Field Guide

A yellow and black butterfly feeds on nectar from white blossoms on a tree branch.
FIELD GUIDE A-Z
Learn about the habitat, diet, and life cycle of Missouri's animals, plants, and mushrooms.
What to look for this month
Photo of three cliff swallow nests attached to the soffit of a building, with a parent attending.
Cliff Swallows

They fly in swarms around their clusters of juglike mud nests attached to overpasses, bridges, culverts, barns, and cliffs. A colony can have several hundred nests.

puffball mushroom
Giant Puffballs

Holy smokes, they can be bigger than a soccer ball and can weigh more than 25 pounds! They grow in open pastures, woods, and lawns. A choice edible, but only with caution.

Purple-headed sneezeweed flowerhead in bloom
Purple-Headed Sneezeweed

This distinctive, easy-to identify member of the sunflower family blooms in a variety of open habitats. And hey, why’s it called “sneezeweed,” anyway?

Fingernail clam in a person’s hand
Fingernail Clams

These small to tiny freshwater clams are common but rarely noticed. They have connections to vernal pools, salamanders, and . . . hadrosaurs?

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