Flora of Illinois

Thismia americana, known as thismia or banded Trinity, was a species of flowering plant that was first discovered in 1912 by Norma Etta Pfeiffer in the wetlands surrounding Chicago's Lake Calumet, and described by her in 1914. The type specimen was found in what was then a wet-mesic sand prairie at 119th Street and Torrence Avenue in what would become the industrial neighborhood of South Deering. The plant has not been seen since 1916, and the ground where it was observed has since been extensively altered by industrial development. The species is believed to be extinct. Several extensive

Trillium viride, commonly called the wood wakerobin, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is found in the central United States, in certain parts of Missouri and Illinois. The specific epithet viride means "youthful" or "fresh-green", an apparent reference to the color of the plant's flower petals. For this reason, it is also called the green trillium, not to be confused with other green-flowered trilliums such as T. viridescens and the green form of T. sessile, both of which are found in Missouri.

Boltonia decurrens is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names decurrent false aster and claspingleaf doll's daisy. It is native to the floodplains along the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers in the United States, where the habitat has been drastically altered, leading to its decline. The plant was once distributed across 400 kilometers of riverside forest from LaSalle, Illinois, to St. Louis, Missouri. As the rivers and riparian habitat alongside them have been developed, the plant's distribution has been fragmented into 40 to 43 separate

Helianthus × cinereus is a species of sunflower native to the United States, in Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio. H. cinereus was proposed as a new species by Torrey and Gray in 1842. It is a natural hybrid with similar features to artificial hybrids between Helianthus mollis and Helianthus occidentalis.

Helianthus × brevifolius is a hybrid perennial species of sunflower in the family Asteraceae. It is native to N. Central & NE. U.S.A., including Ohio. Hybrid formula is H. grosseserratus × H. mollis.

Asplenium × herb-wagneri, commonly known as Wagner's spleenwort, is a rare, sterile, hybrid fern. It is formed by the crossing of lobed spleenwort (A. pinnatifidum) with maidenhair spleenwort (A. trichomanes) and is intermediate in form between the two parents. Found in Illinois and Indiana in 1967 and 1970, respectively, it was identified but not given a scientific name until 1977. It grows on acidic rocks.

Astragalus tennesseensis is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name Tennessee milkvetch. It is native to the United States, where it is known from Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee and Alabama. Most of the occurrences are in Tennessee. This plant produces cream-colored flowers in April and May. The seedlings grow slowly and several years pass before the plants reach reproductive maturity. The species is adapted to drought, remaining metabolically active in habitat that is dry over the summer. This plant has been nearly extirpated from Illinois and Indiana, but it

Crataegus nitida, the glossy hawthorn or shining hawthorn, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rosaceae, native to the US states of Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas. Hardy to USDA zone 5, it is useful in landscaping applications where a small, showy tree with thorns is desired.

Iliamna remota, commonly known as the Kankakee mallow, is an endangered species of flowering plant in the mallow family. It is endemic to a single location, the 700-metre-long (2,300 ft) Langham Island in Kankakee River State Park, in the US state of Illinois.

Solidago drummondii, commonly called Drummond's goldenrod, is a North American species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. It is native to the middle Mississippi Valley of the Central United States, primarily in Missouri and Arkansas but with additional populations in Louisiana and Illinois. Solidago drummondii is a perennial herb up to 100 cm (40 inches) tall, with an underground caudex and rhizomes. One plant can produce 200 or more small yellow flower heads in a large branching (sometimes drooping) array at the top of the plant.

Rubus wisconsinensis is a North American species of bristleberry in section Setosi of the genus Rubus, a member of the rose family. It is native to the north-central United States (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Illinois).

Hypericum swinkianum, known as Swink's St. John's wort, is a shrub in the St. John's wort family. It was named after Chicago Region botanist Floyd Swink (1921-2000).

Oxalis illinoensis, the Illinois woodsorrel, is a species of flowering plant in the woodsorrel family (Oxalidaceae). It is endemic to the United States, where it found in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The limits of the range of this species are unclear due to its similarity to Oxalis grandis, with which there has been confusion. Oxalis illinoensis is a perennial that produces yellow flowers with red-lined centers. Its primary habitat is calcareous forests and bluffs.

Lespedeza leptostachya is a rare species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common names prairie lespedeza and prairie bush-clover. It occurs in the Upper Midwest region of the United States. The flowers are creamy-white to purplish and arranged into a narrow terminal spikes.

Dalea foliosa, commonly called leafy prairie clover, is a species of flowering plant in the legume family (Fabaceae). It is an endangered species in the United States, where it occurs in three states: Illinois, Tennessee, and Alabama.

Tetraneuris herbacea is a rare species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names eastern fournerved daisy, lakeside daisy, fournerved starflower, and Manitoulin gold. It is native to and endemic to the Great Lakes region in North America, where it is present in Ontario, Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois. It is threatened by habitat destruction and degradation by several forces, including limestone quarrying, recreational activity, fire suppression, and construction. It is a federally listed threatened species of the United States and of Canada.

Solidago sciaphilia is known as shadowy goldenrod or cliff goldenrod. The species is endemic to bluffs along the Mississippi River in southern Minnesota, and the driftless area of southwestern Wisconsin, northern Iowa and Illinois. Throughout its range, S. sciaphila is strongly associated with dolomite and sandstone bedrock, especially dry cliffs. It can be similar to Solidago speciosa but has more serrate lower and mid stem leaves and is generally smaller to much smaller when growing in pockets of shallow soil on cliffs. Small plants are similar to Solidago hispida in general appearance.

Penstemon arkansanus is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common name Arkansas beardtongue. It is endemic to Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Illinois in the United States, occurring in rocky or sandy soils of shale or sandstone.

Cyperus grayoides is a species of sedge known as Illinois flatsedge and Mohlenbrock's umbrella sedge. It is endemic to the United States, where its distribution extends from Illinois through Missouri and Arkansas to Texas and Louisiana. This perennial herb grows from a network of tuberous rhizomes, producing clumps of triangular stems up to 35 to 48 centimeters tall. The gray-green leaves are up to 25 centimeters long. The inflorescence is a cluster of several rounded spikes containing many spikelets. This plant grows in sandy habitat such as dunes and sandy prairies. It can occasionally be

Apios priceana is a rare species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common names Price's potato-bean, Price's groundnut, and traveler's delight. It is a climbing yellow-green vine growing from a stout, potato-like tuber. The plant is native to the Southeastern United States.

Sagittaria ambigua, the Kansas arrowhead, is an aquatic plant species native to North America. It is a perennial herb growing up to 90 centimetres (3 feet) tall. The leaves are broadly lanceolate, the blade up to 20 cm (8 in) long and 12 cm (4+1⁄2 in) wide. It can be found in the central United States (Indiana, Illinois, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma) growing in wet areas, mostly along the shores of ponds and waterways.

Symphyotrichum anomalum (formerly Aster anomalus) is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. With the common name of manyray aster, it is a perennial, herbaceous plant that may reach 20 to 120 centimeters (3⁄4 to 4 feet) tall. Its flowers, which are attractive to butterflies, have lavender or blue to purple, seldom white, ray florets and cream or light yellow, then pinkish-purple disk florets.

Solidago buckleyi, or Buckley's goldenrod, is a species of goldenrod native to central North America. It is an uncommon species with a small range, being found mainly in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas and Missouri, and in the uplands near the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers near southern Illinois and western Kentucky. There are also a few isolated populations reported from Indiana. Its preferred habitat is open oak woodlands. Solidago buckleyi is a perennial herb up to 120 cm (48 inches) tall with large woody taproots. Basal leaves wilt before flowering time; stem leaves become

Lithospermum molle, the softhair marbleseed, is a species of flowering plant in the forget-me-not family. This species is a narrow endemic, native primarily to the Nashville Basin of Tennessee, where it is found in limestone prairies near cedar glades. There are disjunct populations in similar habitats in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri, in northwest Alabama, in Logan and Warren County, Kentucky as well as other small areas of Tennessee. Outside of Tennessee, it is very rare and perhaps no longer exists in Alabama and Kentucky due to habitat destruction. Because of its highly restricted

Carex arkansana is a tussock-forming species of perennial sedge in the family Cyperaceae. It is native to central parts of the United States. The sedge has no obvious rhizomes. It has 5 to 60 cm (2.0 to 23.6 in) long culms that are 1.4 to 2 mm (0.055 to 0.079 in) wide at the base thinning to 0.7 to 0.9 mm (0.028 to 0.035 in) at long projections that are wider than they are long. The leaf blade is usually 1 to 1.25 mm (0.039 to 0.049 in) in width. The inflorescences are composed of three to six spikes that are 1.5 to 4 cm (0.59 to 1.57 in) long and 7 to 12 mm (0.28 to 0.47 in) wide. The

Asclepias meadii is a rare species of milkweed known by the common name Mead's milkweed. It is native to the American Midwest, where it was probably once quite widespread in the tallgrass prairie. Today much of the Midwest has been fragmented and claimed for agriculture, and the remaining prairie habitat is degraded. The plant is a federally listed threatened species due to this destruction of its habitat. Factors contributing to its rarity include mowing and plowing, highway expansions, erosion, loss of a natural prairie fire regime, pesticides directly applied or drifting from nearby

Carex missouriensis is a species of sedge in the family Cyperaceae, native to the US states of Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana. It is typically found in swales in surviving patches of prairie.

Carex opaca is a sedge that is native to northern central and south eastern parts of the United States including; Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi.

Artemisia serrata is a North American species in the sunflower family, with the common name serrate-leaved sage or saw-tooth wormwood. It is native to the north-central part of the United States (Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, with isolated populations in New York State).

Cirsium pitcheri, sometimes called Pitcher's thistle or dune thistle, is a species of thistle native to sand dune shorelines along the upper Great Lakes. It is native to Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ontario. It is listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a threatened species.