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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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.
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.
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.
Actea racemosa – Cimicifuga racemosa – Fairy Candles
Our most enchanting Missouri and Illinois native plant.
Amelanchier – Autumn Brilliance Apple Serviceberry
Award-winning small tree with multi-season interest.
Amelanchier – Spring Glory Serviceberry
A tidy well-formed tree with beautiful white flowers.
Amelanchier alnifolia – Obelisk Downy Serviceberry
Upright narrow form of Serviceberry, perfect for small spots.
Amelanchier arborea Downy Serviceberry
Colorful year round with flowers, berries, foliage and bark.
Amelanchier laevis, Allegheny Serviceberry
Native plant with showy multi-seasonal interest.
Antennaria neglecta – Field Pussytoes
Grows anywhere--sun, shade, even dry shade.
Antennaria plantaginifolia – Pussytoes
Missouri and Illinois native with fun flowers shaped like a cat's paw.
Apios americana – Groundnut Vine
Missouri native vine for shade.
Aristolochia tomentosa – Dutchman’s Pipe
Pipe shaped blossoms on rapidly growing native vine.
Aruncus dioicus – Goat’s Beard
Top Missouri native perennial for shade.
Asclepias perennis – Aquatic Millkweed
An important food source for Monarch butterflies and other flying gems.
Asclepias sullivantii – Prairie Milkweed
Important food source for butterflies, bees, and other pollinators.
Asclepias verticillata – Whorled Milkweed
Important food source for Monarch butterflies.
Asclepias viridis – Green Milkweed
A Missouri and Illinois fascinating native perennial.
Asimina – Shenandoah Peterson Pawpaw Tree
Abundant tasty fruit can be up to one pound in weight.
Asimina triloba – Pawpaw Tree
2022 Tree Of the Year, Missouri's Official State Fruit Tree
Aster cordifolius – Blue Wood Aster
Shade loving Missouri native with clouds of rich blue flowers.
Aster laevis – Smooth Aster
Billowing panicles of soft blue flowers in autumn.
Aster oolentagiensis – Sky Blue Aster
A top favorite of gardeners and critters.
Baptisia alba – White Wild Indigo
A tough Missouri native perennial.
Baptisia australis – Blue Indigo
A Missouri native adored for its indigo blossoms.
Baptisia bracteata – Cream Wild Indigo
Easy to grow Missouri native perennial.
Betula – Fox Valley Dwarf River Birch – Little King Dwarf River Birch Tree
Extremely showy peeling bark.
Carex grayi – Gray Sedge
Fun and funky Missouri native sedge.
Carex muskingumensis – Palm Sedge
Popular Missouri and Illinois native sedge.
Carex pensylvanica Pennsylvania Sedge or Oak Sedge
Native Sedge ideal for shade to deep shade where nothing else will grow.
Carex vulpinoidea, Fox Sedge
Thrives in wet spots.
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.
Carya laciniosa – Shellbark Hickory
Showy bark, edible nuts on this pretty native tree.
Ceanothus americanus – New Jersey Tea
Fragrant flowers on small native shrub, butterflies and more adore it.
Cephalanthus – Crimson Comets Buttonbush
A selection of our Missouri native with excellent fall color.
Cephalanthus – Magical Moonlight Buttonbush
Dwarf variety of Missouri Native. Showy flowers beloved by native wildlife.
Cephalanthus Fiber Optics Buttonbush
Dwarf variety of Missouri native. Showy flowers beloved by native wildlife.
Cephalanthus occidentalis – Buttonbush
Cercis – Forest Pansy Redbud
Glossy purple heart shaped leaves and vibrant flowers.
Cercis – Pink Pom Poms Redbud Tree
Fascinating flowers on mini tree.
Cercis – Ruby Falls Redbud
Weeping dwarf with elegant purple heart-shaped leaves and vibrant flowers.
Cercis canadensis – Eastern Redbud
Showy flowers on this easy native tree.
Chasmanthium latifolium – Northern Sea Oats
Bring beautiful form to your shade garden.
Chelone glabra -Turtle Head
Illinois and Missouri native moisture-loving perennial.
Chelone obliqua – Turtle Head
Popular native Missouri perennial with turtle head shaped flowers.
Cimicifuga racemosa – Actea racemosa – Fairy Candles
Our most enchanting Missouri plant.
Cornus florida – White Flowering Dogwood Tree
Popular Missouri native tree.
Cornus florida f. rubra Pink Flowering Dogwood Tree
Popular Missouri native tree.
Corylus americana – American Hazelnut
Edible native shrub with showy spring flowers. Grows in sun or shade.
Dalea purpurea – Purple Prairie Clover
Native perennial with fascinating foliage and flowers.
Echinacea – Cara Mia Yellow Coneflower
Gorgeous flowers all summer until frost.
Echinacea – Dark Shadows Wicked Coneflower
Bright petals contrast against dark cones and stems.
Echinacea – Fresco Apricot Coneflower
A refreshing change in Coneflowers!
Echinacea – Kismet Intense Orange Coneflower
Intense orange Coneflowers appear for months.
Echinacea – Pow Wow Wildberry Coneflower
Major award winner.
Echinacea – Prima Ruby Coneflower
Large red petals surround dark, almost black, cones.
Echinacea – Prima Tiger Coneflower
Roars into bloom all summer.
Echinacea – Sombrero Lemon Yellow Coneflower
Produces tons of clear lemon yellow flowers.
Echinacea – SunSeekers Golden Sun Coneflower
Brilliant yellow blossoms all season.
Echinacea angustifolia – Narrow-Leaf Coneflower
A charming Missouri native perennial.
Echinacea pallida – Pale Purple Coneflower
Missouri Botanical Gardens Plant of Merit Winner.
Echinacea simulata – Glade Coneflower
Tough Missouri native perennial.
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.
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