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Native plants · Arizona

Native plants of La Paz County

93 plant species are recorded as native to Arizona in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in La Paz County by USDA PLANTS. 63 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness. 2 more species are listed as both native and introduced and kept in a separate section.

County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

La Paz County, Arizona

Native species
93 Typical Arizona county: 356 (median of 15 counties)
Garden-ready natives
63 Typical Arizona county: 210
Share by type (all 93 native species)
Percent of the 93 native species in each growth type
Tree 14% (13)
Shrub 20% (19)
Wildflower (forb) 34% (32)
Grass or grass-like 29% (27)
Fern 2% (2)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (34%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (29%).

Recorded native ranges can include long-established populations that spread from gardens; check your state’s native plant society list for local guidance. How native status is decided.

ZIP codes mainly in this county fall in USDA hardiness zones 9a to 9b (2023 map).

The native plant list

Cold hardiness is estimated from each plant’s PLANTS minimum temperature. How we estimate it.

Garden-ready natives 63

Native species with PLANTS growing records (height, light, moisture, minimum temperature). “—” means PLANTS has no value.

Garden-ready native plants of La Paz County, Arizona
PlantType HeightLight Water useHardy to
alderleaf mountain mahogany Cercocarpus montanus Tree 15 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3a
Arizona cottontop Digitaria californica Grass or grass-like 4 ft Sun Low Zone 6a
Arizona walnut Juglans major Tree 50 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
bastardsage Eriogonum wrightii Shrub 2 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 6a
big saltbush Atriplex lentiformis Shrub 10 ft Sun Low Zone 8a
black grama Bouteloua eriopoda Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun Low Zone 5a
blue grama Bouteloua gracilis Grass or grass-like 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
brittlebush Encelia farinosa Shrub 5 ft Sun Low Zone 10a
burrobush Ambrosia dumosa Shrub 2 ft Sun Low Zone 6a
bush muhly Muhlenbergia porteri Grass or grass-like 2.8 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 8b
California poppy Eschscholzia californica Wildflower (forb) 1.2 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 8a
Canadian horseweed Conyza canadensis Wildflower (forb) 5 ft Sun Medium Zone 12b
cane bluestem Bothriochloa barbinodis Grass or grass-like 4 ft Sun Medium Zone 7b
catclaw acacia Senegalia greggii Tree 20 ft Sun Low Zone 6a
cattle saltbush Atriplex polycarpa Shrub 6 ft Sun Medium Zone 8a
Colorado four o'clock Mirabilis multiflora Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun Low Zone 5b
common maidenhair Adiantum capillus-veneris Fern 1.7 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4a
common sunflower Helianthus annuus Wildflower (forb) 9 ft Sun Medium Zone 12b
creosote bush Larrea tridentata Shrub 10 ft Sun Low Zone 5a
curly-mesquite Hilaria belangeri Grass or grass-like 10 in Sun Low Zone 8b
desert almond Prunus fasciculata Shrub 6 ft Sun Low Zone 8b
desert globemallow Sphaeralcea ambigua Wildflower (forb) 5 ft Sun Low Zone 6b
desert ironwood Olneya tesota Tree 25 ft Sun Low Zone 9b
desert needlegrass Achnatherum speciosum Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun Low Zone 6a
desert willow Chilopsis linearis Tree 25 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 5a
Eastern Mojave buckwheat Eriogonum fasciculatum Shrub 3 ft Sun Low Zone 8a
fairyduster Calliandra eriophylla Shrub 3 ft Sun Low Zone 10a
fourwing saltbush Atriplex canescens Shrub 4 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
fragrant flatsedge Cyperus odoratus Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 11b
Fremont cottonwood Populus fremontii Tree 90 ft Sun High Zone 6a
Goodding's willow Salix gooddingii Tree 40 ft Sun High Zone 5a
Indianhemp Apocynum cannabinum Wildflower (forb) 3.3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3a
jojoba Simmondsia chinensis Shrub 7 ft Sun Low Zone 7a
knotgrass Paspalum distichum Grass or grass-like 11 in Sun High Zone 6a
littleleaf ratany Krameria erecta Shrub 2 ft Sun Low Zone 6a
longleaf jointfir Ephedra trifurca Shrub 15 ft Sun Low Zone 6a
Malabar sprangletop Leptochloa fusca Grass or grass-like 3.3 ft Sun High Zone 3a
mule-fat Baccharis salicifolia Shrub 10 ft Sun Medium Zone 7a
muttongrass Poa fendleriana Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
narrowleaf willow Salix exigua Tree 10 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3b
Nuttall's povertyweed Monolepis nuttalliana Wildflower (forb) 10 in Sun Medium Zone 12a
ocotillo Fouquieria splendens Shrub 10 ft Sun Low Zone 7a
plains pricklypear Opuntia polyacantha Shrub 2 ft Sun Low Zone 4b
purple threeawn Aristida purpurea Grass or grass-like 1.4 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
redroot flatsedge Cyperus erythrorhizos Grass or grass-like 2.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 11a
rough menodora Menodora scabra Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun Low Zone 9a
saguaro Carnegiea gigantea Tree 9 ft Sun Low Zone 8b
salt heliotrope Heliotropium curassavicum Wildflower (forb) 1.2 ft Sun Medium Zone 4b
sand dropseed Sporobolus cryptandrus Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
screwbean mesquite Prosopis pubescens Tree 25 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 7a
seep monkeyflower Mimulus guttatus Wildflower (forb) 2.5 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3b
sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
singleleaf ash Fraxinus anomala Tree 20 ft Sun Medium Zone 5a
soaptree yucca Yucca elata Tree 20 ft Sun Low Zone 6a
spike bentgrass Agrostis exarata Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
spreading alkaliweed Cressa truxillensis Wildflower (forb) 10 in Sun Medium Zone 6a
squirreltail Elymus elymoides Grass or grass-like 1.5 ft Sun Low Zone 3a
sweetscent Pluchea odorata Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Sun Medium Zone 6a
tanglehead Heteropogon contortus Grass or grass-like 8 in Sun Low Zone 8a
Thurber's desert honeysuckle Anisacanthus thurberi Shrub 4.5 ft Sun Low Zone 7a
Torrey's rush Juncus torreyi Grass or grass-like 3.1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
turpentinebroom Thamnosma montana Shrub 2 ft Sun Low Zone 7a
whitethorn acacia Vachellia constricta Tree 9 ft Sun Low Zone 6a

Other native species recorded here 30

PLANTS has no growing records for these, so light, moisture, height and zone filters cannot include them. Many are wild species seldom sold by nurseries.

  • American wild carrot Daucus pusillus
  • bigbract verbena Verbena bracteata
  • carelessweed Amaranthus palmeri
  • catchfly prairie gentian Eustoma exaltatum
  • cottonbatting plant Pseudognaphalium stramineum
  • ditch rabbitsfoot grass Polypogon interruptus
  • feather fingergrass Chloris virgata
  • flatspine stickseed Lappula occidentalis
  • lacy tansyaster Machaeranthera pinnatifida
  • least duckweed Lemna minuta
  • Menzies' fiddleneck Amsinckia menziesii
  • Mojave seablite Suaeda moquinii
  • mucronate sprangletop Leptochloa panicea
  • neckweed Veronica peregrina
  • Pennsylvania pellitory Parietaria pensylvanica
  • silverleaf nightshade Solanum elaeagnifolium
  • sixweeks fescue Vulpia octoflora
  • sixweeks threeawn Aristida adscensionis
  • sleepy silene Silene antirrhina
  • slender lipfern Cheilanthes feei
  • southern cattail Typha domingensis
  • spiny naiad Najas marina
  • spreading fleabane Erigeron divergens
  • swollen duckweed Lemna gibba
  • tufted lovegrass Eragrostis pectinacea
  • Vahl's fimbry Fimbristylis vahlii
  • velvetweed Oenothera curtiflora
  • wedgeleaf draba Draba cuneifolia
  • western tansymustard Descurainia pinnata
  • witchgrass Panicum capillare
Also listed as native and introduced here 2

PLANTS labels these species both native and introduced in this state: some forms are native and others were brought in from elsewhere. Most gardeners should choose plants from the main list.

Compared with Arizona

The typical county is the median of the 15 Arizona counties with PLANTS county records; the statewide figure counts every species native anywhere in the state. More species is not better or worse: counties differ in size, habitat and how thoroughly they have been surveyed.

Native species counts, La Paz County and Arizona
MeasureLa Paz CountyTypical countyStatewide
Native species 93 356 922
Garden-ready natives 63 210 509
Tree 13 — 75
Shrub 19 — 95
Wildflower (forb) 32 — 471
Grass or grass-like 27 — 229
Vine 0 — 20
Fern 2 — 32

Look up another ZIP

Matches your ZIP to the county it mostly lies in, then lists the plants recorded as native to your state (Kew’s World Checklist and USDA PLANTS) and recorded in that county by USDA PLANTS.

Source & data date

Source
USDA NRCS PLANTS Database: county distribution records, native status and plant characteristics. CC0 (public domain dedication, per the data.gov catalog record).
Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP): native or introduced status by state. CC BY 3.0.
USGS US-RIIS (ver. 2.0): species listed as introduced are excluded. CC0.
Citation
USDA, NRCS. 2026. The PLANTS Database (https://plants.usda.gov, 11/04/2026). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC USA.
Govaerts R. (ed.) (2026). WCVP: World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Data file dated 2026-06-04, http://sftp.kew.org/pub/data-repositories/WCVP/ (retrieved 2026-11-04). Paper: Govaerts R. et al. (2021) The World Checklist of Vascular Plants, a continuously updated resource for exploring global plant diversity. Scientific Data 8, 215.
Data date
Retrieved from PLANTS on November 4, 2026; WCVP data file dated June 4, 2026.
Zones
USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (2023) ZIP table: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed November 3, 2026. Plant zones on this site are our estimate, not the official map.
Scope
La Paz County (county FIPS 04012), Arizona. 93 native species from PLANTS county distribution records; garden-ready = species with a PLANTS characteristics record.
Method
A species is listed when it is recorded as native to the state in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in the county by USDA PLANTS. Species PLANTS labels both native and introduced are listed separately. Full method · All sources

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