Central Irregular Plains

The Central Irregular Plains cover western Missouri, southeastern Kansas, and southern Iowa, centered on Kansas City and reaching down toward Joplin. It is a transition zone where the tallgrass prairie starts breaking up into wooded hills and river valleys, so a single neighborhood can have both open sun and heavy shade. Natives like prairie milkweed, willowleaf sunflower, and Barbara’s buttons cover that range and hold up through the hot dry stretch that usually arrives in August.

Conditions: Clay and silt loam over rolling ground, 36–44 inches of rain, cold winters and hot summers with a reliable late-summer dry spell.

Cities and areas: Kansas City, Springfield, Joplin, Columbia, Pittsburg, Ottumwa.