smooth phlox.

Phlox

Phlox glaberrima interior

smooth phlox [Blooms: Jun-Aug]

Prairie phlox is a compact, single-stemmed, plant 1/2-1.75' tall with (typically) a dome-shaped cluster of flowers at the apex. Individual flowers are 1/2-3/4" across, pink or lavender (rarely white); the corolla is tubular with five wedge-shaped, petal-like lobes often with darker markings (nectar guides) near the throat; the corolla is hairy on all external surfaces. The throat is very narrow; the five stamens with yellow anthers are recessed but just visible. The very short, tubular, hairy calyx base is green, with five long, narrow teeth that extend parallel to the narrow throat (also hairy) of the corolla. The fruit is oval and shorter than the calyx (in which it develops); when ripe, the capsule splits explosively, flinging the seeds in all directions. The species name ("pilosa") means "hairy" in Latin, and this species is indeed hairy on almost every surface. Prairie phlox flowers resemble smooth phlox (P. glaberrima) and, to a lesser extent, woodland phlox (P. divaricata), but the former species is quite hairy on the stems, leaves, and the exterior of the flower (the calyx); smooth phlox is hairless. Checking the hairiness (or lack thereof) of the calyx is the quickest way to tell prairie phlox from smooth phlox; checking the hairiness of the exterior of the corolla tube will distinguish woodland phlox (hairless) from prairie phlox (hairy).

Phlox

Phlox pilosa

prairie phlox [Blooms: Apr-Jun]

Hairy wild petunia is, like the name says, hairy — stems, leaves, and petioles all densely covered with long (1-2 mm) white hairs on all surfaces. The plant is short, generally 8-12" tall. The leaves are opposite, twice as long as wide, oval or triangular, with smooth margins and with short (1-3 mm) hairy petioles or sessile. The flowers emerge directly from upper leaf axils; what looks like a flower stalk is actually part of the corolla tube. The flowers are pale lavender or pale purple, about 2" across, funnel shaped with five lobes tapering rapidly to a narrow throat, four white to purplish stamens, and a white to purplish style with an asymmetrically split stigma. There are purple streaks (nectar guides) on the lowermost lobe's throat region. The short, tubular calyx is green, with five long, narrow teeth that extend for half the length of the flower; the calyx, too, is hairy. The fruit is a bullet-shaped capsule, shorter than the calyx teeth (among which it nestles); the seeds are covered with fine spiraling hairs that allow the seeds to self-bury. The flowers usually last only one day. Hairy wild petunia is a distinctive plant unlikely to be confused with any other.

Ruellia

Ruellia humilis

hairy wild petunia [Blooms: Jun-Sep]

Upper branches of elderberry end in flat to domed panicles of flowers 3-10" across. Individual flowers are about 1/4" across, with a green, cup-shaped calyx, a creamy white corolla with five petal-like lobes, five long, spreading stamens with white anthers, and a creamy white hemispherical ovary with 3-5 short styles; flowers occur in umbel-like panicles 10" across made of dozens of flowers. The fruits are <1/4" wide spherical drupes in starburst-like sprays, dark purple to black when mature. The flower stalks are light green, turning purplish as the fruit ripens. The raw fruit is sweet with a slightly bitter or astringent aftertaste but may induce nausea or diarrhea if eaten in more than small quantities. The fruit is widely used in a variety of herbal supplements (as infusions and extracts), jam, and herbal wine. Note that all parts of the plant including the sap (except the flesh of the fruit) contain toxic cyanide-producing glycosides; berries should be cooked before consumption.

Sambucus

Sambucus nigra

elderberry [Blooms: May-Jul]

Soapwort produces clusters of 3/4-1" flowers from the tips of terminal stems and branches. Individual flowers have a 1" long, green or reddish, sometimes hairy, cylindrical calyx; a corolla with five spreading (later reflexed), pink to white, oblong petals/lobes with a notched tip; 10 white stamens with pale yellow anthers that protrude from the throat of the flower; and a similarly protruding, divided white style. The calyx persists as an inflated seed capsule filled with 15-75 tiny dark brown, kidney-shaped seeds. Soapwort might be mistaken for a phlox, but the stamens and style in phlox are always hidden in the calyx tube, never protruding as in soapwort, and soapwort has leaves with three obvious longitudinal veins. Soapwort contains saponins in both the foliage and (especially) the seeds that make a frothy soap-like lather when boiled (and were once used as a soap substitute), but caution is recommended — the saponins are toxic. Herbivores generally avoid this plant.

Saponaria

Saponaria officinalis

soapwort [Blooms: Jun-Jul]

Early figwort (aka, lanceleaf figwort) is difficult to distinguish from late- (or Maryland-) figwort (S. marilandica) except by blooming date (before July = early, after July = late, July = could be either) and details of the flowers (especially the sterile stamen). The inflorescence (a panicle) is constructed from short, spreading, sparse branches covered in glandular hairs, bearing a 3/8" long, shiny tubular flower whose outside surfaces are reddish-purple to reddish-green and inner surfaces are reddish brown (upper and lateral lobes) or greenish yellow (lower lobe). Four yellow, fertile stamens and a single blunt, slender style hug the floor of the flower, the style protruding further than the fertile stamens. A single sterile stamen (a "staminode") is located along the upper interior of the flower. The sterile stamens are yellow or green with a broad tip in early figwort (S. lanceolata); they are reddish-brown to purple and narrow in late figwort (S. marilandica). The fruit is a teardrop-shaped capsule, dark brown when mature, that splits in two longitudinally to release the numerous tiny seeds.

Scrophularia

Scrophularia lanceolata

early figwort [Blooms: May-Jul]

Late figwort's inflorescence (a panicle) gives rise to short, spreading, sparse branches covered in glandular hairs, bearing a 3/8" long, shiny tubular flower whose outside surfaces are reddish-purple to reddish-green and inner surfaces are reddish brown (upper and lateral lobes) or greenish yellow (lower lobe). Four yellow, fertile stamens and a single blunt, slender style hug the floor of the flower, the style protruding further than the fertile stamens. A single sterile stamen (a "staminode") is located along the upper interior of the flower. The sterile stamens are yellow or green with a broad tip in early figwort (S. lanceolata); they are reddish-brown to purple and narrow in late figwort (S. marilandica). The fruit is a teardrop-shaped capsule, dark brown when mature, that splits in two longitudinally to release the numerous tiny seeds.

Scrophularia

Scrophularia marilandica

late figwort [Blooms: Jul-Aug]

Evening campion is an exotic from Europe that grows to be 2-3' tall. It is nominally a night-blooming species, but I've observed it in bloom throughout the day in shady areas. Male and female plants are separate. The upper stems end in clusters of one or more 1-1.5" long flowers. The "bladder" (the calyx) is covered with a fuzz of fine hairs and has dark green or reddish-purple lines running from pole to pole (10 lines in male flowers, 20 in female). The five petals are heart shaped (with the point towards the center of the flower) and are deeply cleft into two lobes; the petals form a fringe that makes a distinct collar around the opening to the floral tube. Female flowers have five emergent styles (rarely four or six); male flowers have 10 yellow stamens that barely emerge from the collar at the center of the flower. (Other local Silene sp. have three styles.) The fruit is brown, urn-shaped, and has 10 small teeth on the distal end (or five pairs if you prefer). (Five or six teeth total in S. noctiflora, S. stellata, and S. vulgaris.) Evening campion evolved a dioecious life history (separate male and female plants) about 11 million years ago. (Other species in the genus have "perfect" flowers with both male and female organs present and functional in the flowers.) The evolution and genomic history of the sex-determining Y chromosome (XX = female, XY = male) has been of considerable interest for the light it shines on the evolution of Y chromosomes in both plants and animals (Moraga et al. 2025. Science 387:630–636; Akagi et al. 2025. Science 387:637–643).

Silene

Silene latifolia

evening campion [Blooms: May-Aug]

Royal catchfly's bright red flowers are restricted to the upper regions of the plant as clusters arising from the tips of stems. Individual flowers are 3/4-1" across, have an elongate (1"), narrow, cylindrical calyx with 10 longitudinal ridges, five narrow red or scarlet petals that flare from the tip of the calyx, and stamens with gray anthers that protrude well beyond the opening to the calyx. There are three corkscrew-shaped, threadlike styles that develop after the stamens have matured; like the stamens, they protrude well outside the calyx opening. The fruit is a 1/2" long capsule, open at the top, with 6-8 spreading teeth around the lip. Royal catchfly is hummingbird and butterfly pollinated.

Silene

Silene regia

royal catchfly [Blooms: Jul-Aug]

Starry campion's main stem ends in a panicle of flowers up to 8" long and 3-4" across; additional panicles may arise on the lateral stems on robust plants. Flowers occur in groups of 2-3 on the ends of long, slender branches; the flowers rest directly on short (1/4") pedicels. Individual flowers are 3/4" across. Each flower consists of a bell shaped, light green, fuzzy calyx nearly as broad as it is long with five broad, triangular teeth on its free end; five white petals with a narrow base and a "fringe" of 8-12 narrow lobes on their free ends; 10 stamens with slender white filaments that extend well outside the throat; and three white styles. The styles emerge from a large, green, globular ovary in the middle of the flower. After fertilization, the calyx gets broader (nearly triangular in profile) as the ovary expands into a spherical green ball; the fruit is brown, urn-shaped, and has six teeth on the distal end. The flowers tend to close in bright midday light. They are usually pollinated by moths and, to a lesser extent, bumblebees.

Silene

Silene stellata

starry campion [Blooms: Jun-Jul]

Early goldenrod's inflorescence is apical, a panicle of flowering stems that "often arch upward and outward like a fireworks display" (John Hilty, www.illinoiswildflowers.info). Individual flowerheads are about 1/4" across; they have 4-12 yellow ray florets, not all open at one time, and 8-15 yellow disk florets. The base of the flowerhead is surrounded by 3-4 series of overlapping, narrow, hairless, yellowish-green bracts (phyllaries) that together are 3-4 mm (1/16") long. The pedicels (flower stalks) are usually hairless, all attached on one side of the panicle's flowering branches and curving upward. The fruit is a cone-shaped dry seed 1-1.5 mm long with an attached tuft of light brown hairs 2.5-3.5 mm long. The combination of wing-like leaflets in the leaf axils, hairless stems and leaves, and an inflorescence whose flowering stems flare up and out is diagnostic for early goldenrod. Field goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis) is much the same size and general appearance, but has hairy stems and leaves, unlike early goldenrod.

Solidago

Solidago juncea

early goldenrod [Blooms: Jul/Aug-?]

Saltmarsh sand-spurry flowers consist of five elliptical green sepals, five white to pink petals slightly longer than the sepals, 2-5 stamens with bright yellow anthers, and three short (0.7 mm), thread-like styles and three stigmas. In the Great Lakes region, saltmarsh sand-spurry is widely present along roads where salt is used as a deicer. Some sources refer to this plant as Spergularia marina, but ITIS rejects that binomial; Spergularia salina is the accepted name.

Spergularia

Spergularia salina

saltmarsh sand-spurry [Blooms: May-Aug]

Bladdernut produces white, drooping, bell-shaped flowers in clusters of 5-12 from the axils of the leaves. Each flower is pendant on a long stalk, bell-shaped, about 8 mm long and about 6 mm wide. Flowers have five greenish-white sepals overlapping much of the petals, five bright white petals (visible through the gaps between the sepals) that flare at their tips, five stamens with white filaments and deep yellow-orange anthers, and a greenish-white style with a three-lobed stigma extending beyond the mouth of the bell. The flower stalks (pedicels) are about 1.5-2 times the length of the flower. The fruit is a greenish-white to brown, papery pod (like a "Chinese lantern") that is about 3" long and 2" across with three lobes/chambers, pointed on their distal ends; each chamber contains up to four 1/4" seeds. Both flowers and fruits are distinctive and easily recognizable.

Staphylea

Staphylea trifolia

bladdernut [Blooms: Apr-May]