For Your Garden - April 2014

Have you been meaning to add a few native plants to your garden? Native plants provide beauty as well as food and shelter for wildlife. Native species are adapted to the Illinois climate. They require little or no watering and are resistant to drought, insects and most diseases. Because they are perennials, you can welcome their presence year after year.

Virginia waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum)

Virginia waterleaf grows in woodlands throughout Illinois. The name "waterleaf" comes from the coloration on the leaves that may give them the appearance of being stained with water. Flowers are produced from April through July and are white or pale purple, arising on a single stalk. Leaves are large and have five to seven lobes. The plant ranges from one to three feet tall.

Classification and taxonomy are based on Mohlenbrock, Robert H. 2014. Vascular flora of Illinois: A field guide. Fourth edition. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale. 536 pp.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Solanales
Family: Hydrophyllaceae