Wildflowers of the United States

Reference List for Missouri Wildflower Identification
Site	Description
Missouri Native Plant Society	"The purpose of the Missouri Native Plant Society is to promote the enjoyment, preservation, conservation, restoration, and study of the flora native to Missouri; to educate the public about the values of the beauty, diversity, and environmental importance of indigenous vegetation; and to publish related information."
Missouri Wildflower Guide by Marilyn Gerrard-Hartman	A really excellent site with thumbnails, photos, and descriptions for nearly 125 species of wildflowers found in Missouri. Well-organized, you can list thumbnails by blossom color, or can get the entire list ordered by common name.
Fontenelle Forest NatureSearch - Wildflowers	From the site: "We've identified close to 300 species of wildflowers so far by walking the trails and prairies of Fontenelle Forest and Neale Woods... To help in searching for a particular species page, the wildflowers are separated by color, and within each color category by the approximate date they first bloom. But be aware that intermediate or variable colors do occur..." Recommended by Rachel Hall, this appears to be an excellent site for wildflower identification for Nebraska, especially the eastern part of the state, along with the nearby states of SD, IA, KS, and MO.
Flora by Max	PDF files containing information and photos about 147 different plant families, covering about 1,187 species and varieties. Generally there is a single PDF file for each family, although some of the families are so large Max has 2 or more PDF files to cover the family (Asteraceae has 10.) Max Brown has built an impressive botanical collection. He is an amateur botanist (a retired geologist) and so the information is presented using some pretty technical language, but if you know the family you're interested in, Max's site is worth the time for the visit.
Southeastern Flora	Some very nice esthetically-pleasing identification photographs of a large number of wildflowers. Search criteria includes flower color, plant form (tree/shrub/herb/vine), leaf type, leaf arrangement, and species/common/family name. Note: If you don't know the entire name, use "%" at the end as a wild-card in the search. From the site: "...Currently there are over 1020 species listed on this site and over 14,400 pictures to help you identify what you're looking for..." This is an increase of 90 species in the 2 months between 8/15/09 and 10/15/09.
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas at Austin	Perhaps the most comprehensive native wildflower information site in the United States. "Discover more than 10,050 plants native to North America."
USDA Plants Database	Great resource for native plants! Their own description: "The PLANTS Database provides standardized information about the vascular plants, mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and lichens of the U.S. and its territories." Provides these important (to me) pieces of info: 1) Listing by state and county within a state where specific species have been identified. 2) Scientific name synonyms are listed. 3) Scientific names are matched to a widely-used common name. 4) Photographs of many species. 5) State by state list of all the species identified in that state. Official Citation: USDA, NRCS. 2009. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 22 June 2009). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.
WildflowerSearch.com	Steven K. Sullivan has done a tremendous job of putting together a database and search engine to help in identifying wild plants. Not only can you search by plant scientific and common names, you can narrow the results using location (currently lower 48 states and parts of Canada and Mexico), flower shape, color, size, habitat, and observation time. His database currently includes over 7,000 plants. Definitely worth checking out.
Item at Amazon: Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley and the Southern Appalachians: 2nd Edition (Commission to USWildflowers.com if purchased)	A product of the Tennessee Native Plant Society, this excellent and comprehensive field guide covers over 1250 species using 800 photographs and valuable descriptive text. While the focus is Tennessee, it's area of coverage includes the entire states of Kentucky and West Virginia, as well as large parts of 13 other states. In addition to the description of the plants it has an interesting look at botany from a historical perspective of the region. While the main part of the book is organized by plant family, there is a color-keyed section of thumbnails that allows a quick scan for identification, and there are illustrated keys for 12 of the families. This is my favorite wildflower identification book that I have, and I consider it a "must have" for wildflower enthusiasts in the region.
Wildflower Information.org	From the site: "WildflowerInformation.org is a resource for wildflower enthusiasts and gardeners. With a growing interest in the environment and natural gardening, our objective is to offer comprehensive information that is easy to use, and accessible for those from the casually interested to the expert." While this information doesn't appear to be on the website itself, WildflowerInformation.org seems to be owned by American Meadows, the "recommended wildflowers seed supplier" of WildflowerInformation.org.
Item at Amazon: National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers--E: Eastern Region - Revised Edition (Commission to USWildflowers.com if purchased)	"...gives full descriptions of more than 650 species found east of the Rocky Mountains, along with notes on several hundred more. The eminently sensible organization relies on first-impression visible characteristics..." I use this guide frequently, and unless I have a good idea what family a flower is in, this is usually still my first stop. In my opinion, a must-have for beginning wildflower enthusiasts; augments more locale-specific wildflower references.

Looking for Wildflowers for a specific state? Check here: Number of References for Missouri: 11