Butterfly Host Plants
Take your butterfly gardening up a notch and plant butterfly host plants. These plants are where butterflies lay their eggs. Once hatched, the caterpillars will exclusively feed off these plants until they form their chrysalis. Each species of butterfly uses different plants as their host plant. Add a variety of host plants to your garden to attract the most butterfly diversity.
Not every butterfly-attracting plant needs to be a host plant. To see other plants that will attract butterflies, explore here.
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Plant Type
Genus
Common Name
Light Requirements
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Bloom Time
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Type
Genus
Common Name
Light Requirement
Flower Color
Bloom Time
Height
Uses
Resistance
Zizia aurea – Golden Alexander
2025 Native Plant of the Year - gorgeous, easy, and, most importantly, supports pollinators and wildlife.
Asclepias Incarnata – Cinderella Swamp Milkweed
A beautiful selection of our Missouri native.
Asclepias incarnata – Ice Ballet Swamp Milkweed
Brilliant white, long-lasting vanilla-scented blossoms.
Asclepias incarnata – Swamp Milkweed
Missouri and Illinois native with clouds of pink blossoms.
Asclepias syriaca – Common Milkweed
Essential host plant for Monarch caterpillars. Mo Bot Garden's Plant of Merit winner.
Asclepias tuberosa – Butterfly Milkweed
#1 best selling Missouri native perennial.
Aster divaricatus – White Wood Aster
You'll believe it's snowing in summer with this Missouri native.
Aster novae angliae – New England Aster
A butterfly favorite and Missouri and Illinois native perennial.
Aster oblongifolium – Aromatic Aster
Important Missouri native pollinator plant.
Baptisia – Lunar Eclipse False Indigo
Dramatic multi-toned spires of white, icy-blue to deep blue, long-lived perennial.
Baptisia sphaerocarpa – Yellow Wild Indigo
Spectacular Missouri wildflower.
Callirhoe involucrata – Purple Poppy Mallow
2019 Native of the Year. Long-blooming native Illinois and Missouri ground cover.
Carex albicans – Oak Sedge – White-Tinged Sedge
Fantastic native sedge for dry shade.
Carex eburnea – Bristle Leaf Sedge
Looks like grass but no mowing required, shade lover.
Cephalanthus occidentalis – Buttonbush
A pollinator powerhouse plant!
Chionanthus virginicus – Fringe Tree
Missouri native tree with elaborate blooms.
Coreopsis lanceolata – Lance Leaf Coreopsis
Named 2021 Missouri Native Plant Of The Year for its outstanding qualities.
Echinacea – Artisan Yellow Ombre Coneflower
Major award winner with prolific golden blooms, sun perennial.
Echinacea – Cheyenne Spirit Coneflower
Fabulous colors, winner of major awards.
Echinacea – Pretty Parasols Coneflower
5+ months of striking two-toned blossoms. Staff favorite.
Echinacea – SunSeekers Rainbow Coneflower
Hues of pink, blush, coral, lavender, salmon and more.
Echinacea – White Swan Coneflower
The long time favorite white.
Echinacea paradoxa – Ozark Coneflower
A rare Missouri native perennial.
Echinacea purpurea – Purple Coneflower
Gorgeous Missouri native perennial for natural and formal settings.
Eryngium yuccifolium – Rattlesnake Master
Tough and unique Missouri and Illinois native for hot, dry areas.
Heliopsis helianthoides – Oxeye Sunflower
Popular Missouri native with people and pollinators.
Lindera benzoin – Spicebush
Illinois and Missouri native host plant to Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly.
Pycnanthemum muticum – Blunt Mountain Mint
Top choice to attract butterflies and more, multiple award winner. Missouri Botanical Garden Plant of Merit, Perennial Plant Association 2025 Perennial of the Year.
Rudbeckia hirta – Black-Eyed Susan
An easy to grow Missouri native.
Asclepias verticillata – Whorled Milkweed
Important food source for Monarch butterflies.
Betula – Fox Valley Dwarf River Birch – Little King Dwarf River Birch Tree
Extremely showy peeling bark.
Carpinus caroliniana – American Hornbeam
Award-winning native tree for understory plantings.
Carya illinonensis, Pecan Tree
Large Missouri and Illinois native tree that produces delicious edible nuts.
Echinacea pallida – Pale Purple Coneflower
Missouri Botanical Gardens Plant of Merit Winner.
Gymnocladus dioicus – Kentucky Coffee Tree
Award-winning tree to create shade.
Helianthus pauciflorus – Prairie Sunflower
Large vigorous Illinois and Missouri native for the sun garden.
Quercus bicolor – Swamp White Oak Tree
Bring the gift of nature home with this beauty, MO and IL native.
Quercus rubra – Red Oak Tree
Statuesque MO and IL native tree.