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For Your Garden - March 2019

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.

goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis)
Photo © River Valley Photographic Resources Ltd., rvprltd.com

Goldenseal may be found in rich woodlands statewide. The plant grows to about 10 inches tall. It has three leaves and a single flower. The flower develops from the base of the top leaf. There are no petals. The appearance of the flower is green-white to green-yellow. Flowering occurs in April and May. The fruit is a berry. Bees and flies are pollinators attracted to the flowers.

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.

Illinois Range

Native Plant Information

For more information about Illinois native plants, visit our Native Habitat Descriptions, Requirements, and Plant Lists page. The following publications are available from the IDNR on our publications page.

Taxonomy

​Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Ranunculaceae

Illinois Status: common, native