Top 20 Most Popular Spring Flowers in Champaign

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Top 20 Most Popular Spring Flowers in Champaign

As Spring's warm embrace supplants the chill in Champaign, Illinois, the cityscape is punctuated with bursts of botanical wonders. Amur honeysuckle unfurls its vivacious hues, signaling renewal, while Virginia springbeauty adorns the urban setting with its emblematic fragrance. The culturally significant Eastern redbud springs forth, mirroring the city's lively spirit. Together, they form a symphonic resurgence of life, reflecting the perennial transformation that defines the season.

Most Popular Spring Flowers

Amur honeysuckle

1. Amur honeysuckle

Amur honeysuckle is a massively-branched, perennial shrub with dark green leaves, aromatic white flowers, and luscious burgundy berries that are inedible to humans but relished by birds propagating the seeds. This East Asian native shrub has been utilized in landscape decoration, wildlife cover, and erosion control. However, it is no longer recommended for planting due to invasiveness issues.

Mid spring, Late spring, Summer

Virginia springbeauty

2. Virginia springbeauty

Virginia springbeauty (Claytonia virginica) has tiny underground tubers (kind of like potatoes) that taste like chestnuts and are utterly delicious. Early American colonists consumed them, but only when they were desperate because it took a lot of time to collect enough for a meal. Its genus name is in honor of John Clayton, who made essential contributions to the study of plants.

Common milkweed

3. Common milkweed

Asclepias syriaca, commonly known as common milkweed, is a flowering perennial herbaceous plant native to North America. It contains milky latex which can be toxic to sheep, cows, and other larger mammals (including humans) if it is consumed in large amounts. Many insect species are attracted to common milkweed, most notably monarch butterflies.

Late spring, Summer, Fall

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Eastern redbud

4. Eastern redbud

Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis) is a small understory tree native to North America. In spring or early summer clusters of purple-pink flowers appear on bare branches and sometimes on the trunk. The characteristic seed pod reveals that Eastern redbud belongs to the legume family, which makes it a cousin to peas, and locust trees.

Tulip poplar

5. Tulip poplar

The tulip poplar is not a poplar at all but is a member of the magnolia family. It gets its name from the tulip-shaped flowers that are green and yellow. It is the tallest Eastern hardwood and was prized by Native Americans as a favorite tree to use to make dugout canoes.

Late spring, Early summer, Mid summer

Virginia bluebells

6. Virginia bluebells

The virginia bluebells is a woodland wildflower that blooms for a short period during spring before returning to its dormant state. The flowers start as purplish-pink buds that open into subtly-scented, trumpet-shaped sky blue blossoms. It was known to be used by the Cherokee in the treatment of certain ailments.

Mayapple

With only two leaves and one flower, the mayapple is showy and unique. The name stems from the blooming time in the Northern Hemisphere and the fact that the flowers resemble those of apple trees. The fruit of the mayapple that develops over the summer can, if fully ripened, be used in jams and jellies, while the unripe fruit and other parts of this plant are all poisonous and could cause vomiting, diarrhea, and even coma.

Black cherry

8. Black cherry

Black cherry (Prunus serotina) is a medium-sized, deciduous forest tree native to the Americas, but also naturalized in parts of Europe. It features inflorescence with small white blooms that become clusters of dark cherries, edible when pitted. Mature trees have gray-to-black, distinctly crackled bark. The glossy leaves are poisonous to livestock. It is a highly reproductive pioneer species with invasive potential.

Common blue violet

9. Common blue violet

The common blue violet is an attractive wildflower known for its blue to purplish white hues. It is common in North America, where it is sometimes associated with a weed. The plant is popular as an ornamental, and it is a state flower in several states in the US. Its flowers and leaves are edible and safe to be planted near pets.

Spring, Early summer

Wild blue phlox

10. Wild blue phlox

Wild blue phlox (Phlox divaricata) also goes by the names of woodland phlox or Louisiana phlox, and it’s indigenous to eastern North America. The flowers sit atop hairy, sticky stems. In the wild, it loves to grow along stream banks. “Phlox” is Greek for “flame” because some flowers of this species have intensely vibrant colors.

Mid spring, Late spring, Early summer, Mid summer

Bloodroot

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) is a plant species native to eastern North America. In the wild its early spring blooms can be seen spreading across the forest floor or along riverbanks. Its common name comes from its reddish orange-sap, which can be made into a dye. Bloodroot seeds are often spread by ants who take them back to their nests.

Common dandelion

12. Common dandelion

*Taraxacum officinale*, widely known as common dandelion, is a herbaceous perennial that can be found in temperate regions all over the world, in habitats with moist soils. The most popular feature of this plant is its fruits, furry spheres that are easily carried by the wind. Although it is generally considered a weed, common dandelion is actually edible and very nutritious.

Spring, Early summer, Mid summer

Butterfly weed

13. Butterfly weed

While Asclepias tuberosa is commonly referred to as butterfly weed, it is also known as Canada root, Indian posy, silky swallow-wort, yellow milkweed, butterfly love, white-root and a variety of other names. Both Native Americans and pioneers would use the butterfly weed to make candle wicks.

Late spring, Summer, Fall

Black-eyed susan

14. Black-eyed susan

The black-eyed susan is a flowering black and yellow plant with curving leaves. It is culturally important in the Southern U.S., and is often used to attract butterflies to gardens. It long ago spread throughout North America and much of the world. Black-eyed susan is the state flower of Maryland and was important in the history of the University of Southern Mississippi.

Late spring, Summer, Fall

Bradford pear

15. Bradford pear

The bradford pear is native to China but is considered invasive in the U.S. and Australia. Although it does not self-pollinate, it can become invasive by hybridizing with other plants to create fertile fruits that may seed in natural areas. The bradford pear creates large populations of fruits that are spread by birds and animals, readily rooting in disturbed areas. It also forms thick colonies that may compete with other native species for natural resources. Alternative plants include the Trident Maple and the Serviceberry. The bradford pear can be controlled by manually pulling young plants, and a range of herbicides such as oil-based herbicides, foliar herbicides, and both basal bark and stump treatments. It is important to remove seed sources as the weed can reinvade areas where it has been previously removed.

White clover

16. White clover

White clover (Trifolium repens) is a perennial herb, one of the most cultivated species of clover. It can be found on lawns and grasslands all over the world. White clover is often cultivated as a forage plant and used for green manure in agriculture.

Late spring, Summer

Cutleaf toothwort

17. Cutleaf toothwort

Cutleaf toothwort (Cardamine concatenata) is a perennial wildflower that attracts bees, butterflies, caterpillars and other insects. Insects are attracted to the sweet nectar from this flower. Cutleaf toothwort reproduces by rhizomes and through seeds. Its common name comes from its tooth-shaped edible rhizomes. The rhizomes have a peppery taste and can be added to salads and other foods.

Dutchman's breeches

18. Dutchman's breeches

Dutchman's breeches gets its name from the shape of its flower petals. The petals form an upside-down “V” which resembles a pair of pants, or "britches." dutchman's breeches is found in the woods and blooms in early spring, making it some of the first food for bees and pollinators. It goes dormant towards the end of summer.

Pawpaw

Pawpaw (*Asimina triloba*) is a small tree native to the eastern United States. Pawpaw is mentioned in many American folk songs, and it is the state fruit of Ohio. Many United States cities are named after the pawpaw.

Mid spring, Late spring

Gray-headed Coneflower

20. Gray-headed Coneflower

The yellow coneflower is also known as a gray-headed Coneflower or Ratibida pinnata. The coneflower has showy yellow flowers with petals that look like they are drooping. These plants are drought resistant and easy to grow. The bright cheery flowers are in the daisy family and work great in cut flower arrangements.

Late spring, Summer, Early fall, Mid fall

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