On Campus

What makes finding wildflowers difficult on our University of Washington Campus is the excellent work of our grounds keepers and the beautiful landscaping that can be seen allover campus. Unfortunately, this makes it difficult to find wildflowers growing in such a neat and well kept area. However, if you venture outside of the actual campus and into the area of the Arboretum you begin to see unkempt areas of land that are sprouting multitudes of wildflowers. In Washington State there are believed to be over 1,100 species of wildflowers growing across the state. Washington has one of the highest concentrations of wildflower species in the US, largely due to our states diverse climates. Here at UW the number of wildflowers species is certainly in the hundreds, but we aren't sure just how many there are. We highly recommend you refer to our "Getting Involved" page to learn what you can do to help us locate and categorize all of the University of Washington's diverse wildflowers.



Here are some of the species we have been able to locate and identify on our campus. The *means that it is an introduced species that has now become integrated into our surrounding flora and fauna.

Scientific Name	Common Name	Family Name
Althea rosea*	Hollyhock	Malvaceae
Buddleja davidii*	Butterfly bush	Buddlejaceae
Capsella bursa-pastoris*	Shepherd's purse	Brassicaceae
Centranthus ruber*	Red valerian	Valerianaceae
Cirsium vulgare*	Bull thistle	Asteraceae
Clematis vitalba*	Traveller's joy	Ranunculaceae
Convolvulus sepium*	Lady's nightcap	Convolvulaceae
Conyza canadensis*	Horseweed	Asteraceae
Coronopus didymus*	Wartcress	Brassicaceae
Cotoneaster lacteus*	Milkflower cotoneaster	Rosaceae
Crepis capillaris*	Smooth hawksbeard	Asteraceae
Cymbalaria muralis*	Ivy-leaved toad-flax	Scrophulariaceae
Dicentra formosa	Bleeding heart	Fumariaceae
Epilobium angustifolium	Fireweed	Onagraceae
Epilobium paniculatum	Tall annual willow-herb	Onagraceae
Epilobium watsonii	Watson's willow-herb	Onagraceae
Eschscholzia californica*	California poppy	Papaveraceae
Euphorbia peplus*	Petty spurge	Euphorbiaceae
Festuca elatior*	Meadow ryegrass	Poaceae
Foeniculum vulgare*	Fennel	Apiaceae
Fragaria ananassa*	Cultivated strawberry	Rosaceae
Geranium robertianum*	Stinky Bob	Geraniaceae
Hypericum perforatum*	Klamath weed	Hypericaceae
Hypochaeris radicata*	Hairy cat's-ear	Asteraceae
Ilex aquifolium*	English holly	Aquifoliaceae
Lactuca muralis*	Wall lettuce	Asteraceae
Lactuca serriola*	Prickly lettuce	Asteraceae
Lapsana communis*	Nipplewort	Asteraceae
Malva neglecta*	Dwarf mallow	Malvaceae
Matricaria matricarioides*	Pineapple weed	Asteraceae
Medicago lupulina*	Black medic	Fabaceae
Oxalis corniculata*	Creeping yellow wood-sorrel	Oxalidaceae
Plantago lanceolata*	English plantain	Plantaginaceae
Plantago major*	Common plantain	Plantaginaceae
Polygonum aviculare*	Doorweed	Polygonaceae
Polygonum bohemicum*	Bohemium knotweed	Polygonaceae
Polygonum persicaria*	Heartweed	Polygonaceae
Rumex obtusifolius*	Broad-leaved dock	Polygonaceae
Sagina procumbens*	Arctic pearlwort	Caryophyllaceae
Scirpus microcarpus	Small-flowered bulrush	Cyperaceae
Senecio vulgaris*	Common groundsel	Asteraceae
Sisymbrium officinale*	Hedge mustard	Brassicaceae
Solanum dulcamara*	Bittersweet nightshade	Solanaceae
Sonchus oleraceus*	Common sowthistle	Asteraceae
Stellaria media*	Common chickweed	Caryophyllaceae
Taraxacum officinale*	Common dandelion	Asteraceae
Trifolium pratense*	Red clover	Fabaceae
Trifolium repens*	White clover	Fabaceae
Tropaeolum majus*	Nasturtium	Tropaeolaceae
Viola riviniana*	Purpleleaf violet	Violaceae
Viola tricolor*	Johnny jump-up	Violaceae