Abies balsamea
BALSAM FIR
- Grows in a pyramidal, open habit
- Needles are emerald-green
- One of the most aromatic of all firs
HEIGHT: 18-20 m · SPREAD: 6-8 m
Acer pensylvanicum
STRIPED MAPLE
- Small, rounded, irregular crown
- Yellow-green bell-shaped flowers appear in pendulous clusters
- Three-lobed leaves emerge green with pink hues in the spring
HEIGHT: 7-8 m · SPREAD: 6-7 m
Acer rubrum
RED MAPLE
- Small to medium-sized broad-leaved hardwood
- Crown is small, dense and narrow with spreading or ascending branches
- Flowers appear in bright red clusters
HEIGHT: 12-15 m · SPREAD: 10-12 m
Acer saccharinum
SILVER MAPLE
- Fast-growing, tall, with a rounded, open, spreading crown
- Small yellow flowers appear in clusters before the foliage
- Deeply lobed light green leaves have silvery undersides
HEIGHT: 18-20 m · SPREAD: 15-18 m
Acer saccharum
SUGAR MAPLE
- Upright growing, with a dense rounded crown
- Insignificant flowers appear just before the leaves
- Fruit (samaras in pairs) ripen early fall
HEIGHT: 25-30 m · SPREAD: 15-18 m
Achillea millefolium
COMMON YARROW
- Flat-topped clusters of white flowers
- Seeds ripen July to September
- Foliage is mid-green and fine-textured
HEIGHT: 45-60 cm · SPREAD: 50-60 cm
Acorus americanus
SWEET FLAG
- Hardy perennial, swamp or bog plant
- Foliage and rhizomes have a sweet citrus scent when bruised or cut
- Wheat-like flowers
HEIGHT: 60-90 cm · SPREAD: 70-90 cm
Actaea pachypoda
WHITE BANEBERRY
- Jagged green leaves on strong reddish stems
- Clusters of fragrant white flowers
- After flowering, tiny white berries appear
HEIGHT: 60-90 cm · SPREAD: 60-90 cm
Actaea rubra
RED BANEBERRY
- Lightly scented delicate white flowers
- Fine-textured foliage with an airy habit
- After flowering, red berry clusters appear
HEIGHT: 60-90 cm · SPREAD: 50-60 cm
Adiantum pedatum
NORTHERN MAIDENHAIR FERN
- Delicate bright green fronds with black-purple stems
- Spreads by shallow rhizomes to form a dense ground cover
- Slower-growing fern, taking 2-3 years to reach mature size
HEIGHT: 30-50 cm · SPREAD: 30-50 cm
Aesculus glabra
OHIO BUCKEYE
- Low branched, broad, oval, rounded crown
- Green compound leaves emerge in the spring, each with seven spreading oblong leaflets
- Clusters of single green-white-yellow flowers
HEIGHT: 10-12 m · SPREAD: 9-10 m
Agastache foeniculum
ANISE HYSSOP
- AKA Agastache anethiodora, Agastache anisata
- Tall upright clumping perennial
- Dense spikes of lavender-purple flowers with violet bracts
HEIGHT: 100-125 cm · SPREAD: 70-90 cm
Agastache scrophulariaefolia
PURPLE GIANT HYSSOP
- Strong, tall central stems
- Blooms are pale purple and open slowly over a period of weeks
- They are nectar-rich, which makes them highly attractive to pollinators
HEIGHT: 125-175 cm · SPREAD: 50-60 cm
Allium cernuum
NODDING ONION
- Best described as a dangling cyme of little florets
- Flowers are commonly pink and sometimes white
- Flowers mature into fruit opening to show glossy dark seeds
HEIGHT: 45-60 cm · SPREAD: 25-30 cm
Allium schoenoprasum
WILD CHIVES
- Purple-pink balls of star-like flower clusters
- Both leaves and flowers are edible
- Used for onion flavouring
HEIGHT: 30-60 cm · SPREAD: 30-60 cm
Allium schoenoprasum 'Album'
WILD CHIVES
- White balls of star-like flower clusters
- Grassy-like leaves and flowers are edible
- Used for onion flavouring
HEIGHT: 30-60 cm · SPREAD: 30-60 cm
Alnus rugosa
SPECKLED ALDER
- Pyramidal to oval growth habit
- Noted for its speckled bark
- Oval to rounded leaves, margins uneven and double-toothed
HEIGHT: 13-15 m · SPREAD: 8-10 m
Amelanchier canadensis
SERVICEBERRY
- White flowers
- Grayish-green round leaves turn to medium-green in the summer
- Brilliant yellow to red colour in the fall
HEIGHT: 5-6 m · SPREAD: 3-4 m
Amelanchier humilis
LOW SHADBUSH
- White flowers are held in erect clusters
- Oval to rounded green foliage
- Brilliant yellow to red foliage in the fall
HEIGHT: 150-175 cm · SPREAD: 250-300 cm
Amelanchier laevis
ALLEGHENY SERVICEBERRY
- Lightly fragrant drooping clusters of white flowers appear before the foliage
- Edible red berries ripen to dark purplish-black in June
- Glossy leaves emerge bronzish-purple, maturing to dark green
HEIGHT: 4-5 m · SPREAD: 4-5 m
Ammophila breviligulata
AMERICAN BEACH GRASS
- Long narrow soft-textured golden-tan flower spikes
- Gray-green leaf blades are narrow with extremely sharp tips
- This is a great low-maintenance grass for erosion control
HEIGHT: 60-90 cm · SPREAD: 100-125 cm
Amorpha canescens
LEAD PLANT
- Woody perennial
- Tiny bluish-purple flower spikes with gold anthers
- Pinnately compound grayish-green leaflets
HEIGHT: 60-80 cm · SPREAD: 60-80 cm
Anaphalis margaritacea
PEARLY EVERLASTING
- Small white button-like flowers with yellow centres
- Forms a bushy mound of hairy silver-gray foliage
- Often found along roadsides and in disturbed areas
HEIGHT: 60-80 cm · SPREAD: 30-60 cm
Andropogon gerardii
BIG BLUE STEM
- Dense, slightly arching clump of blue-green leaves
- Leaves turn a bronze-red in the fall and colour remains through the winter months
- Three-pronged burgundy-purple seed heads are held on sturdy stems
HEIGHT: 150-200 cm · SPREAD: 60-100 cm
Andropogon virginicus
BROOM SEDGE
- Narrow clumps of green stems and leaves turn purplish-red
- Fall colour is a bright orange changing to straw-yellow in the winter
- Prolific seed producer with high germination rates
HEIGHT: 100-125 cm · SPREAD: 40-60 cm
Anemone canadensis
CANADA ANEMONE
- Other common names: Windflower, Meadow anemone
- Single layered white blooms with yellow centres
- A robust perennial with deeply lobed green foliage
HEIGHT: 30-50 cm · SPREAD: 30-50 cm
Anemone cylindrica
WINDFLOWER
- Upright slender habit and clumping form
- Deeply lobed green, basal leaves
- Greenish-white blooms produce thimble-shaped seed heads
HEIGHT: 30-60 cm · SPREAD: 70-150 cm
Anemone multifida 'Rubra'
CUTLEAF ANEMONE
- Carmine-red flowers with yellow centres
- Low, clumping mound of fern-like foliage
- Suitable for edging and rock gardens
HEIGHT: 30-40 cm · SPREAD: 20-30 cm
Anemonella thalictroides
RUE ANEMONE
- AKA Thalictrum thalictroides, Syndesmon thalictroides
- Reddish stems and foliage emerge in late March
- Small dainty pale pink to white flowers with yellow-green centres rise just above the foliage
HEIGHT: 15-20 cm · SPREAD: 15-20 cm
Aquilegia canadensis
WILD COLUMBINE
- Showy, nodding, bell-shaped flowers of pinkish-red and yellow
- Attractive divided light green foliage
- Naturalizing plant for rocky ledges or slopes and along woodland edges or ditches
HEIGHT: 40-50 cm · SPREAD: 30-40 cm
Aralia racemosa
AMERICAN SPIKENARD
- Smooth purple-black stems each hold few leaves
- Huge compound leaves on this herbaceous perennial
- Thick spikes of small green-white flowers beginning in June lead to clusters of green berries turning
HEIGHT: 125-150 cm · SPREAD: 125-150 cm
Arctanthemum arcticum
ARCTIC DAISY
- AKA Chrysanthemum arcticum
- Florets are white, often tinged pink, with a yellow centre
- Suitable for rock gardens or borders
HEIGHT: 30-40 cm · SPREAD: 30-50 cm
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
BEARBERRY
- AKA Arbutus uva-ursi
- Other Common Names: Pine Mat, Mealberry, Hog Cranberry, Sandberry
- Evergreen ground cover with small white, pink-edged bell-shaped flowers
HEIGHT: 10-15 cm · SPREAD: 100-150 cm
Arisaema triphyllum
JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT
- AKA Arisaema atrorubens
- Unique upright club-shaped spadix with hoods of green and maroon
- Attractive maroon stems
HEIGHT: 30-60 cm · SPREAD: 20-30 cm
Aristolochia durior
DUTCHMAN'S PIPE
- AKA Aristolochia macrophylla, Aristolochia sipho
- Solitary greenish-yellow pipe-shaped flowers
- Large (20 cm) mid-green heart-shaped leaves
HEIGHT: 8-10 m · SPREAD: 6-10 m
Aronia arbutifolia 'Brilliantissima'
RED CHOKEBERRY
- Fragrant white flowers
- Glossy red berries persist for a long period
- Lustrous green foliage turns to an outstanding red in the fall
HEIGHT: 175-200 cm · SPREAD: 125-150 cm
Aronia melanocarpa
BLACK CHOKEBERRY
- Fragrant white flowers
- Glossy purple-black berries persist for a long period
- Glossy green leaves turn an outstanding red in the fall
HEIGHT: 150-175 cm · SPREAD: 80-100 cm
Artemisia ludoviciana
SILVER SAGEBRUSH
- Fragrant silver foliage turning slightly pink to orange in the fall
- Tiny silvery-white flower buds open to yellow
- Excellent for erosion control on slopes and in ditches
HEIGHT: 60-75 cm · SPREAD: 90-100 cm
Artichoke
JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE
- Helianthus tuberosus
- Yellow flowers are yellow rays with a yellow-orange disc in the centre
- Leaves are long and wide tapering to a point at the tip
HEIGHT: 1-3 m · SPREAD: 15-25 cm
Asarum canadense
WILD GINGER
- Deep red to brown flowers
- Flowers are hidden under velvety dark green heart-shaped foliage
- Native to the Ontario woodlands
HEIGHT: 20-30 cm · SPREAD: 30-50 cm
Asclepias incarnata
SWAMP MILKWEED
- Pink flowers are followed by attractive seed pods
- Food source for Monarch butterflies and other beneficial insects
- Commonly found in swamps or wetland landscapes
HEIGHT: 100-125 cm · SPREAD: 60-90 cm
Asclepias syriaca
COMMON MILKWEED
- Pinkish-purple flowers
- Attractive seed pods remain when flowers finish
- Naturally found in open fields and along roadsides
HEIGHT: 80-100 cm · SPREAD: 30-40 cm
Asclepias tuberosa
BUTTERFLY MILKWEED
- Round clusters of orange flowers
- Attractive seed heads appear when flowers finish
- Food source for Monarch butterflies
HEIGHT: 30-60 cm · SPREAD: 30-50 cm
Asclepias verticillata
WHORLED MILKWEED
- Narrow whorled green foliage
- Sweet-scented greenish-white flowers
- Thin seed pods are left when flowers finish
HEIGHT: 30-60 cm · SPREAD: 20-30 cm
Asimina triloba
PAWPAW
- Small low branching tree, forming a dense pyramidal rounded crown
- Cup-shaped purple flowers
- Large, slightly drooping, elliptical green leaves turn yellow late in the fall
HEIGHT: 6-8 m · SPREAD: 5-6 m
Asplenium scolopendrium
HART'S TONGUE FERN
- AKA Phyllitis scolopendrium, Scolopendrium vulgare
- Low, upward-growing clumps of glossy narrow strap-like leathery leaves
- Edges are often wavy
HEIGHT: 30-40 cm · SPREAD: 30-45 cm
Aster alpinus var. vierhapperi
ALPINE ASTER
- AKA Aster culminis
- Low-growing ground cover with green foliage
- Pale to dark purple flowers
HEIGHT: 20-25 cm · SPREAD: 25-30 cm
Aster cordifolius
HEART-LEAVED ASTER
- AKA Symphyotrichum cordifolium
- Light blue to purple daisy-like blooms
- The centre florets are initially cream, maturing to a reddish-purple
HEIGHT: 50-60 cm · SPREAD: 60-80 cm
Aster divaricatus
WHITE WOOD ASTER
- AKA Eurybia divaricata
- Forms a low mound of green foliage
- Masses of small white daisy-like flowers are held on shiny black stems
HEIGHT: 30-60 cm · SPREAD: 30-50 cm
Aster ericoides
HEATH ASTER
- AKA Symphyotrichum ericoides
- Numerous small white daisy-like florets with yellow centres
- Hairy green stems turn brown as the plant matures
HEIGHT: 30-60 cm · SPREAD: 30-50 cm
Aster laevis
SMOOTH ASTER
- AKA Symphyotrichum laeve
- Extremely hardy
- Lavender to light blue flowers appear on hairless stems
HEIGHT: 60-100 cm · SPREAD: 30-60 cm
Aster lanceolatus
LANCE-LEAVED ASTER
- AKA Symphyotrichum lanceolatum
- Extremely hardy
- Variably-sized lavender to white flowers with yellow centres on the ends of nearly hairless stems
HEIGHT: 125-175 cm · SPREAD: 100-125 cm
Aster lateriflorus
CALICO ASTER
- AKA Symphyotrichum lateriflorum
- Very hardy
- Clusters of small white (to lightly purple) flowers with red-purple centres
HEIGHT: 90-100 cm · SPREAD: 90-100 cm
Aster macrophyllus
BIG LEAF ASTER
- AKA Eurybia macrophylla
- Leaves create ground cover like foliage that pushes clusters of lavender purple flowers.
HEIGHT: 30-40 cm · SPREAD: 30-50 cm
Aster novae-angliae
NEW ENGLAND ASTER
- AKA Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
- Large rose-purple flowers consisting of numerous rays around a yellow centre
- Upright habit with narrow hairy green leaves up to 10 cm long
HEIGHT: 100-125 cm · SPREAD: 50-60 cm
Aster oolentangiensis
SKY BLUE ASTER
- AKA Aster azureus or Symphyotrichum oolentangiense
- Flowers are made up of petals in varying shades of blue surrounding a yellow eye
- Naturally found in Southern Ontario in dry meadows, edges and open woods
HEIGHT: 60-80 cm · SPREAD: 30-60 cm
Aster puniceus
SWAMP ASTER
- AKA Symphyotrichum puniceum
- Flowers are usually pale blue, but can vary to deep blue or purple
- Stems are reddish-purple and usually hairy
HEIGHT: 90-125 cm · SPREAD: 30-40 cm
Aster shortii
SHORT'S ASTER
- AKA Symphyotrichum Shortii
- Blue-violet petals surrounding a yellow eye
- The centres start out yellow but turn red after pollination
HEIGHT: 80-90 cm · SPREAD: 75-80 cm
Aster umbellatus
FLAT-TOPPED ASTER, PARASOL WHITETOP
- AKA Doellingeria umbellata
- Flat-topped cluster of small white flowers
- Flowers appear earlier than most aster
HEIGHT: 100-175 cm · SPREAD: 30-50 cm
Athyrium filix-femina
LADY FERN
- Bright green fronds
- Upright-clumping habit
- Long-lived and easy to grow
HEIGHT: 60-90 cm · SPREAD: 60-80 cm
Betula alleghaniensis
YELLOW BIRCH
- AKA Betula lutea
- Upright, pyramidal habit with graceful ascending branches
- Bark is shiny, yellowish or silvery-gray, becoming reddish-brown with age
HEIGHT: 20-22 m · SPREAD: 12-15 m
Betula papyrifera
PAPER BIRCH
- Upright to oval, rounded crown
- White bark exfoliates in papery strips
- Mature trees develop black markings on the white bark
HEIGHT: 13-16 m · SPREAD: 10-12 m
Bouteloua curtipendula
SIDE OATS GRAMA
- AKA Bouteloua racemosa
- Dense with slightly arching light green blades maturing gold and sometimes red
- Purplish flowers
HEIGHT: 40-100 cm · SPREAD: 50-60 cm
Bouteloua gracilis
BLUE GRAMA
- AKA Bouteloua oligostachya
- Dense with slightly arching grey-green blades maturing purple, then light brown
- Purplish flowers
HEIGHT: 50-60 cm · SPREAD: 25-30 cm
Bromus kalmii
PRAIRIE BROME
- Clumps of dark green stems holding either arching leaves or seeds
- Seed stems produce silvery pendulous seeds late spring
- Bloom Time: June to August
HEIGHT: 30-80 cm · SPREAD: 40-60 cm
Calamagrostis canadensis
CANADA BLUEJOINT
- This grass has a slightly arching upright habit
- Spreads more quickly than other calamagrostis species
- Leaves are rough with tiny hairs and bluish-green in colour
HEIGHT: 100-150 cm · SPREAD: 80-120 cm
Calamagrostis stricta
NEGLECTED REED GRASS
- AKA Calamagrostis neglecta
- Loose open panicles
- Forms a dense mat
HEIGHT: 60-120 cm · SPREAD: 80-120 cm
Caltha palustris
MARSH MARIGOLD
- AKA Caltha polypetala
- Numerous, waxy, yellow, buttercup-like flowers
- Kidney-shaped, glossy, dark green leaves, up to 10 cm long, form low mounds
HEIGHT: 30-40 cm · SPREAD: 30-40 cm
Campanula americana
TALL BELLFLOWER
- AKA Campanulastrum americanum
- Flat star-shaped five-lobed blue flowers with a white inner circle
- Heart-shaped dark green hairy scalloped leaves
HEIGHT: 90-150 cm · SPREAD: 30-50 cm
Campanula rotundifolia
HAREBELL
- Dainty bell-like light blue flowers held on upright stems
- Buds are upright but flowers nod when open
- Heart-shaped fine-toothed basal green leaves form low clumps
HEIGHT: 30-60 cm · SPREAD: 20-45 cm
Campsis radicans
TRUMPET VINE
- AKA Bignonia radicans
- Terminal clusters of waxy trumpet-shaped red-orange flowers
- Long bean-like seed pods, 15 cm long, open when ripe
HEIGHT: 7-12 m · SPREAD: 1-3 m
Carex appalachica
APPALACHIAN SEDGE
- Forming dense clumps of narrow grass-like arching blades
- Green foliage
- Small, mostly inconspicuous flowers, are showy for a short time
HEIGHT: 15-20 cm · SPREAD: 30-45 cm
Carex bebbii
BEBB'S SEDGE
- Clump-forming sedge with a cascading appearance
- Green leaves, 6 mm wide, are triangular in cross section
- Seed heads are decorative
HEIGHT: 60-80 cm · SPREAD: 5-10 cm
Carex comosa
BRISTLY SEDGE
- Tuft-forming sedge with an upright cascading habit
- Leaves are green, about 6 mm wide, triangular in cross section
- Seed heads droop downward, in clumps of 2-6 spikelets, up to 8 cm long, May through July
HEIGHT: 100-125 cm · SPREAD: 50-60 cm
Carex crinita
FRINGED SEDGE
- Tuft-forming sedge with an upright, cascading habit
- Strap-like leaves are green, about 12 mm wide, triangular in cross section
- Bristly flower spikelets top this plant
HEIGHT: 100-125 cm · SPREAD: 100-125 cm
Carex eburnea
BRISTLE-LEAF SEDGE
- Forms a small rounded clump of soft green thread-like foliage
- Insignificant white-green flowers
- Bloom Time: Spring
HEIGHT: 15-20 cm · SPREAD: 15-20 cm
Carex grayi
MORNING STAR SEDGE
- Forms a slightly arching tight upright clump
- Semi-evergreen leaf blades are 15 mm wide
- Flower spikes are followed by unique light green star or mace-shaped seed pods
HEIGHT: 60-80 cm · SPREAD: 50-60 cm
Carex hystericina
PORCUPINE SEDGE
- Tuft-forming sedge with an upright, cascading habit
- Leaves are green, about 6 mm wide, triangular in cross section
- Prickly cylindrical spikelets
HEIGHT: 60-80 cm · SPREAD: 50-60 cm
Carex lacustris
HAIRY SEDGE
- A.K.A Carex riparia
- Large upright grass with leaves and seeds growing off the same stem
- Stems are bluish-green, triangular in cross section
HEIGHT: 100-125 cm · SPREAD: 50-60 cm
Carex muskingumensis
PALM SEDGE GRASS
- Semi-upright clump-forming sedge with a cascading look
- Bright green foliage and divided leaves provide a tropical appearance
- Small golden-brown flowers
HEIGHT: 60-75 cm · SPREAD: 45-60 cm
Carex pensylvanica
OAK SEDGE
- Small clump-forming sedge with a mounding, cascading habit
- Bright green foliage
- Small inconspicuous flowers are showy for only a short time
HEIGHT: 20-30 cm · SPREAD: 30-45 cm
Carex plantaginea
PLANTAIN-LEAVED SEDGE
- Semi-evergreen clump-forming sedge with a mounding habit
- Puckered leaves, unusually wide at 25 mm, are mostly green but purplish at the base
- Leaves are rippled and dimpled along the midribs
HEIGHT: 20-25 cm · SPREAD: 30-40 cm
Carex platyphylla
SILVER SEDGE
- Upright mounding sedge with inconspicuous seed heads
- Frosty blue semi-evergreen leaves are up to 25 mm wide
- Small green seed heads change to brown in the summer
HEIGHT: 20-50 cm · SPREAD: 40-40 cm
Carex pseudocyperus
CYPRESS SEDGE
- Tuft-forming grass with an upright, cascading habit
- Leaves are yellow-green, about 6 mm wide and triangular in cross section
- Spikes of tiny green or brown flowers
HEIGHT: 60-90 cm · SPREAD: 50-60 cm
Carex rosea
ROSY SEDGE
- Thick clumps of delicate arching foliage
- Deep green narrow leaves
- Produces unique star-like seed clusters
HEIGHT: 20-30 cm · SPREAD: 5-10 cm
Carex stipata
AWL FRUITED SEDGE
- Tuft-forming sedge with an upright, cascading habit
- Leaves are green, about 6 mm wide, triangular in cross section
- Brownish-green flower heads look like bushy foxtails
HEIGHT: 90-125 cm · SPREAD: 50-60 cm
Carex stricta
TUSSOCK SEDGE
- AKA Carex elata
- Slender upright sedge with leaves and seeds growing off the same stems
- Stems are bluish-green, triangular in cross section
HEIGHT: 60-90 cm · SPREAD: 30-50 cm
Carex vulpinoidea
FOX SEDGE
- Slender upright, slightly arching sedge common to Ontario's wetlands
- Stems are bluish-green, triangular in cross-section
- Seed heads, at same height as the leaves, resemble a fox's tail
HEIGHT: 50-90 cm · SPREAD: 40-50 cm
Carpinus caroliniana
BLUE BEECH/MUSCLEWOOD
- Rounded to oval crown with wide spreading branches
- Attractive yellow or green catkins
- Catkins turn into distinctive clusters of winged nutlets
HEIGHT: 8-10 m · SPREAD: 8-10 m
Carya cordiformis
BITTERNUT HICKORY
- Open, broadly columnar with an irregular oval to rounded crown
- Distinctive sulphur-yellow buds
- Male and female flowers
HEIGHT: 15-20 m · SPREAD: 14-15 m
Carya glabra
PIGNUT HICKORY
- Open, rounded crown
- Yellowish-green, non-showy flowers
- Male and female flowers
HEIGHT: 14-16 m · SPREAD: 8-9 m
Carya laciniosa
SHELLBARK HICKORY
- Narrow, rounded crown
- Compound dark green leaves with finely-toothed leaflets
- Greenish-yellow blooms
HEIGHT: 16-24 m · SPREAD: 12-18 m
Carya ovata
SHAGBARK HICKORY
- Irregular oval-rounded growth habit
- The bark of mature trees is dark gray to brown and exfoliates in long strips
- Compound leaves are dark green with long and narrow pointed glossy leaflets
HEIGHT: 22-25 m · SPREAD: 15-17 m
Caulophyllum thalictroides
BLUE COHOSH
- Insignificant yellowish-green flowers
- Flowers finish and leave behind berry-like seeds
- As the seeds age, they take on a blue colour
HEIGHT: 45-70 cm · SPREAD: 50-60 cm
Ceanothus americanus
NEW JERSEY TEA
- Clusters of tiny white fragrant flowers
- Medium to dark green leaves are gray and hairy on the undersides
- New twigs are yellow, providing winter interest
HEIGHT: 100-125 cm · SPREAD: 100-125 cm
Celastrus scandens 'Diane'
FEMALE AMERICAN BITTERSWEET
- Insignificant small greenish-yellow flowers
- Spherical berries are green when young and ripen to yellow in the fall
- Berries split open to reveal an orange-red seed surrounded by a yellow skin
HEIGHT: 10-15 m · SPREAD: 6-8 m
Celastrus scandens 'Hercules'
MALE AMERICAN BITTERSWEET
- Insignificant small greenish-yellow flowers
- Toothed ovate mid-green leaves are 10 cm long
- Leaves turn a vibrant yellow in the fall
HEIGHT: 10-15 m · SPREAD: 6-8 m
Celtis occidentalis
COMMON HACKBERRY
- Upright, arching branches with a rounded, spreading crown
- Bark develops corky ridges, tan when young, turning gray at maturity
- Simple ovate leaves, with serrated margins, are light green in the summer
HEIGHT: 15-18 m · SPREAD: 14-16 m
Cephalanthus occidentalis
BUTTONBUSH
- Spherical clusters of white florets
- Green nutlets turn brown in the fall and persist into the winter
- Glossy foliage emerges in late spring
HEIGHT: 175-200 cm · SPREAD: 175-200 cm
Cercis canadensis
EASTERN REDBUD
- Sweetpea-like red-pink flowers bloom profusely on bare branches and even on mature trunks
- Fruit pods are brown and flat, about 5 cm long
- Heart-shaped green leaves turn an attractive yellow in the fall
HEIGHT: 8-10 m · SPREAD: 7-8 m
Chelone glabra
TURTLEHEAD
- AKA Chelone oblique 'Alba'
- Predominantly white flowers are sometimes tinged with pink
- Flowers are hooded and look similar to snapdragons
HEIGHT: 60-90 cm · SPREAD: 40-50 cm
Chrysopsis villosa
GOLDEN ASTER
- AKA Heterotheca villosa
- Yellow daisy-like flowers with 10-25 petals per flower
- Hairy gray leaves are oblong, occasionally toothed, usually smooth-edged
HEIGHT: 30-40 cm · SPREAD: 30-45 cm
Cimicifuga racemosa
BLACK SNAKEROOT
- AKA Actaea racemosa
- Fragrant white bottlebrush-like flowers
- Clump forming perennial with green sharp-toothed leaves
HEIGHT: 100-175 cm · SPREAD: 60-90 cm
Claytonia virginica
SPRING BEAUTY
- White to light pink five-petalled blooms have pink veins and anthers
- Flowers open on warm sunny days, cut stay closed on cloudy days and at night
- Spring ephemeral: Flowers finish and plant goes back into dormancy
HEIGHT: 10-15 cm · SPREAD: 15-25 cm
Clematis virginiana
VIRGIN'S BOWER
- Flower Colour: Small white
- Flower Size: 3 cm
- Bloom Time: Late summer to fall
HEIGHT: 4-6 m · SPREAD: 4-5 m
Comptonia peregrina
SWEET FERN
- Despite its name, it is not a fern, but actually a deciduous shrub
- Insignificant greenish flowers, both male and female on the same plant
- Brown burrs contain edible nutlets
HEIGHT: 30-90 cm · SPREAD: 30-150 cm
Coreopsis lanceolata
LANCE-LEAVED TICKSEED
- Daisy-like yellow flowers
- Eight petals with toothed edges surround a central yellow eye
- Narrow lance-shaped leaves, 25 cm long x 5 cm wide
HEIGHT: 30-60 cm · SPREAD: 30-50 cm
Coreopsis tripteris
TALL COREOPSIS
- Eight, yellow, ray petals surround a brown, central eye
- Thin, hairless, lance-shaped leaves are distributed along the stem
- One of the tallest species of coreopsis
HEIGHT: 125-200 cm · SPREAD: 60-100 cm
Cornus alternifolia
PAGODA DOGWOOD
- AKA Swida alternifolia
- Tiny yellowish-white fragrant flowers in flat-topped clusters in late spring
- Clusters of bluish-black berries in the summer
HEIGHT: 4-5 m · SPREAD: 7-8 m
Cornus amomum
SILKY DOGWOOD
- AKA Swida amomum
- Flat-topped cluster of creamy-white flowers
- White berries will ripen to blue
HEIGHT: 200-250 cm · SPREAD: 200-250 cm
Cornus canadensis
BUNCHBERRY
- AKA Chamaepericlymenum canadensis
- Beautiful native ground cover with small white flowers
- Flower bracts will develop a purplish tinge as they mature
HEIGHT: 10-15 cm · SPREAD: 20-30 cm
Cornus florida
WHITE FLOWERING DOGWOOD
- AKA Benthamidia florida
- White bracts are very showy around inconspicuous flowers before the leaves appear
- Glossy oval red fruits, held in clusters, are attractive to birds
HEIGHT: 7-8 m · SPREAD: 7-8 m
Cornus racemosa
GRAY DOGWOOD
- AKA Swida racemosa
- Panicles of white flowers in late spring lead to white berries in the fall
- Grayish-red young branches provide contrast in the winter
HEIGHT: 3-4 m · SPREAD: 3-4 m
Cornus sericea
RED OSIER DOGWOOD
- AKA Swida sericea
- Flat-topped panicles of small white flowers lead to white berries in the fall, attracting birds
- Dark red branches are attractive in the winter
HEIGHT: 175-200 cm · SPREAD: 200-250 cm
Corylus americana
AMERICAN HAZELNUT
- Male flowers are brown decorative catkins before the leaves appear
- Female flowers are small and red
- Edible fruit emerges white, turning brown in the summer
HEIGHT: 4-5 m · SPREAD: 2-3 m
Corylus cornuta
BEAKED HAZEL
- Male flowers are decorative brown catkins appearing before the leaves
- Female flowers are small and red
- Edible fruit emerges white, turning brown in the summer,
HEIGHT: 250-300 cm · SPREAD: 200-250 cm
Crataegus mollis
DOWNY HAWTHORN
- Densely branched, rounded crown
- Branches are covered in white flowers in spring
- Flowers are followed by berries, ripening yellow-red to scarlet
HEIGHT: 10-12 m · SPREAD: 6-8 m
Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens
LARGE YELLOW LADY'S SLIPPER
- AKA Cypripedium calceolus var. pubescens
- Flowers have showy maroon to dark green petals and a deep yellow, pouch-like lip
- Each plant generally produces only one flower, rarely two
HEIGHT: 30-40 cm · SPREAD: 30-35 cm
Cypripedium reginae
SHOWY LADY'S SLIPPER
- AKA Cypripedium album, Cypripedium spectabile
- Flowers are showy, white petals with a rose-pink, pouch-like lip
- Upright foliage of soft, folded, ovate to fan-shaped leaves
HEIGHT: 50-75 cm · SPREAD: 20-30 cm
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Dalea candida
WHITE PRAIRIE CLOVER
- White flowers on clover foliage
- Boomtime: June-September
HEIGHT: 50-70 cm
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Dalea purpurea
PURPLE PRAIRIE CLOVER
- Purple cone-like flowers.
- Attractive seed heads after bloom.
HEIGHT: 50-60 cm · SPREAD: 40-60 cm
Danthonia spicata
POVERTY OAT GRASS
- Clump-forming cool season grass
- Smooth leaves blades are medium green or bluish green
- Older spikes brown and curl inward
HEIGHT: 30-40 cm · SPREAD: 30-40 cm
Dennstaedtia punctilobula
HAY SCENTED FERN
- Delicate green fronds, 30-45 cm long
- Smells like freshly mown grass when crushed
- Turns a yellow-orange in the fall
HEIGHT: 45-65 cm · SPREAD: 60-90 cm
Deschampsia cespitosa
TUFTED HAIR GRASS
- Dense mounding semi-evergreen clump of green blades turning light brown in the fall
- Flowers feature green, purple, silver, and gold tones
- Bloom Time: Early to late summer
HEIGHT: 60-100 cm · SPREAD: 60-80 cm
Deschampsia flexuosa
WAVY HAIR GRASS
- Dense mounding semi-evergreen clump with very thin green blades, up to 50 cm long
- Numerous loose flower panicles feature purple to bronze tones
- Flowers change to gold and yellow as they mature
HEIGHT: 40-100 cm · SPREAD: 30-50 cm
Desmodium canadense
SHOWY TICK TREFOIL
- Spikes of pink to lavender sweet-pea-like flower clusters
- Velvety hairs cover the stems and the tri-lobed compound leaves
- This drought-tolerant plant can be grown on rooftops with as little as 15 cm of growing medium
HEIGHT: 100-150 cm · SPREAD: 50-60 cm
Dicentra canadensis
SQUIRREL CORN
- AKA Bicuculla canadensis, Corydalis canadensis, Diclytra canadensis
- Greenish-white heart-shaped flowers appear on arching stems above the foliage
- Some flowers may have a mauve tinge
HEIGHT: 25-30 cm · SPREAD: 25-30 cm
Dicentra cucullaria
DUTCHMAN'S BREECHES
- Flower stalks bear a row of nodding double spurred white flowers with yellow tips
- Flowers rise above the foliage
- Compact clump forming deeply divided blue-gray leaves up to 25 cm long
HEIGHT: 20-30 cm · SPREAD: 25-40 cm
Diervilla lonicera
BUSH HONEYSUCKLE
- Small fragrant yellow flowers
- Medium green leaves with bronze overtones turn burgundy in the fall
- Mounding, spreading habit re-roots to provide an effective ground cover
HEIGHT: 80-100 cm · SPREAD: 100-125 cm
Dryopteris clintoniana
CLINTON'S WOOD FERN
- AKA Dryopteris cristata var. clintoniana
- Broad triangular fronds of deep green
- Fertile fronds are taller and more upright than the sterile fronds
HEIGHT: 75-100 cm · SPREAD: 75-90 cm
Dryopteris filix-mas
MALE FERN
- Lance-shaped mid-green fronds
- Crown is made of large rhizomes that are covered in fuzzy brown hair
- Upright-clumping habit
HEIGHT: 75-90 cm · SPREAD: 75-90 cm
Dryopteris goldiana
GOLDIE'S FERN
- Light green fronds are produced in groups along the rhizomes
- Upright habit and long, wiry stems
- Spreads slowly by shallow underground rhizomes
HEIGHT: 100-120 cm · SPREAD: 50-60 cm
Dryopteris marginalis
MARGINAL SHIELD FERN
- Fiddleheads emerge with a thick brown "fur"
- Leathery deep green fronds
- Crown consists of large rhizomes covered in fuzzy brown 'hair'
HEIGHT: 45-60 cm · SPREAD: 50-60 cm
Dryopteris spinulosa
TOOTHED WOOD FERN
- AKA Dryopteris carthusiana
- Narrow lance-shaped pale green fronds with finely-cut leaflets
- Upright-clumping habit
HEIGHT: 60-90 cm · SPREAD: 30-45 cm
Echinacea angustifolia
NARROW-LEAF CONEFLOWER
- Showy perennial for dry upland sites
- Light purple petals dropping down around a brownish-orange eye
- Long narrow green basal leaves are hairy to the touch
HEIGHT: 50-60 cm · SPREAD: 50-60 cm
Echinacea pallida
PALE PURPLE CONEFLOWER
- Narrow, pale purple-pink petals droop from a spiny dark cone
- Flowers up to 10 cm
- Lance-shaped hairy basal leaves
HEIGHT: 75-90 cm · SPREAD: 40-50 cm
Echinacea purpurea
PURPLE CONEFLOWER
- AKA Rudbeckia purpurea
- Drooping petals of purple-pink flowers with a spiky orange central cone
- Lance-shaped and coarse-toothed leaves on sturdy stems
HEIGHT: 90-120 cm · SPREAD: 50-60 cm
Elaeagnus commutata
SILVERBERRY
- AKA Elaeagnus argentea
- Inconspicuous fragrant yellow flowers
- Silvery fruits in late summer
HEIGHT: 150-175 cm · SPREAD: 175-200 cm
Elaeagnus umbellata
AUTUMN OLIVE
- Small, fragrant, creamy-white flowers are hidden in the foliage,
- Silvery fruits with brown spots turning reddish in the fall are tasty when ripe
- Leaves green above, silvery on the undersides
HEIGHT: 3-4 m · SPREAD: 3-4 m
Eleocharis obtusa
BLUNT SPIKERUSH
- A clumping rush with slender dark green cylindrical stems
- Each stem is topped with a small dark brown oblong flower spike
- Small narrow leaves are sometimes present near the base of the plant
HEIGHT: 20-40 cm · SPREAD: 20-25 cm
Eleocharis palustris
COMMON SPIKERUSH
- Narrow dark green round stems spread by rhizomatous roots
- A dark reddish-purple sheath surrounds the base of the stems
- Each stem features a small dark brown oblong flower spike
HEIGHT: 25-100 cm · SPREAD: 50-150 cm
Elodea canadensis
CANADA PONDWEED
- AKA Anacharis canadensis, Philotria canadensis, Philotria linearis
- Numerous, overlapping, dark green, fine-toothed leaves which curl slightly downward
- Inconspicuous, white to pale pink flowers appear on the surface
HEIGHT: 20-30 cm · SPREAD: 20-30 cm
Elymus canadensis
CANADA WILD RYE
- Grass has a slightly arching upright habit and forms a loose clump
- Leaf blades can range in colour from green to bluish-green, depending on growing conditions
- Nodding seed heads emerge green, changing to a light tan in the summer
HEIGHT: 125-150 cm · SPREAD: 60-90 cm
Elymus glaucus
BLUE WILD RYE GRASS
- Forms a slightly arching upright clump.
- Coarse blue-green leaves are 1 cm wide at the base and grow to a narrow point
- Flower spikes emerge green, changing to a light tan
HEIGHT: 100-150 cm · SPREAD: 40-50 cm
Elymus virginicus
VIRGINIA WILD RYE
- Grass has a slightly arching upright habit and forms a loose clump
- Coarse leaf blades are grayish-green
- Flower spikes emerge green, change to brown and are a bit thicker than E. canadensis
HEIGHT: 100-150 cm · SPREAD: 50-60 cm
Epilobium angustifolium
FIREWEED
- AKA Chamerion angustifolium
- Tall branchless flower stems with purple flowers
- Blooms from June to September
HEIGHT: 60-150 cm · SPREAD: 60-90 cm
Equisetum fluviatile
RIVER HORSETAIL
- Forms dense colonies in shallow water or ponds
- Tall erect dark green smooth stems sport fine ridges
- At each joint, the stem has a whorl of tiny black-tipped scale leaves
HEIGHT: 60-75 cm · SPREAD: 60-70 cm
Equisetum hyemale
SCOURING RUSH
- Rigid hollow bamboo-like stems
- Dark green with black banding at joints
- Produces small brown cone-like stem tips in the summer
HEIGHT: 60-100 cm · SPREAD: 100-200 cm
Erythronium americanum
TROUT LILY
- Nodding yellow bell-shaped flowers
- Flowers may have yellow, purple or brown anthers
- Plants having two emerging basal leaves will likely produce a flower
HEIGHT: 10-15 cm · SPREAD: 10-15 cm
Eupatorium fistulosum
HOLLOW JOE PYE WEED
- AKA Eupatoriadelphus fistulosus, Eutrochium fistulosum
- Large rounded-topped clusters of pink or purplish-mauve flowers
- Lance-shaped sharp-toothed dark green leaves on wine-coloured stems
HEIGHT: 150-200 cm · SPREAD: 60-75 cm
Eupatorium maculatum
JOE PYE WEED
- AKA Eupatoriadelphus maculatus, Eupatorium purpureum ssp. maculatum
- Round-topped heads of purple-pink flowers
- Sharp-toothed coarse dark green leaves on rigid spotted purple stems
HEIGHT: 150-175 cm · SPREAD: 60-120 cm
Eupatorium perfoliatum
BONESET
- AKA Eupatorium truncatum
- White flower clusters
- Textured opposite mid-green leaves
HEIGHT: 90-125 cm · SPREAD: 60-90 cm
Eupatorium rugosum
WHITE SNAKEROOT
- AKA Eupatorium ageratoides, Eupatorium urticifolium, Ageratina altissima
- White flower clusters
- Sharp-toothed ovate leaves of deep green
HEIGHT: 80-100 cm · SPREAD: 60-75 cm
Fagus grandifolia
AMERICAN BEECH
- Densely branched with an upright, oval-to-rounded spreading crown
- Trunks have distinctive thin smooth gray bark
- Small yellowish-green flowers
HEIGHT: 18-25 m · SPREAD: 16-20 m
Fragaria vesca
WOODLAND STRAWBERRY
- Habitats include fields, woodland borders, streambanks, and meadows
- White flower petals surround yellow stamens
- Flowers are followed by edible bright red fruit
HEIGHT: 10-15 cm · SPREAD: 30-40 cm
Fragaria virginiana
VIRGINIA STRAWBERRY
- Habitats include fields, woodland borders, streambanks, and meadows
- White flower petals surround yellow stamens
- Flowers are followed by edible fruit
HEIGHT: 15-20 cm · SPREAD: 30-40 cm
Fraxinus americana
WHITE ASH
- Pyramidal when young, maturing to a rounded crown
- Dark green pinnate leaves with white undersides emerge later in the spring
- Several (5 to 9) leaflets make up the compound leaves
HEIGHT: 21-23 m · SPREAD: 14-16 m
Fraxinus nigra
BLACK ASH
- Open crown, with ascending branches
- Winter buds are dark brown with a velvety texture
- Compound, oval to lance-shaped, green leaves
HEIGHT: 15-20 m · SPREAD: 9-10 m
Fraxinus pennsylvanica
GREEN/RED ASH
- Pyramidal when young, maturing to a rounded, irregular crown
- Dark green, pinnate, compound leaves emerge later in the spring
- Drooping clusters of winged samaras ripen in the fall
HEIGHT: 18-20 m · SPREAD: 10-15 m
Gaillardia aristata
BLANKET FLOWER
- Yellow tipped petals with dark red bases surrounding reddish brown eyes
- Lance-shaped dark green leaves
HEIGHT: 40-60 cm · SPREAD: 40-60 cm
Gaultheria procumbens
WINTERGREEN
- Small waxy soft pink to white bell-shaped flowers
- Red berries develop in early autumn and last through the winter
- Aromatic evergreen dark green foliage
HEIGHT: 10-15 cm · SPREAD: 20-30 cm
Geranium maculatum
WILD GERANIUM
- Five-petaled flowers of pale pink to lilac
- Attractive seed heads follow the flowers
- Basal leaves are dark green and deeply palmate
HEIGHT: 40-45 cm · SPREAD: 50-60 cm
Geum triflorum
GRANDPA'S WHISKERS
- Flowers emerge from nodding reddish-purple buds on red stems
- Reddish-purple bell-shaped flowers hang in groups of three
- Attractive silky seed heads are left after flowering
HEIGHT: 30-45 cm · SPREAD: 30-35 cm
Gillenia trifoliata
BOWMAN'S ROOT
- AKA Porteranthus trifoliatus
- Dainty star-shaped white flowers with red petioles
- Attractive red cups(calyces) remain long after the petals have fallen
HEIGHT: 65-100 cm · SPREAD: 80-90 cm
Glyceria striata
FOWL MANNAGRASS
- AKA: Glyceria striata ssp. stricta, Panicularia nervata, Panicularia striata
- Forms an upright clump of coarse green leaves 25 cm long arranged alternately along sturdy stems
- Pyramidal airy panicles rise on slender stems above the foliage
HEIGHT: 60-110 cm · SPREAD: 40-60 cm
Goodyera pubescens
DOWNY RATTLESNAKE PLAINTAIN
- AKA Epipactis pubescens, Neottia pubescens, Peramium pubescens
- Spikes of small white flowers form on slender stems
- Blue-green leaves have prominent white veins
HEIGHT: 15-20 cm · SPREAD: 20-25 cm
Gymnocarpium dryopteris
WESTERN OAK FERN
- Delicate pale green fronds in the spring deepen in colour with age
- Fronds emerge from long creeping rhizomes
- Hairy fiddleheads rise from under the soil; not from a central crown like most ferns
HEIGHT: 15-30 cm · SPREAD: 30-45 cm
Gymnocladus dioicus
KENTUCKY COFFEE TREE
- Open oval crown with irregular branching
- Greenish-white flowers appear on both male and female plants
- Fertilized flowers on female plants give way to flat brown seed pods
HEIGHT: 17-20 m · SPREAD: 13-15 m
Hamamelis virginiana
WITCHHAZEL
- Soft yellow spidery fragrant flowers in autumn
- Textured medium to bright green leaves
- Leaves turn orange-yellow in the fall
HEIGHT: 4-5 m · SPREAD: 4-5 m
Helenium autumnale
SNEEZEWEED
- Erect clump-forming habit
- Daisy-like flowers with yellow petals and brownish-yellow cones
- Lance-shaped dark green leaves
HEIGHT: 100-125 cm · SPREAD: 60-75 cm
Helianthus divaricatus
WOODLAND SUNFLOWER
- Yellow daisy-like flowers with darker yellow centres
- Pointed oval dark green leaves
- Bloom Time: Midsummer until mid-fall
HEIGHT: 90-125 cm · SPREAD: 75-90 cm
Heliopsis helianthoides
FALSE SUNFLOWER
- Single to semi-double flowers
- Yellow daisy-like flowers with a brownish-yellow centre
- Mid-green, roughly serrated, ovate leaves
HEIGHT: 90-120 cm · SPREAD: 40-60 cm
Hepatica acutiloba
SHARP-LOBED HEPATICA
- AKA Hepatica acuta, H. nobilis var acuta
- Daisy-like flowers in shades of pink, white and lavender
- Flowers appear before or during the emergence of the new foliage
HEIGHT: 15-20 cm · SPREAD: 15-20 cm
Hepatica americana
ROUND-LOBED HEPATICA
- AKA Anemone americana, Hepatica triloba, H. nobilis var. obtusa
- Flowers vary in shades of blue, white and pink
- Flowers appear soon after snow melt
HEIGHT: 7-10 cm · SPREAD: 25-30 cm
Hibiscus moscheutos
SWAMP ROSE MALLOW
- Other common names: Wild Cotton, Mallow Rose, Crimson-eyed Rose Mallow
- Flowers can be white, pink or red with occasional bicolours
- Heart-shaped three- to five-lobed bright green leaves with hairy undersides up to 20 cm in length
HEIGHT: 130-160 cm · SPREAD: 100-150 cm
Hierochloe odorata
SWEET GRASS
- AKA Anthoxanthum nitens
- Forms a spreading upright mound of gray-green foliage
- Blades reach 60 cm high
HEIGHT: 30-60 cm · SPREAD: 50-150 cm
Hydrophyllum virginianum
VIRGINIA WATERLEAF
- White or violet bell-shaped flowers are held above the leaves
- Deeply lobed leaves; leaflets may be lobed even more
- Leaves sometimes look water-stained
HEIGHT: 50-60 cm · SPREAD: 50-60 cm
Hypericum kalmianum
POT O' GOLD
- Five-petaled yellow flowers are almost obscured by a cloud of stamens
- Flowers are followed by seed capsules
- Narrow gray-green leaves
HEIGHT: 50-60 cm · SPREAD: 50-60 cm
Hypericum prolificum
SHRUBBY ST. JOHN'S WORT
- Five-petaled yellow flowers are almost obscured by a cloud of stamens
- Flowers are followed by seed capsules
- Narrow green leaves
HEIGHT: 80-100 cm · SPREAD: 80-100 cm
Hystrix patula
BOTTLEBRUSH GRASS
- AKA Elymus hystrix
- Forms an upright loose clump of coarse green leaves
- Green bottlebrush-like flowers emerge above the foliage
HEIGHT: 90-100 cm · SPREAD: 30-60 cm
Ilex verticillata
WINTERBERRY HOLLY
- Inconspicuous white spring flowers
- Red berries persist into winter (on female plants only)
- Dark green glossy leaves turn (occasionally) to purple in autumn
HEIGHT: 175-200 cm · SPREAD: 175-200 cm
Iris versicolor
BLUE FLAG IRIS
- Narrow-petaled lavender-blue flowers with creamy-yellow throats
- Falls have deep purple veining with lighter blue standards
- Bright green sword-like foliage
HEIGHT: 60-90 cm · SPREAD: 60-75 cm
Iris virginica
PALE BLUE FLAG IRIS
- Narrow petalled pale blue flowers with creamy-yellow throats
- Standards are larger and longer than Iris versicolor
- Upright slender blades of bright green
HEIGHT: 60-90 cm · SPREAD: 60-80 cm
Juglans cinerea
BUTTERNUT
- Tall, oval to rounded growth habit
- Large pinnate compound leaves emerge in late spring and drop early fall
- Foliage colour is dark green in the summer, becoming dull yellow in early fall
HEIGHT: 12-18 m · SPREAD: 12-18 m
Juglans nigra
BLACK WALNUT
- Tall, oval to rounded growth habit
- Large pinnate compound leaves emerge late in spring and drop early fall
- Foliage colour is dark green in the summer, becoming yellow in early fall
HEIGHT: 18-25 m · SPREAD: 16-18 m
Juncus effusus
SOFT RUSH
- Forms an upright vase-shaped clump of single stalks
- Thin dark green cylindrical stems look stiff but are soft to the touch
- Flowers emerge in small clusters from a split in the stems, slightly below the tips of the plant
HEIGHT: 90-120 cm · SPREAD: 50-80 cm
Juncus tenuis
POVERTY RUSH
- Forms a dense clump of upright narrow stems with a basal tuft of flat grass-like leaves
- Leaves and cylindrical stems are mid-green
- Clusters of greenish-brown seed capsules are found near the terminal tips of the plant
HEIGHT: 20-60 cm · SPREAD: 20-50 cm
Juniperus virginiana
EASTERN RED CEDAR
- Broadly columnar growth habit
- Upright growing foliage is green during the summer
- Winter foliage turns a bronze colour
HEIGHT: 5-7 m · SPREAD: 2-3 m
Koeleria pyramidata (cristata)
PRAIRIE JUNE GRASS
- AKA: Koeleria cristata, Koeleria macrantha
- Forms a dense mound of green to gray-green narrow leaves
- Foliage colour may vary slightly according to growing conditions
HEIGHT: 15-60 cm · SPREAD: 20-30 cm
Larix laricina
AMERICAN LARCH
- Rapid-growing deciduous conifer that is pyramidal when young
- Soft bluish-green needles turn golden-yellow in the fall
- Used for windscreens or in solitary plantings
HEIGHT: 18-30 m · SPREAD: 6-10 m
Leersia oryzoides
RICE CUT GRASS
- Forms a clump of alternately arranged dull green leaves branching from upright stems
- Leaf margins are sharply serrated with downward-facing barbs that can cause serious cuts
- Spikelets of flowers are yellowish-green and often form on one side of the upright stem
HEIGHT: 80-125 cm · SPREAD: 40-60 cm
Lespedeza capitata
ROUND-HEADED BUSH CLOVER
- Terminal clusters of white flowers
- Three-petal flowers: one large petal with a spot of purple, and two small petals below.
- Seed pods persist into the winter
HEIGHT: 100-125 cm · SPREAD: 50-60 cm
Liatris aspera
ROUGH BLAZING STAR
- Rounded fluffy mauve-lilac flowers
- Average flower stalks have 15-40 loosely-spaced blooms
- Blooms at the top of the spike open first, and then slowly open down the spike
HEIGHT: 30-45 cm · SPREAD: 40-45 cm
Liatris cylindracea
ONTARIO BLAZING STAR
- Tubular fluffy rose-purple flowers
- Average flower stalks have 15-25 loosely-spaced blooms
- Blooms at the top of the spike open first, and then slowly open down the spike
HEIGHT: 20-25 cm · SPREAD: 15-30 cm
Liatris spicata
DENSE BLAZING STAR
- AKA Liatris callilepis
- Round fluffy violet-purple flowers
- Blooms at the top of the spike open first, and then slowly open down the spike
HEIGHT: 30-50 cm · SPREAD: 25-45 cm
Lilium canadense
CANADA LILY
- Yellow to orange-red trumpet-shaped flowers with dark spots
- 15-20 nodding flowers per mature stem
- Narrow dark green leaves on sturdy stems
HEIGHT: 125-150 cm · SPREAD: 15-20 cm
Lilium michiganense
MICHIGAN LILY
- Orange-red flowers with dark spots
- Petals that curve back toward the base of the flower
- Usually one terminal flower per stem: sometimes the stem branches at the tip
HEIGHT: 100-150 cm · SPREAD: 15-20 cm
Lindera benzoin
SPICEBUSH
- Yellowish-white flowers appear before the leaves
- Female plants display crimson berries contrasting with the gold fall colour
- Medium-green oval leaves
HEIGHT: 3-4 m · SPREAD: 2-3 m
Liriodendron tulipifera
TULIP TREE
- Pyramidal to broad, conical growth habit
- Yellow-green tulip-like flowers bloom after the leaves are fully developed, with some dried bracts persisting into winter
- Four-lobed bright green leaves turn golden-yellow in the fall
HEIGHT: 20-25 m · SPREAD: 10-15 m
Lobelia cardinalis
CARDINAL FLOWER
- Spikes of scarlet-red flowers on unbranched stems
- Tubular flowers are two-lipped
- Finely toothed narrow dark green leaves
HEIGHT: 50-70 cm · SPREAD: 45-60 cm
Lobelia siphilitica
GREAT BLUE LOBELIA
- Spikes of clear-blue flowers on unbranched stems
- Tubular flowers are two-lipped
- Finely-toothed oblong green leaves
HEIGHT: 50-60 cm · SPREAD: 45-60 cm
Lonicera canadensis
CANADIAN FLY HONEYSUCKLE
- Small paired light yellow fragrant flowers appear with the leaves
- Pairs of red berries are hidden under the leaves in early summer
- Upright rounded
HEIGHT: 125-150 cm · SPREAD: 125-150 cm
Lonicera involucrata
BLACK TWINBERRY
- Small yellow flowers appear with the leaves
- Black berries are encased in small red bracts in the spring
- Medium green glossy leaves
HEIGHT: 250-300 cm · SPREAD: 200-250 cm
Lupinus perennis
SUNDIAL LUPINE
- Other Common Names: Indian Beet, Old Maids Bonnets
- Compact spikes of showy flowers
- Blue-violet flowers with a white central streak
HEIGHT: 35-40 cm · SPREAD: 40-45 cm
Magnolia acuminata
CUCUMBERTREE MAGNOLIA
- Pyramidal when young, matures with a straight trunk and a rounded crown
- Greenish-yellow flowers bloom high in the tree
- Cylindrical bunches of seeds, (cucumbers) are green in late summer, ripening red, drying brown
HEIGHT: 20-25 m · SPREAD: 15-20 m
Mahonia aquifolium
OREGON GRAPE-HOLLY
- AKA Berberis aquifolium
- Clusters of fragrant yellow flowers early spring
- Green berries change to dark blue in the summer and persist into the winter
HEIGHT: 100-125 cm · SPREAD: 100-125 cm
Maianthemum canadense
FALSE LILY OF THE VALLEY
- AKA Unifolium canadense
- Clusters of tiny star-shaped white flowers rise above the leaves
- Small clusters of round berries
HEIGHT: 10-15 cm · SPREAD: 10-15 cm
Maianthemum stellatum
STARRY FALSE LILY OF THE VALLEY
- AKA Smilacina stellatum
- Clusters of tiny star-shaped pure white blooms
- Light floral scent
HEIGHT: 30-50 cm · SPREAD: 25-30 cm
Matteuccia struthiopteris
OSTRICH FERN
- AKA Matteuccia pensylvanica
- Upright clump of big green lacy fronds
- Smells like freshly-mown hay when fronds are broken
HEIGHT: 90-130 cm · SPREAD: 60-90 cm
Mentha piperita
PEPPERMINT
- Small sterile tubular pink flowers
- Ovate lance-shaped toothed mid-green leaves on red stems
- Plants are edible raw or cooked
HEIGHT: 50-60 cm · SPREAD: 75-90 cm
Mertensia virginica
VIRGINIA BLUEBELLS
- AKA Mertensia pulmonarioides
- Nodding trumpet-shaped sapphire-blue flowers
- New buds emerge pink and change to blue as they mature
HEIGHT: 40-45 cm · SPREAD: 40-45 cm
Mimulus ringens
MONKEY FLOWER
- AKA Diplacus ringens
- Lilac-purple tubular two-lipped flowers
- Individual flowers develop from the leaf axils of the upper stems
HEIGHT: 75-85 cm · SPREAD: 40-50 cm
Monarda didyma
BEEBALM
- Tubular two-lipped bright scarlet-red blooms
- Coarse clump-forming perennial
- Deep green leaves have a minty fragrance when crushed
HEIGHT: 60-125 cm · SPREAD: 60-100 cm
Monarda fistulosa
WILD BERGAMOT
- Whorls of small tubular flowers are backed by leafy bracts
- Lavender-pink flowers appear on square stems just above foliage
- Matte-green toothed lance to oval-shaped leaves, 10 cm long
HEIGHT: 90-110 cm · SPREAD: 75-90 cm
Monarda punctata
SPOTTED BEE BALM
- AKA Monarda punctata ssp. villicaulis
- Pale yellow flowers with purple spots rest on narrow pink bracts
- Tiered flowers are just above foliage
HEIGHT: 40-60 cm · SPREAD: 20-30 cm
Morus rubra
RED MULBERRY
- Upright-rounded to spreading tree; sometimes multistem
- Noted for its variably-lobed leaves, reddish-brown bark and edible fruit
- Dark green heart-shaped leaves on older branches, lobed leaves on new shoots
HEIGHT: 11-15 m · SPREAD: 11-14 m
Myrica gale
SWEET GALE
- AKA Myrica palustris
- Upright, oval habit
- Waxy yellow catkins appear before the leaves
HEIGHT: 100-125 cm · SPREAD: 80-100 cm
Myrica pensylvanica
BAYBERRY
- AKA Morella pensylvanica
- Waxy yellowish-green catkins appear before the leaves
- Fragrant glossy grayish-green foliage
HEIGHT: 175-200 cm · SPREAD: 175-200 cm
Nuphar lutea
YELLOW POND LILY
- AKA Nuphar luteum
- Hardy aquatic perennial
- Naturally found in shallow ponds and along stream borders
HEIGHT: 100-200 cm · SPREAD: 100-200 cm
Nymphaea odorata
WHITE WATERLILY
- Large fragrant white flowers with central yellow stamens
- Flowers are composed of numerous white petals and yellow stamens
- Fragrant flowers open at dawn and close by noon each day
HEIGHT: 10-15 cm · SPREAD: 90-200 cm
Nyssa sylvatica
BLACK-GUM
- Upright, oval to rounded crown
- Small non-showy greenish-white flowers
- Mainly dioecious: trees are male or female and sometimes both
HEIGHT: 10-15 m · SPREAD: 9-10 m
Oenothera biennis
EVENING PRIMROSE
- Fragrant yellow saucer-shaped flowers appear on tall stalks
- Blooms open at dusk and close by noon of the following day
- Lance-shaped, slightly serrated, mid-green leaves
HEIGHT: 100-150 cm · SPREAD: 30-45 cm
Oenothera fruticosa ssp. glauca
SUNDROPS
- AKA Oenothera tetragona
- Canary-yellow saucer-shaped flowers
- Individual flowers open for only one day
HEIGHT: 45-60 cm · SPREAD: 50-60 cm
Onoclea sensibilis
SENSITIVE FERN
- Broad smooth pale green fronds have deeply grooved wavy margined leaflets
- Fronds emerge along long creeping rhizomes
- In the spring, emerging fronds may have a coppery tone
HEIGHT: 30-50 cm · SPREAD: 90-120 cm
Opuntia humifusa
PRICKLY PEAR
- AKA Opuntia compressa, Opuntia rafinesquei
- Waxy yellow flowers grow singularly or in small clusters along the top edge of the cactus pad
- Blooms last one day
HEIGHT: 20-30 cm · SPREAD: 75-90 cm
Osmunda cinnamomea
CINNAMON FERN
- AKA Osmundastrum cinnamomeum
- Erect mid-green lanceolate fronds
- Narrow cinnamon-coloured fertile fronds appear in the spring
HEIGHT: 70-125 cm · SPREAD: 60-75 cm
Osmunda regalis
ROYAL FERN
- Unique widely spaced oblong leaflets with a distinct central vein
- Pale green leaves in sunlight
- Deeper green in shade with reddish stems
HEIGHT: 90-150 cm · SPREAD: 60-90 cm
Ostrya virginiana
IRONWOOD
- Upright, rounded to oval crown
- Reddish-brown male flowers and greenish female flowers precede the leaves
- Dark green birch-like leaves increase in size toward the end of a twig
HEIGHT: 10-12 m · SPREAD: 7-8 m
Panicum virgatum
SWITCH GRASS
- Forms an upright, dense clump of medium-green foliage
- Flat leaf blades are 30 cm long, branching from upright stems
- Airy panicles rising above the foliage are reddish-pink changing to tan in the fall
HEIGHT: 120-200 cm · SPREAD: 75-100 cm
Parthenocissus quinquefolia
VIRGINIA CREEPER
- Small clusters of insignificant greenish-white flowers in early summer
- Coarse-toothed deep green leaves with 5 leaflets
- Foliage emerges purplish in the spring, maturing to green
HEIGHT: 20-30 m · SPREAD: 15-20 m
Peltandra virginica
GREEN ARROW ARUM
- AKA Peltandra undulata
- Tiny greenish-white flowers hidden by 20 cm spathes
- Flowers followed by green berries in late summer
HEIGHT: 50-75 cm · SPREAD: 50-60 cm
Penstemon hirsutus
HAIRY BEARDTONGUE
- Tubular two-lipped lavender flowers with white throats
- Flowers grow in clusters on hairy green stems
- Narrow, toothed hairy green leaves, 5-10 cm long
HEIGHT: 50-60 cm · SPREAD: 40-50 cm
Persicaria amphibia
WATER KNOTWEED
- AKA Polygonum amphibium
- Habitat includes shallow waters along lakes, ponds, ditches
- Adaptable to short periods of drought
HEIGHT: 30-125 cm · SPREAD: 0-0 cm
Phlox divaricata
WOODLAND PHLOX
- Lilac, pink or blue flowers form loose clusters
- Clusters appear at the tips of each stem
- Lance-shaped to elliptic mid-green leaves are 5 cm long
HEIGHT: 20-30 cm · SPREAD: 30-45 cm
Phlox pilosa
DOWNY PHLOX
- The flowers may be white, pink, or lavender
- Individual flowers are loosely arranged in terminal clusters
- Narrow hairy lance-shaped mid-green leaves
HEIGHT: 40-50 cm · SPREAD: 30-40 cm
Physocarpus opulifolius
COMMON NINEBARK
- Flat-topped cluster of white flowers
- Flowers give way to reddish fruit in the fall
- Green, three-lobed, textured leaves turn yellow in the fall
HEIGHT: 175-200 cm · SPREAD: 175-200 cm
Physostegia virginiana
OBEDIENT PLANT
- Upright, clumping habit
- Dense spikes of pink to pale lilac, occasionally white, snapdragon-like flowers
- Each flower is surrounded by a small leaf-like bract
HEIGHT: 100-125 cm · SPREAD: 60-80 cm
Picea glauca
WHITE SPRUCE
- Dense medium-sized uniformly pyramidal conifer
- Stiff spirally arranged needles are blue-green
- Needles are aromatic when crushed
HEIGHT: 20-25 m · SPREAD: 6-8 m
Picea mariana
BLACK SPRUCE
- Slow-growing medium-sized evergreen with a narrow spire-like shape
- Spirally-arranged needles are blue-green and blunt on the ends
- Descending branches have upturned ends
HEIGHT: 15-20 m · SPREAD: 8-12 m
Pinus resinosa
RED PINE
- Conical in form with an oval to rounded crown
- Glossy dark green needles grow 10 to 15 cm long
- Horizontal to ascending branching
HEIGHT: 30-35 m · SPREAD: 6-7 m
Pinus strobus
EASTERN WHITE PINE
- Fast-growing broadly pyramidal evergreen
- Open branching with a smooth bark
- Long soft light green to blue-green needles
HEIGHT: 20-24 m · SPREAD: 7-10 m
Platanus occidentalis
AMERICAN SYCAMORE
- Horizontal branching with a rounded habit
- Large medium green leaves are maple-like in shape
- Fall colour is an insignificant yellow-brown
HEIGHT: 27-30 m · SPREAD: 20-25 m
Podophyllum peltatum
MAYAPPLE
- Palmately-lobed mid-green leaves up to 25 cm wide
- Generally only one leaf per stem, sometimes two
- Flowers have six to nine white petals with yellow stamens
HEIGHT: 30-45 cm · SPREAD: 40-50 cm
Polystichum acrostichoides
CHRISTMAS FERN
- Glossy leathery deep green leaves
- Young fiddleheads are covered in fine silver hairs
- Upright clumping habit
HEIGHT: 45-60 cm · SPREAD: 30-45 cm
Pontederia cordata
PICKERELWEED
- Aquatic perennial with glossy green heart-shaped basal leaves
- Unbranched smooth flower stalks
- Violet-blue hyacinth-like flowers appear in closely packed terminal spikes
HEIGHT: 40-50 cm · SPREAD: 60-80 cm
Populus balsamifera
BALSAM POPLAR
- Narrow pyramidal crown with ascending branches
- Resinous buds are sticky and strongly aromatic
- Leaves are ovate: dark green on top, silver underneath
HEIGHT: 25-30 m · SPREAD: 14-16 m
Populus deltoides
EASTERN COTTONWOOD
- Upright-oval habit
- Glossy triangular green leaves turn yellow in the fall
- Dioecious: trees are either male or female, flowering before the leaves appear
HEIGHT: 20-25 m · SPREAD: 16-18 m
Populus grandidentata
BIG-TOOTHED ASPEN
- Open irregular crown with coarse spreading branches
- Leaves are ovate with a serrated edge, green on top and whitish underneath
- Drooping catkins are tan coloured at maturity
HEIGHT: 18-20 m · SPREAD: 8-10 m
Populus tremuloides
TREMBLING ASPEN
- Narrow rounded crown, with ascending branches becoming wider with maturity
- Bark colour is a beautiful silvery-white
- Nearly round glossy dark green summer leaves
HEIGHT: 10-15 m · SPREAD: 5-7 m
Prunus americana
AMERICAN PLUM
- Upright-broad spreading crown
- Clusters of white flowers
- Flowers are followed by small edible round red plums
HEIGHT: 6-8 m · SPREAD: 4-5 m
Prunus pensylvanica
PIN CHERRY, FIRE CHERRY
- Upright habit, forming colonies
- Burnished-bronze exfoliating bark
- Clusters of fragrant florets unfold with the leaves
HEIGHT: 8-10 m · SPREAD: 3-4 m
Prunus serotina
BLACK CHERRY
- Narrow, columnar to rounded crown
- Pendulous clusters of fragrant white flowers
- Flowers are followed by red pea-sized cherries, ripening to purple-black
HEIGHT: 18-24 m · SPREAD: 8-10 m
Prunus virginiana
COMMON CHOKECHERRY
- Small fragrant white or pink flowers emerge simultaneously with the leaves
- Red to blue to black fruit ripens in July, eaten by birds
- Semi-glossy green leaves occasionally turn pinkish in the fall
HEIGHT: 6-7 m · SPREAD: 5-6 m
Ptelea trifoliata
HOP TREE
- Dense rounded shrub or small tree
- Glossy dark green leaves
- Tiny white flowers
HEIGHT: 5-6 m · SPREAD: 5-6 m
Pteridium aquilinum
BRACKEN FERN
- Sturdy bright green triangular fronds
- Found in large patches in wet or dry conditions
- Single fronds emerge from spreading rhizomes
HEIGHT: 40-80 cm · SPREAD: 80-100 cm
Pycnanthemum virginianum
VIRGINIA MOUNTAIN MINT
- Well-branched, upright habit
- Terminal clusters of white two-lipped flowers
- Narrow toothless mid-green leaves 6 cm long
HEIGHT: 60-90 cm · SPREAD: 50-60 cm
Quercus alba
WHITE OAK
- Pyramidal when young, maturing to a wide-spreading, rounded crown
- Leaves have deep rounded lobes, emerging pinkish in the spring, maturing to dark green
- Insignificant flowers(catkins) are followed by oval acorns
HEIGHT: 18-22 m · SPREAD: 18-22 m
Quercus bicolor
SWAMP WHITE OAK
- Pyramidal when young, maturing to a broad, rounded crown
- Leaves are glossy, dark green on top and silvery-white underneath
- Insignificant flowers (catkins) are followed by oval acorns
HEIGHT: 15-18 m · SPREAD: 15-18 m
Quercus macrocarpa
BURR OAK
- Pyramidal when young, maturing to a broad, spreading, rounded crown
- Twigs are sometimes ridged with corky "wings"
- Dark green leaves are leathery with deep round lobes and a distinctive 'waist'
HEIGHT: 18-22 m · SPREAD: 13-18 m
Quercus muehlenbergii
CHINKAPIN OAK
- Open, broad, rounded crown
- Narrow, oblong, glossy green leaves with coarse marginal teeth
- Insignificant flowers (catkins) are followed by oval acorns
HEIGHT: 15-18 m · SPREAD: 12-18 m
Quercus palustris
PIN OAK
- Pyramidal, broad, spreading, oval crown
- Leaves are dark green with deep, sharply pointed lobes
- Insignificant flowers (catkins) are followed by rounded acorns
HEIGHT: 20-25 m · SPREAD: 13-18 m
Quercus prinus
CHESTNUT OAK
- AKA Quercus montana
- Pyramidal when young, it will grow to fill available space
- Oval leaves are lightly toothed
HEIGHT: 20-24 m · SPREAD: 16-18 m
Quercus rubra
RED OAK
- Rounded, broad-spreading, often irregular crown
- Dark green leaves have sharply pointed lobes
- Insignificant flowers (catkins) are followed by acorns
HEIGHT: 16-22 m · SPREAD: 15-20 m
Ratibida pinnata
GRAY-HEAD CONEFLOWER
- AKA Lepachys pinnata
- Upright thick-stemmed well-branched perennial
- Toothed bluish-green lance-shaped leaves
HEIGHT: 125-150 cm · SPREAD: 45-60 cm
Rhus aromatica
FRAGRANT SUMAC
- Yellowish male and female flowers appear before the leaves
- Clusters of reddish hairy fruit ripen late summer and may persist into the winter
- Medium green to blue-green aromatic soft leaves are sometimes glossy
HEIGHT: 125-150 cm · SPREAD: 175-200 cm
Rhus glabra
SMOOTH SUMAC
- Greenish-yellow male and female flowers
- Clusters of reddish hairy fruit ripen late summer and may persist into the winter
- Medium-green to dark green compound pinnate leaves are sometimes glossy
HEIGHT: 250-300 cm · SPREAD: 250-300 cm
Rhus typhina
STAGHORN SUMAC
- Greenish-yellow male and female flowers
- Clusters of reddish hairy fruit ripen late summer and may persist into the winter
- Medium-green to dark green compound pinnate leaves are sometimes glossy
HEIGHT: 250-300 cm · SPREAD: 250-300 cm
Ribes americanum
WILD BLACK CURRANT
- Bell-shaped flowers, pale yellow to greenish white
- Small round fruit, ripening from green to red and finally black
- Slightly hairy branches and leaves but are identified without thorns
HEIGHT: 125-150 cm · SPREAD: 150-175 cm
Ribes aureum
GOLDEN CURRANT
- Fragrant yellow flowers attract hummingbirds
- Small edible yellow fruit ripen to black
- Pale green leaves emerge early in the spring and turn orange-red in the fall
HEIGHT: 175-200 cm · SPREAD: 125-150 cm
Rosa blanda
MEADOW ROSE
- Single light pink fragrant flowers
- Smooth bright red rose hips in July persist into the winter
- Dull blue-green leaves
HEIGHT: 125-150 cm · SPREAD: 150-200 cm
Rosa carolina
PASTURE ROSE
- Single pink flowers
- Red flattened-sphere fruit persists into the winter
- Rich green leaves turn dull red in the fall
HEIGHT: 150-175 cm · SPREAD: 175-200 cm
Rosa palustris
SWAMP ROSE
- Fragrant single pink flowers
- Red fruit persists into the winter
- Medium green leaves turn dull red in the fall
HEIGHT: 150-175 cm · SPREAD: 150-175 cm
Rosa setigera
PRAIRIE ROSE
- Deep pink single flowers fade to white
- In late summer, bright red rose hips appear
- Glossy dark green leaves turn purple-red in the fall
HEIGHT: 80-100 cm · SPREAD: 250-300 cm
Rubus allegheniensis
ALLEGHANY BLACKBERRY
- Single white flowers
- Sweet black thimble-shaped fruit
- Textured green leaves are usually made up of three leaflets
HEIGHT: 100-125 cm · SPREAD: 175-200 cm
Rubus occidentalis
BLACK RASPBERRY
- Single white flowers
- Sweet black thimble-shaped fruit
- Textured green leaves, with three to five leaflets, turn yellow in the fall
HEIGHT: 100-125 cm · SPREAD: 250-300 cm
Rubus odoratus
FLOWERING RASPBERRY
- Fragrant single magenta flowers
- Small red thimble-shaped fruit
- Textured five-lobed green leaves turn yellow in the fall
HEIGHT: 150-175 cm · SPREAD: 150-175 cm
Rudbeckia hirta
GLORIOSA DAISY
- AKA Rudbeckia gloriosa
- Biennial or short-lived perennial
- Pale daisy-like flowers with golden petals surround a central dark cone
HEIGHT: 60-70 cm · SPREAD: 40-60 cm
Rudbeckia laciniata
CUTLEAF CONEFLOWER
- Tall upright rhizomatous perennial
- Daisy-like flowers on tall leafy stems
- Drooping yellow petals form around a brownish-purple cone
HEIGHT: 125-175 cm · SPREAD: 80-90 cm
Ruellia humilis
WILD PETUNIA
- Bell-shaped petunia shaped lavender to lilac-blue flowers
- Blooming period between May-October
- Long slender olive-green leaves
HEIGHT: 50-60 cm · SPREAD: 50-60 cm
Sagittaria graminea
GRASS LEAF ARROWHEAD
- Upright, rhizomatous spreader
- Narrow long arrow-head-shaped mid-green foliage
- Grows approximately 60 cm above water level
HEIGHT: 50-60 cm · SPREAD: 20-30 cm
Sagittaria latifolia
ARROWHEAD
- Upright aquatic perennial
- Long narrow chevron-shaped mid-green leaves
- Grows approximately 60 cm above water level
HEIGHT: 30-60 cm · SPREAD: 100 cm
Salix amygdaloides
PEACH-LEAVED WILLOW
- Yellowish-green leaves have a pale whitish underside
- Rough bark is brownish-gray
- Orange-yellow twigs
HEIGHT: 11-12 m · SPREAD: 8-10 m
Salix bebbiana
BEAKED WILLOW
- Yellow-green cone-like fruit is attractive to birds
- Dull green, slightly saw-toothed or wavy, and gray or whitish underneath
- Fast-growing and capable of forming dense colonies
HEIGHT: 4-5 m · SPREAD: 9-10 m
Salix candida
SAGE-LEAVED WILLOW
- Gray felt-like leaves
- Large catkins emerge red or pink, before turning yellow
- New shoots are white and woolly at first, then to a glossy red-brown
HEIGHT: 175-200 cm · SPREAD: 100-125 cm
Salix cordata
HEARTLEAF WILLOW
- Yellow catkins are slender and smooth
- Green leaves are pale and hairy underneath, with finely serrated edges
- New shoots are white and silky
HEIGHT: 175-200 cm · SPREAD: 175-200 cm
Salix discolor
PUSSY WILLOW
- Soft silky silvery catkins appear before the leaves
- Medium-green leaves have downy gray-white undersides
- Upright habit
HEIGHT: 5-6 m · SPREAD: 125-150 cm
Salix eriocephala
HEART-LEAVED WILLOW
- Of special value to native bees
- Catkins appear before leaves, providing food for early pollinators
- Long narrow green leaves with lighter undersides
HEIGHT: 3-4 m · SPREAD: 3-4 m
Salix exigua
SANDBAR WILLOW
- AKA Salix interior
- Yellowish-green catkins
- Narrow silvery-gray leaves
HEIGHT: 3-4 m · SPREAD: 5-6 m
Salix lucida
SHINING WILLOW
- Yellow catkins appear after the leaves
- Narrow dark green leaves are glossy above, and glossy light green below
- Plant is called 'shining' because of its smooth glossy leaves
HEIGHT: 5-6 m · SPREAD: 5-6 m
Salix nigra
BLACK WILLOW
- Small greenish-yellow catkins in early spring
- Long narrow glossy green leaves turn yellow in the fall
- Deeply fissured dark brown bark
HEIGHT: 18-20 m · SPREAD: 4-5 m
Salix petiolaris
SLENDER WILLOW
- AKA Salix gracilis
- Small brownish-yellow catkins
- Long dark green leaves turn yellow in the fall
HEIGHT: 2-3 m · SPREAD: 2-3 m
Sambucus canadensis
AMERICAN ELDERBERRY
- Pleasantly fragrant white flowers in a flat-topped cluster
- Purple-black berries in clusters, August to September, will attract birds
- Compound pinnate medium-green leaves turn yellow in the fall
HEIGHT: 250-300 cm · SPREAD: 200-250 cm
Sambucus pubens
SCARLET ELDERBERRY
- White flowers in a mounded cluster
- Red berries in clusters, June to July, will attract birds
- Compound pinnate medium-green leaves turn yellow in the fall
HEIGHT: 250-300 cm · SPREAD: 200-250 cm
Sanguinaria canadensis
BLOODROOT
- Rhizomatous native woodland perennial
- Solitary cup-shaped white flowers with yellow stamens
- One of the first flowers to appear in spring
HEIGHT: 10-15 cm · SPREAD: 20-25 cm
Sassafras albidum
SASSAFRAS
- Shrubby when young, maturing to a dense, pyramidal crown
- Can spread by root suckers to form colonies
- Clusters of greenish-yellow flowers; dioecious, having separate male and female trees
HEIGHT: 10-15 m · SPREAD: 9-12 m
Saururus cernuus
LIZARD'S TAIL
- Rhizomatous marginal aquatic perennial
- Naturally found in swamps or slow-moving rivers and ponds
- Heart-shaped leaves are smooth and wavy on zig-zagged stems
HEIGHT: 50-90 cm
Saxifraga paniculata
ENCRUSTED SAXIFRAGE
- AKA Saxifraga aizoon
- Evergreen alpine species
- Tall red stems bear loose clusters of tiny white flowers
HEIGHT: 10-30 cm · SPREAD: 20-30 cm
Schizachyrium scoparium
LITTLE BLUESTEM
- AKA Andropogon scoparius
- Slightly arching clump of blue-green leaves
- Leaves are flame-coloured in the fall and remain showy throughout the winter
HEIGHT: 100-125 cm · SPREAD: 50-70 cm
Scirpus acutus
HARD STEM BULRUSH
- AKA: Schoenoplectus acutus var. occidentalis
- Scirpus are not grasses, they are perennial sedges
- Upright cylindrical gray-green stems have 3 to 4 slender sheathed leaves at the base
HEIGHT: 100-175 cm · SPREAD: 50-100 cm
Scirpus atrovirens
DARK GREEN BULRUSH
- Scirpus are not grasses, they are perennial sedges
- Forms an open upright clump of dark green leaves branching from the main stems
- Dark green culms, reaching 125 cm, develop clusters of inflorescences
HEIGHT: 90-125 cm · SPREAD: 90-125 cm
Scirpus cyperinus
WOOL GRASS
- Scirpus are not grasses, they are perennial sedges
- Forms short tufts of grass-like blades
- Flowers rise above the foliage on narrow upright stems
HEIGHT: 100-150 cm · SPREAD: 90-125 cm
Scirpus fluviatilis
RIVER BULRUSH
- AKA Bolboschoenus fluviatilis
- Scirpus are not grasses, they are perennial sedges
- Forms short tufts of grass-like blades
HEIGHT: 30-60 cm · SPREAD: 30-40 cm
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Scirpus microcarpus
SMALL-FRUITED BULRUSH
- Found across North America in wet areas such as marshes, swamps and meadows
- Grass like leaves sprout from the base and along the stem
- Leaf bases are tinged reddish purple where they clasp the stem
HEIGHT: 60-150 cm · SPREAD: 30-60 cm
Scirpus pungens
COMMON THREE SQUARE
- AKA: Schoenoplectus pungens, Scirpus americanus
- Scirpus are not grasses, they are perennial sedges
- Triangular stems bear few blades up to 25 cm long
HEIGHT: 100-175 cm · SPREAD: 75-125 cm
Scirpus validus
SOFTSTEM BULRUSH
- AKA: Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani
- Scirpus are not grasses, they are perennial sedges
- Dark green spongy stems, up to 2 cm thick, are rounded-edged and triangular in cross-section
HEIGHT: 175-250 cm · SPREAD: 100-120 cm
Senecio aureus
GOLDEN RAGWORT
- AKA Packera aurea
- Flat-topped clusters of yellow daisy-like flowers
- Flowers give way to fluffy white seed heads
HEIGHT: 25-30 cm · SPREAD: 30-40 cm
Shepherdia canadensis
BUFFALOBERRY
- Small yellow insignificant flowers
- Yellowish-red berries follow in the summer
- Silver-green leaves
HEIGHT: 200-250 cm · SPREAD: 200-250 cm
Silphium laciniatum
COMPASS PLANT
- Clusters of nodding eastern-facing sunflower-like yellow flowers
- Sturdy green stems are covered in white hairs
- Basal narrow leaves are very deeply lobed and up to 50 cm long
HEIGHT: 200-300 cm · SPREAD: 50-60 cm
Silphium perfoliatum
CUP PLANT
- Bright yellow daisy-like flowers
- Coarsely-toothed bristly oval green leaves are 20 cm long
- Leaves are opposite each other and join together at stem to cup water
HEIGHT: 150-250 cm · SPREAD: 75-90 cm
Sisyrinchium angustifolium
BLUE-EYED GRASS
- AKA Sisyrinchium graminoides
- Forms a dense mounding clump of green blades
- Clusters of showy blue flowers are even with the top of the foliage
HEIGHT: 45-50 cm · SPREAD: 10-15 cm
Sisyrinchium montanum
BLUE-EYED GRASS
- Forms a loose mounding clump of green blades
- Clusters of showy blue flowers
- Flower-holding stems extend above the flower clusters
HEIGHT: 30-55 cm · SPREAD: 30-40 cm
Smilacina racemosa
FALSE SOLOMON'S SEAL
- AKA Maianthemum racemosum
- Clump forming rhizomatous perennial
- Unbranched stems have alternate mid-green leaves
HEIGHT: 70-80 cm · SPREAD: 40-50 cm
Solidago caesia
BLUESTEM GOLDENROD
- Arching wands of golden flower clusters
- Blue-green stems and long thin green leaves
- Forms attractive open clumps
HEIGHT: 30-60 cm
Solidago canadensis
CANADIAN GOLDENROD
- Rhizomatous upright habit
- Numerous small yellow blooms
- Lance-shaped sharply-toothed green leaves
HEIGHT: 150-200 cm · SPREAD: 90-100 cm
Solidago flexicaulis
ZIGZAG GOLDENROD
- Small flowers cluster near the top of the plant
- Star-like yellow blooms
- Erect stems hold softly hairy coarsely-toothed oval leaves
HEIGHT: 30-60 cm · SPREAD: 30-100 cm
Solidago nemoralis
OLD FIELD GOLDENROD
- Erect upright perennial in the sunflower family
- Narrow downward-arching bright yellow plumes
- Grey-green leaves and stems
HEIGHT: 50-60 cm · SPREAD: 50-60 cm
Solidago rigida
STIFF GOLDENROD
- AKA Oligoneuron rigidum
- Flat-topped clusters of tiny bright yellow daisy-like flowers
- Velvety foliage is gray-green in the summer
HEIGHT: 90-125 cm · SPREAD: 60 cm
Solidago rugosa
WRINKLELEAF GOLDENROD
- Tiny bright yellow blooms arch in plume-like panicles
- Stiff narrow toothed leaves are rough-surfaced and wrinkled
- Clumping perennial
HEIGHT: 60-90 cm · SPREAD: 100 cm
Sorbus americana
AMERICAN MOUNTAINASH
- Small deciduous understorey tree
- Open, rounded crown
- Dark green leaves have gray-green undersides
HEIGHT: 5-10 m · SPREAD: 5-8 m
Sorbus decora
SHOWY MOUNTAINASH
- Upright, oval to rounded crown with ascending branches
- Blue-green compound leaves in the summer turn reddish-purple in the fall
- Flat-topped clusters of small white flowers
HEIGHT: 8-10 m · SPREAD: 6-8 m
Sorghastrum nutans
INDIAN GRASS
- AKA Sorghastrum avenaceum, Chrysopogon nutans
- Reddish-bronze downy flower spikes rising well above the foliage appear in July
- The grass blades are green turning bronze to burnt orange in the fall
HEIGHT: 120-220 cm · SPREAD: 45-60 cm
Sparganium americanum
AMERICAN BUR-REED
- An emergent aquatic
- Long lance-shaped green leaves
- Unique flowers and seedheads
HEIGHT: 90-125 cm
Sparganium eurycarpum
GIANT BUR-REED
- AKA Sparganium californicum
- An emergent aquatic
- Unique flowers and seedheads
HEIGHT: 90-125 cm
Spartina pectinata
PRAIRIE CORD GRASS
- AKA Sporobolus michauxianus
- Main stems (culms) are round, up to 225 cm long
- Green leaves, alternate, up to 60 cm long, emerge from the lower half of the stems
HEIGHT: 175-225 cm · SPREAD: 100-120 cm
Spiraea alba
MEADOWSWEET
- Cone-shaped clusters of tiny white flowers
- Fruit dries and splits to release seed
- Narrow toothed green leaves
HEIGHT: 125-150 cm · SPREAD: 125-150 cm
Spiraea latifolia
STEEPLEBUSH
- Bottlebrush-like spikes of tiny white flowers
- Brown seed heads persist into the winter
- Leaves are bright green above, blue-green underneath
HEIGHT: 125-150 cm · SPREAD: 125-150 cm
Spiraea tomentosa
HARDHACK
- Bottlebrush-like spikes of tiny pink flowers
- Brown seed heads persist into the winter
- Leaves bright green above, blue-green underneath
HEIGHT: 100-125 cm · SPREAD: 100-125 cm
Sporobolus heterolepis
PRAIRIE DROPSEED
- An elegant native; fine green leaves and its seed stems emerge directly from the base
- Pink flowers turn tan coloured in the fall
- Delicate seedheads stand 50 cm above the rest of the foliage
HEIGHT: 60-100 cm · SPREAD: 45-60 cm
Stylophorum diphyllum
CELANDINE POPPY
- Isolated populations in Ontario
- Saucer-shaped poppy-like yellow flowers
- Nodding densely hairy seed capsules appear shortly after flowering
HEIGHT: 30-45 cm · SPREAD: 25-30 cm
Symphoricarpos albus
SNOWBERRY
- Panicles of small pink flowers
- Clusters of white berries seldom persist into the winter
- Foliage is bluish-green
HEIGHT: 125-150 cm · SPREAD: 100-125 cm
Symplocarpus foetidus
SKUNK CABBAGE
- Maroon spathe opens on one side to reveal green-yellow flowers (spadix)
- Large green leaves unfold as flowers fade
- Foliage reaches its maximum size by early summer (60cm x 30cm)
HEIGHT: 40-60 cm · SPREAD: 60 cm
Taxus canadensis
CANADIAN YEW
- Slow-growing compact dense spreading flat-topped habit
- Low maintenance spreader suitable for use as a ground cover in shade
- Narrow short-stalked dark green needles
HEIGHT: 50-60 cm · SPREAD: 80-100 cm
Thalictrum dioicum
EARLY MEADOW RUE
- Showy nodding bell-shaped purple pistils or yellow stamens
- Dioecious: having male and female plants
- Attractive divided light green foliage
HEIGHT: 30-60 cm · SPREAD: 30-60 cm
Thalictrum pubescens
TALL MEADOWRUE
- The pinnate leaves have three or more leaflets with rounded lobes
- White flowers are arranged in large terminal clusters
- Naturally found in meadows, open woodlands, or along a woodland edge
HEIGHT: 150-180 cm · SPREAD: 50-60 cm
Thelypteris palustris
MARSH FERN
- AKA Dryopteris thelypteris, Thelypteris thelypteroides
- Single pale green pinnate feathery fronds
- Non-clumping form; it spreads by long creeping rhizomes
HEIGHT: 45-70 cm · SPREAD: 100-200 cm
Thuja occidentalis
EASTERN WHITE CEDAR
- Upright pyramidal with slightly arching branches
- Light green foliage grows in flattened sprays
- Colour fades to a duller bronze-green
HEIGHT: 10-12 m · SPREAD: 3-4 m
Tiarella cordifolia
FOAM FLOWER
- Rhizomatous perennial vigorously spreads by trailing stolons
- Heart-shaped to maple-shaped leaves with 3-5 lobes, 10 cm across
- Leaves may develop reddish variegation along the veins
HEIGHT: 10-15 cm · SPREAD: 40-50 cm
Tilia americana
BASSWOOD
- Oval to rounded crown with upright growing branches
- Ovate dark green leaves turn a pale yellow in the fall
- Fragrant pale yellow flowers
HEIGHT: 20-25 m · SPREAD: 13-15 m
Tradescantia ohiensis
OHIO SPIDERWORT
- Upright tufted clump-forming perennial
- Numerous buds form in a terminal cluster
- Three petals form a triangular-shaped flower with hairy stamens
HEIGHT: 75-90 cm · SPREAD: 50-60 cm
Trillium erectum
RED TRILLIUM
- Native to woodlands throughout North America
- Outward-facing deep red three-petaled flowers
- Stalkless broadly ovate mid-green leaves
HEIGHT: 15-30 cm · SPREAD: 10-15 cm
Trillium grandiflorum
WHITE TRILLIUM
- Native to woodlands throughout North America
- Showiest of all the native trillium
- Outward-facing white three-petaled flowers
HEIGHT: 20-30 cm · SPREAD: 20-30 cm
Tsuga canadensis
EASTERN HEMLOCK
- Pyramidal growth habit when young
- Flat sprays of lacy short dark green needles
- Needles have two white bands underneath
HEIGHT: 18-21 m · SPREAD: 8-10 m
Typha angustifolia
NARROWLEAF CATTAIL
- Clumping spreading stands of narrow sword-like leaves
- Central flower stalks are equal to the height of the leaves
- Male and female flowers are held separately
HEIGHT: 175-200 cm · SPREAD: 200-500 cm
Typha latifolia
BROADLEAF CATTAIL
- Clumping spreading stands of sword-like leaves
- Central flower stalks, equal to the height of the leaves, hold male and female flowers
- Cylindrical flowers turn brown after fertilization
HEIGHT: 125-200 cm · SPREAD: 200-500 cm
Ulmus americana
AMERICAN ELM
- Vase-shaped broad rounded crown
- Insignificant green flowers in early spring become single oval to rounded winged seeds
- Oval to elliptical rough-textured green leaves in the summer
HEIGHT: 18-22 m · SPREAD: 13-20 m
Uvularia grandiflora
LARGE-FLOWERED BELLWORT
- Clump forming upright native wildflower
- Long bell-shaped yellow flowers
- Flowers have six slightly twisted petals
HEIGHT: 50-60 cm · SPREAD: 30-45 cm
Vaccinium angustifolium
LOWBUSH BLUEBERRY
- Clusters of white flowers
- Small sweet dark blue fruit
- Glossy blue-green leaves turn purple in the fall
HEIGHT: 50-60 cm · SPREAD: 50-60 cm
Verbena hastata
BLUE VERVAIN
- Clump forming with a stiff upright habit
- Candelabra-like flowers on pencil-like spikes
- Blooms are purplish-blue
HEIGHT: 125-200 cm · SPREAD: 60-90 cm
Verbena stricta
HOARY VERVAIN
- Clump forming perennial
- Gray-green foliage and stems
- Blue-purple flowers are densely packed on pencil-like stems
HEIGHT: 90-125 cm · SPREAD: 60-80 cm
Vernonia noveboracensis
NEW YORK IRONWEED
- Tall coarse upright form
- Tiny deep purple composite blooms
- Stiff stems hold pointed lance-shaped leaves
HEIGHT: 125-150 cm · SPREAD: 100-125 cm
Veronicastrum virginicum
CULVER'S ROOT
- AKA Leptandra virginica, Veronica virginica
- Large upright perennial
- Tubular white or pink flowers form dense spikes atop the stems
HEIGHT: 125-175 cm · SPREAD: 60-80 cm
Viburnum acerifolium
MAPLELEAF VIBURNUM
- Tiny white flowers in long-stalked flat-topped cymes
- Medium green maple-like leaves turn reddish-purple to magenta in fall
- Pea-sized fruit ripen to bluish-black in late summer
HEIGHT: 150-175 cm · SPREAD: 100-125 cm
Viburnum cassinoides
WITHEROD
- Flat-topped clusters of creamy-white flowers
- Green fruit turns pink to red to blue to black in fall persisting after leaf drop
- Leaves emerge with bronze tones, maturing to a glossy dark green
HEIGHT: 125-150 cm · SPREAD: 125-150 cm
Viburnum dentatum
ARROWWOOD
- Flat-topped clusters of creamy-white flowers in spring
- Bluish-black fruit in fall attractive to birds
- Glossy dark green leaves turning yellow to reddish-purple in fall
HEIGHT: 175-200 cm · SPREAD: 175-200 cm
Viburnum lentago
NANNYBERRY
- Flat-topped clusters of creamy-white flowers
- Bluish-black fruit in the fall is attractive to birds
- Glossy green leaves turn reddish-purple in the fall
HEIGHT: 5-6 m · SPREAD: 175-200 cm
Viburnum trilobum
HIGHBUSH CRANBERRY
- Flat-topped clusters of creamy-white flowers
- Red berries are attractive to birds
- Textured three-lobed green leaves turn reddish-purple in the fall
HEIGHT: 250-300 cm · SPREAD: 250-300 cm
Viola canadensis
CANADA VIOLET
- White flowers are sometimes tinged with purple
- Heart-shaped deep green foliage
- Fragrant blooms have yellow centres
HEIGHT: 15-30 cm · SPREAD: 15-30 cm
Vitis riparia
FROST GRAPE
- Drooping panicles of small five-petaled yellowish-green flowers
- Blooms have a sweet musky fragrance
- Small green berries age to deep purple
HEIGHT: 10-15 m · SPREAD: 8-10 m
Waldsteinia fragarioides
BARREN STRAWBERRY
- AKA Geum fragarioides
- Mat-forming rhizomatous perennial
- Dark green to bronze strawberry-like leaves
HEIGHT: 5-10 cm · SPREAD: 30-40 cm
Woodsia obtusa
CLIFF FERN
- Feathery dull green mounding fronds
- Leaflets are blunt-lobed
- Leaflets have hairy undersides when young
HEIGHT: 30-50 cm · SPREAD: 25-40 cm
Woodwardia virginica
VIRGINIA CHAIN FERN
- AKA Anchistea virginica
- Deeply cut leathery green fronds
- Thick black central stem
HEIGHT: 50-70 cm · SPREAD: 60-90 cm
Zizia aurea
GOLDEN ALEXANDER
- Branching erect reddish stems
- Each tiny flower is composed of five sepals, five petals and five stamens
- These tiny flowers form a large flat-topped cluster
HEIGHT: 75-80 cm · SPREAD: 45-60 cm