Making the Mark

Earlier this year, Missouri Botanical Garden Botanist Patrice Antilahimena embarked on a field trip to a protected area managed by the Garden in southern Madagascar. The dry forest, thick with spiny plants was unlike anywhere he had collected before. But the trip was exciting for another reason: Patrice knew it was likely he would make…

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Heat-tolerant Plants

As St. Louis and much of the surrounding area experience another round of triple-digit temperatures, the plants around us are feeling it too. Hot, sunny weather will dry out soils quickly. With less water available for the roots to absorb, leaves and stems may start to wilt and flag. An occasional deep, slow watering should…

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Plant Profile: St. John’s Wort

As interest grows in native plants, some gardeners may be wondering what kinds of options are available to add to their own backyards. From our experts at the William T. Kemper Home Gardening Center comes a suggestion for a native, flowering shrub with an eye-catching bark: Hypericum prolificum, or St. John’s wort. The unique, layered bark…

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American Roses

In 1986, the rose became America’s national flower, succeeding where more than 70 bills had previously failed.  The rose’s top competitor was the marigold, a cause that had been championed for years by the late Illinois Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen who noted it was native to America and thrived in all 50 states. An aide…

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Honeysuckles Explained

Most gardeners cringe at the word “honeysuckle” these days. But not all species of honeysuckle are bad. Here, the William T. Kemper Home Gardening Center explains which native species you should plant in your garden to attract pollinators and which invasive species you should eradicate wherever possible.

Climate Change and Common Violets

In many Missouri backyards, a carpet of small purple or white violets is a sure sign of spring. In future springs, we’re likely to see more of these cheerful flowers earlier in the season as a result of climate change, a recent study from Garden researchers found. This may seem like an unexpected positive outcome…

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Rare Beauty: New Meriania Species to be Classified as Critically Endangered

With vivid pink, purple, and magenta blooms, new species of Meriania discovered by Missouri Botanical Garden scientists and collaborators in Peru are certainly eye-catching. But since many of them are critically endangered, they’re unlikely to catch many eyes in the wild. In fact, four of them are known from just a single population. Describing these…

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2022 Plants of Merit

Every year since 1998, the Missouri Botanical Garden has partnered with other regional horticultural institutions to select Plants of Merit. Plants of Merit are chosen for outstanding quality and dependable performance in Missouri, southern and central Illinois, and the Kansas City metro area. To qualify as a Plant of Merit, the plants must be easy to…

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Spotlight on Science: Jordan Teisher

Jordan TeisherDirector, Herbarium  Jordan Teisher still vividly remembers visiting the Missouri Botanical Garden when he was exploring graduate school opportunities in plant research. He started his visit in the Lehmann Building, which holds part of the Garden’s herbarium, and then took a walk around Garden grounds. He was in awe.  “You have this combination of…

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Time for Tulips

Bursting into beautiful, vibrant blooms each April, tulips have become synonymous with spring. Tulips, or tulipa, are part of the lily family, Liliaceae. Although commonly associated with the Netherlands, their native range is actually in Central Asia and Southern Europe. Tulipa includes more than 100 different species, thousands of varieties, and flowers in many vivid…

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