🌸 State flowers
Illinois in bloom
Illinois's official flower is the violet (1908). Meet it, then explore 109 Illinois wildflowers and garden favorites by bloom month.
Violet
Viola
Named Illinois's official state flower in 1908 (5 ILCS 460/20 (State Designations Act)). The law names the native violet without a species, so this page covers the genus. In Illinois, most flowering sightings come in March–May.
Meet the violets →Sources: 5 ILCS 460/20 (State Designations Act); iNaturalist flowering records.
Illinois flower gifts
State flower gifts for anyone who loves Illinois.
🌱 Sample spot. Handmade gift picks from independent shops will appear here once our shop partnership is approved. These cards are placeholders, not real products.
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Violet print
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Illinois wildflower map
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Illinois mug
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Pressed-flower bookmark
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Wildflower seed favors
Explore 109 Illinois flowers
101 wildflowers and flowering shrubs, picked from Illinois's most-observed flowering plants on iNaturalist, plus 8 garden favorites. Filter by bloom month or type.
Showing 108 flowers
Common milkweed
Asclepias syriaca
🌼 Blooms in IL: June–August
11,717 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Prairie trillium
Trillium recurvatum
🌼 Blooms in IL: April–May
9,768 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Mayapple
Podophyllum peltatum
🌼 Blooms in IL: April–May
8,537 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Virginia springbeauty
Claytonia virginica
🌼 Blooms in IL: March–May
7,998 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Virginia bluebells
Mertensia virginica
🌼 Blooms in IL: March–May
7,669 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Wild bergamot
Monarda fistulosa
🌼 Blooms in IL: June–August
6,792 IL sightings on iNaturalist
American pokeweed
Phytolacca americana
🌼 Blooms in IL: June–October
6,758 IL sightings on iNaturalist
White snakeroot
Ageratina altissima
🌼 Blooms in IL: July–October
6,224 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Bloodroot
Sanguinaria canadensis
🌼 Blooms in IL: March–April
6,063 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Ground-ivy
Glechoma hederacea
🌼 Blooms in IL: March–June
5,866 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Wild geranium
Geranium maculatum
🌼 Blooms in IL: April–May
5,719 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Blue phlox
Phlox divaricata
🌼 Blooms in IL: March–May
5,712 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Garlic mustard
Alliaria petiolata
🌼 Blooms in IL: April–May
5,702 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Roses (genus Rosa)
Rosa
🌼 Blooms in IL: May–July
5,378 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Queen Anne's lace (wild carrot)
Daucus carota
🌼 Blooms in IL: June–September
5,184 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Amur honeysuckle
Lonicera maackii
🌼 Blooms in IL: April–August
5,084 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Tall bellflower
Campanulastrum americanum
🌼 Blooms in IL: July–September
5,082 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Cut-leaved toothwort
Cardamine concatenata
🌼 Blooms in IL: March–April
4,903 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Chicory
Cichorium intybus
🌼 Blooms in IL: June–October
4,809 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Compass plant
Silphium laciniatum
🌼 Blooms in IL: June–August
4,611 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Grey-headed coneflower
Ratibida pinnata
🌼 Blooms in IL: June–August
4,596 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Butterfly milkweed
Asclepias tuberosa
🌼 Blooms in IL: June–August
4,537 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Rattlesnake master
Eryngium yuccifolium
🌼 Blooms in IL: June–August
4,353 IL sightings on iNaturalist
White fawnlily
Erythronium albidum
🌼 Blooms in IL: April–May
4,316 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Red clover
Trifolium pratense
🌼 Blooms in IL: May–October
4,210 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Jack-in-the-pulpit
Arisaema triphyllum
🌼 Blooms in IL: April–May
4,188 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Dutchman's breeches
Dicentra cucullaria
🌼 Blooms in IL: March–May
4,129 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Cup plant
Silphium perfoliatum
🌼 Blooms in IL: July–September
4,111 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Eastern shooting star
Primula meadia
🌼 Blooms in IL: April–May
3,891 IL sightings on iNaturalist
American black elderberry
Sambucus canadensis
🌼 Blooms in IL: June–July
3,821 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Bittersweet nightshade
Solanum dulcamara
🌼 Blooms in IL: May–August
3,804 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Great blue lobelia
Lobelia siphilitica
🌼 Blooms in IL: August–October
3,693 IL sightings on iNaturalist
New England aster
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
🌼 Blooms in IL: August–October
3,500 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Dame's rocket
Hesperis matronalis
🌼 Blooms in IL: May–June
3,500 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Virginia waterleaf
Hydrophyllum virginianum
🌼 Blooms in IL: May–June
3,467 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Swamp milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
🌼 Blooms in IL: June–August
3,456 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Butterweed
Packera glabella
🌼 Blooms in IL: April–June
3,444 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Prairie dock
Silphium terebinthinaceum
🌼 Blooms in IL: July–September
3,426 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Great mullein
Verbascum thapsus
🌼 Blooms in IL: June–August
3,333 IL sightings on iNaturalist
American jumpseed
Persicaria virginiana
🌼 Blooms in IL: July–September
3,309 IL sightings on iNaturalist
White clover
Trifolium repens
🌼 Blooms in IL: May–September
3,235 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Black-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia hirta
🌼 Blooms in IL: June–September
3,231 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Purple crownvetch
Securigera varia
🌼 Blooms in IL: May–September
3,224 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Cutleaf teasel
Dipsacus laciniatus
🌼 Blooms in IL: July–September
3,140 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Ohio spiderwort
Tradescantia ohiensis
🌼 Blooms in IL: May–July
3,043 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Carolina horsenettle
Solanum carolinense
🌼 Blooms in IL: June–August
3,043 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Multiflora rose
Rosa multiflora
🌼 Blooms in IL: May–June
3,001 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Red columbine
Aquilegia canadensis
🌼 Blooms in IL: April–June
2,955 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Black raspberry
Rubus occidentalis
🌼 Blooms in IL: April–June
2,871 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Blue vervain
Verbena hastata
🌼 Blooms in IL: July–September
2,815 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Creeping thistle
Cirsium arvense
🌼 Blooms in IL: June–August
2,814 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Eastern redbud
Cercis canadensis
🌼 Blooms in IL: March–May
2,813 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Obedient plant
Physostegia virginiana
🌼 Blooms in IL: July–October
2,788 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Siberian squill
Scilla siberica
🌼 Blooms in IL: March–April
2,777 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Eastern skunk cabbage
Symplocarpus foetidus
🌼 Blooms in IL: February–April
2,749 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Sharp-lobed hepatica
Hepatica acutiloba
🌼 Blooms in IL: March–April
2,749 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Canadian lousewort
Pedicularis canadensis
🌼 Blooms in IL: April–May
2,741 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Golden alexanders
Zizia aurea
🌼 Blooms in IL: April–June
2,740 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Culver's root
Veronicastrum virginicum
🌼 Blooms in IL: June–August
2,739 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Common selfheal
Prunella vulgaris
🌼 Blooms in IL: June–September
2,719 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Late boneset
Eupatorium serotinum
🌼 Blooms in IL: August–October
2,705 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Purple coneflower
Echinacea purpurea
🌼 Blooms in IL: June–September
2,699 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Hoary vervain
Verbena stricta
🌼 Blooms in IL: June–August
2,691 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Mock strawberry
Potentilla indica
🌼 Blooms in IL: April–July
2,685 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Solomon's plume (false Solomon's seal)
Maianthemum racemosum
🌼 Blooms in IL: April–June
2,682 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Jacob's ladder
Polemonium reptans
🌼 Blooms in IL: March–May
2,662 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Leadplant
Amorpha canescens
🌼 Blooms in IL: June–September
2,638 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Common motherwort
Leonurus cardiaca
🌼 Blooms in IL: June–July
2,636 IL sightings on iNaturalist
False rue anemone
Enemion biternatum
🌼 Blooms in IL: March–May
2,613 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Wild quinine
Parthenium integrifolium
🌼 Blooms in IL: June–August
2,603 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Prairie false indigo
Baptisia lactea
🌼 Blooms in IL: May–July
2,588 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Lesser celandine
Ficaria verna
🌼 Blooms in IL: March–May
2,583 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Bird's-foot trefoil
Lotus corniculatus
🌼 Blooms in IL: June–August
2,561 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Common yarrow
Achillea millefolium
🌼 Blooms in IL: May–July
2,536 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Purple loosestrife
Lythrum salicaria
🌼 Blooms in IL: June–September
2,531 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Partridge pea
Chamaecrista fasciculata
🌼 Blooms in IL: July–October
2,482 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Cardinal flower
Lobelia cardinalis
🌼 Blooms in IL: July–September
2,457 IL sightings on iNaturalist
False sunflower
Heliopsis helianthoides
🌼 Blooms in IL: June–September
2,438 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Purple prairie clover
Dalea purpurea
🌼 Blooms in IL: June–August
2,373 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Cutleaf coneflower
Rudbeckia laciniata
🌼 Blooms in IL: July–September
2,332 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Wingstem
Verbesina alternifolia
🌼 Blooms in IL: August–September
2,286 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Foxglove beardtongue
Penstemon digitalis
🌼 Blooms in IL: May–June
2,279 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Common dandelion
Taraxacum officinale
🌼 Blooms in IL: April–November
2,226 IL sightings on iNaturalist
White campion
Silene latifolia
🌼 Blooms in IL: May–July
2,217 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Largeflower bellwort
Uvularia grandiflora
🌼 Blooms in IL: April–May
2,194 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Red deadnettle
Lamium purpureum
🌼 Blooms in IL: March–May
2,184 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Star-flowered lily-of-the-valley
Maianthemum stellatum
🌼 Blooms in IL: April–May
2,165 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Bull thistle
Cirsium vulgare
🌼 Blooms in IL: July–September
2,158 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Velvetleaf
Abutilon theophrasti
🌼 Blooms in IL: July–October
2,116 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Brown-eyed susan
Rudbeckia triloba
🌼 Blooms in IL: July–October
2,082 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Large white trillium
Trillium grandiflorum
🌼 Blooms in IL: April–May
1,999 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Rue anemone
Thalictrum thalictroides
🌼 Blooms in IL: March–May
1,994 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Stiff-leaved goldenrod
Solidago rigida
🌼 Blooms in IL: August–September
1,993 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Smooth yellow violet
Viola eriocarpa
🌼 Blooms in IL: March–May
1,991 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Common cowparsnip
Heracleum maximum
🌼 Blooms in IL: May–June
1,967 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Low smartweed
Persicaria longiseta
🌼 Blooms in IL: June–October
1,962 IL sightings on iNaturalist
American germander
Teucrium canadense
🌼 Blooms in IL: June–August
1,950 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Buttonbush
Cephalanthus occidentalis
🌼 Blooms in IL: June–July
1,936 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Henbit deadnettle
Lamium amplexicaule
🌼 Blooms in IL: March–May
1,904 IL sightings on iNaturalist
White vervain
Verbena urticifolia
🌼 Blooms in IL: June–September
1,864 IL sightings on iNaturalist
White sweetclover
Melilotus albus
🌼 Blooms in IL: June–August
1,862 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Orange daylily
Hemerocallis fulva
🌼 Blooms in IL: June–August
652 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Common sunflower
Helianthus annuus
🌼 Blooms in IL: July–October
392 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Daffodil
Narcissus pseudonarcissus
🌼 Blooms in IL: March–April
108 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Purple lilac
Syringa vulgaris
🌷 Grown in Illinois gardens
48 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Garden peony
Paeonia lactiflora
🌷 Grown in Illinois gardens
17 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Garden tulip
Tulipa gesneriana
🌷 Grown in Illinois gardens
4 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Bigleaf hydrangea
Hydrangea macrophylla
🌷 Grown in Illinois gardens
0 IL sightings on iNaturalist
Illinois bloom calendar
Show the full bloom calendar (flowers with 15+ Illinois flowering records, earliest bloomers first)
Darker = more flowering sightings that month. Based on iNaturalist research-grade observations in Illinois marked “Flowering,” as of October 17, 2026. Garden flowers have few records because research-grade data leaves out planted ones.
How we picked these flowers
We started from iNaturalist's research-grade sightings in Illinois, most-observed first, left out grasses, sedges, trees and other plants with tiny or wind-pollinated flowers (plus poison ivy), kept at most three species per genus, and added Illinois's official flowers and popular garden flowers that iNaturalist users record growing in Illinois. Every flower needs a CC0 or CC BY photo.
Rare plant list: Illinois List of Endangered and Threatened Flora (17 Ill. Adm. Code 1050), per the Endangered Species Protection Board's 2025 checklist
Invasive plant list: Illinois Official List of Exotic Weeds (17 Ill. Adm. Code 1100.30, Illinois Exotic Weed Act)