Getting to Know Wildflowers

First posted on 09-29-2010

Sometimes when I hike the Ozarks hills in spring, I come across a few extraordinary wildflowers and I leave wishing I knew what they were. I suppose I could get a book and look it up on the trail, or I could snap a photo and compare it to the 24,000 or so wild plant images in the database at Wildflower.org.

The organization was created in 1982 by Lady Bird Johnson and actress Helen Hayes. The concept grew into a Wildflower Center located in Austin, Texas and the website eventually bloomed. Consequently, the site has a decidedly Lone Star slant, but it has a trove of information about wildflowers throughout the country. In 2006, the University of Texas-Austin made the Center an Organized Research Unit.

Both the database and plant images are sortable by name (not just the exact name, but by common name as well), plant family, and even more specific information like color of bloom, plant height, soil conditions, light requirements and habitat. Some of this is great for visitors who wish to plant a wildflower garden in their backyards and Wildflowers.org does provide names of suppliers who sell wild plants. But the sorting capabilities are also a fine tool for narrowing a search and finally discovering that it was a wild orchid or maybe a Desmodium sp. you just about stepped on in the woods while getting close enough to a chipmunk to get a nice picture.

The database is just one facet of the site. You can ask questions of the resident horticulturist, find plenty of how-to articles about growing wildflowers, learn about conservation efforts and, if you happen to be a teacher, find resources to help talk about nature to your class.

Definitely worthy of an in depth perusal for those who like wildflowers or simply want to impress others by knowing the names of forest flora. Give the site a look at: http://www.wildflower.org