wildflower

American  

[wahyld-flou-er] / ˈwaɪldˌflaʊ ər /

Or wild flower

noun

• wildflowers
  plural

1. the flower of a plant that normally grows in fields, forests, etc., without deliberate cultivation.

2. the plant itself.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• wildflowers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of wildflower

First recorded in 1790–1800; wild + flower

Explanation

Blossoming plants that flourish without anyone having deliberately planted them are wildflowers. The tiny daisies, spiky blue lupine, and yellow California poppies you see along the side of the highway are all wildflowers. The thing wildflowers have in common is that they're flowering plants which grow wild, spreading freely in open fields, meadows, forests, or dunes. While many wildflowers are native plants that have thrived in a particular region over generations, some are cultivated plants which spread from people's yards and gardens into wild areas. The next time you see little purple asters along a hiking trail, or clumps of seaside goldenrod near the beach, you'll know you're looking at wildflowers.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

wildflower wildflowers

“People loved it because it was like a wildflower meadow in the middle of the city,” she says.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026

Take the Hoffmann’s slender-flowered gilia, a federally endangered wildflower found only on the island and much of it within the area that burned.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026

Other species to have been named after the broadcaster in the past include a wildflower, butterfly, grasshopper, dinosaur and ghost shrimp.

From BBC ● May 7, 2026

The council said contractors would use machinery with wide tracks to reduce damage from them to the area of wildflower grassland, marshy fen and wet woodland.

From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2026

The integrity of the environment is thereby preserved, the enormous value of the wildlife habitat remains intact, and the beauty of shrub and fern and wildflower has not been sacrificed.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Buglife explains chalk grassland is a rare and fragile habitat found along Surrey's rolling downs, supporting a rich diversity of wildflowers and insects found nowhere else.

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026

Phil Holden, who works for Shropshire Hills National Landscape, and volunteers with the group, said cutting back bracken and allowing wildflowers to bloom also helps the ancient site.

From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026

The bees also visit fruit trees and wildflowers that bloom early in the season.

From Science Daily ● May 28, 2026

On a recent spring day, the road that runs alongside the Guadalupe River leading up to Mystic was carpeted with purple wildflowers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026

It got sunny and warm and there were wildflowers poking up through every crack in the cement.

From "Al Capone Does My Shirts" by Gennifer Choldenko