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Native plants · Colorado

Native plants of Arapahoe County

118 plant species are recorded as native to Colorado in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Arapahoe County by USDA PLANTS. 58 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness. 1 more species is listed as both native and introduced and kept in a separate section.

County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

Arapahoe County, Colorado

Native species
118 Typical Colorado county: 237 (median of 63 counties)
Garden-ready natives
58 Typical Colorado county: 148
Share by type (all 118 native species)
Percent of the 118 native species in each growth type
Tree 2% (2)
Shrub 7% (8)
Wildflower (forb) 62% (73)
Grass or grass-like 25% (30)
Vine 4% (5)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (62%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (25%).

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 5b to 6a (2023 map).

The native plant list

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

Garden-ready natives 58

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

Garden-ready native plants of Arapahoe County, Colorado
PlantType HeightLight Water useHardy to
alpine timothy Phleum alpinum Grass or grass-like 1.4 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3a
American black currant Ribes americanum Shrub 3 ft — — Zone 2b
American vetch Vicia americana Vine 1.3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
broadbeard beardtongue Penstemon angustifolius Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Low Zone 4b
broadfruit bur-reed Sparganium eurycarpum Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4a
broadleaf arrowhead Sagittaria latifolia Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Sun High Zone 4a
broadleaf cattail Typha latifolia Wildflower (forb) 5 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3b
broom snakeweed Gutierrezia sarothrae Shrub 1.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
clustered field sedge Carex praegracilis Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
common selfheal Prunella vulgaris Wildflower (forb) 1.5 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
common spikerush Eleocharis palustris Grass or grass-like 1.3 ft Sun High Zone 3b
common threesquare Schoenoplectus pungens Grass or grass-like 4.9 ft Sun High Zone 3b
cosmopolitan bulrush Bolboschoenus maritimus Grass or grass-like 3.2 ft Sun Medium Zone 5a
fourwing saltbush Atriplex canescens Shrub 4 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
golden currant Ribes aureum Shrub 10 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3b
golden tickseed Coreopsis tinctoria Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 12b
granite prickly phlox Linanthus pungens Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 4a
hairy false goldenaster Heterotheca villosa Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
Indian ricegrass Achnatherum hymenoides Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun Low Zone 3a
jewelweed Impatiens capensis Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 10b
largeflower hawksbeard Crepis occidentalis Wildflower (forb) 11 in Sun Low Zone 5a
little barley Hordeum pusillum Grass or grass-like 1.2 ft Sun Medium Zone 10b
Malabar sprangletop Leptochloa fusca Grass or grass-like 3.3 ft Sun High Zone 3a
narrowleaf willow Salix exigua Tree 10 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3b
Nuttall's alkaligrass Puccinellia nuttalliana Grass or grass-like 10 in Sun Medium Zone 3b
prairie cordgrass Spartina pectinata Grass or grass-like 8 ft Sun High Zone 3b
prairie sandreed Calamovilfa longifolia Grass or grass-like 4.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
prairie wedgescale Sphenopholis obtusata Grass or grass-like 3.2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3a
purple locoweed Oxytropis lambertii Wildflower (forb) 1.4 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
purple threeawn Aristida purpurea Grass or grass-like 1.4 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
riverbank grape Vitis riparia Vine 45 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
salt heliotrope Heliotropium curassavicum Wildflower (forb) 1.2 ft Sun Medium Zone 4b
saltgrass Distichlis spicata Grass or grass-like 1.1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
sand bluestem Andropogon hallii Grass or grass-like 6.1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
sand lovegrass Eragrostis trichodes Grass or grass-like 3.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 5a
sanddune wallflower Erysimum capitatum Wildflower (forb) 2.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 4b
Saskatoon serviceberry Amelanchier alnifolia Tree 15 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 1a
scarlet gilia Ipomopsis aggregata Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Low Zone 5b
scratchgrass Muhlenbergia asperifolia Grass or grass-like 2 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 5b
silverweed cinquefoil Argentina anserina Wildflower (forb) 6 in Shade-tolerant High Zone 5a
silvery lupine Lupinus argenteus Wildflower (forb) 1.5 ft Sun Low Zone 3a
soapweed yucca Yucca glauca Shrub 1 ft Sun Low Zone 4b
spotted joe pye weed Eutrochium maculatum Wildflower (forb) 6 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4b
squirreltail Elymus elymoides Grass or grass-like 1.5 ft Sun Low Zone 3a
sulphur-flower buckwheat Eriogonum umbellatum Shrub 1 ft Sun Low Zone 8a
switchgrass Panicum virgatum Grass or grass-like 5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
tapertip flatsedge Cyperus acuminatus Grass or grass-like 1.3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3b
teal lovegrass Eragrostis hypnoides Grass or grass-like 4 in Sun High Zone 3b
textile onion Allium textile Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
threetooth ragwort Packera tridenticulata Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 5a
upright prairie coneflower Ratibida columnifera Wildflower (forb) 3.1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
western snowberry Symphoricarpos occidentalis Shrub 3 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3b
western wheatgrass Pascopyrum smithii Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
western white clematis Clematis ligusticifolia Vine 1 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
white prairie clover Dalea candida Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
wild bergamot Monarda fistulosa Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4a
woolly plantain Plantago patagonica Wildflower (forb) 6 in Sun Low Zone 12b
yellow owl's-clover Orthocarpus luteus Wildflower (forb) 1.5 ft Sun Low Zone 12b

Other native species recorded here 60

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 sloughgrass Beckmannia syzigachne
  • Apocynum ×floribundum Apocynum ×floribundum
  • bastard toadflax Comandra umbellata
  • bigseed alfalfa dodder Cuscuta indecora
  • Canadian anemone Anemone canadensis
  • Carolina draba Draba reptans
  • Carolina larkspur Delphinium carolinianum
  • clasping Venus' looking-glass Triodanis perfoliata
  • clustered broomrape Orobanche fasciculata
  • Cuman ragweed Ambrosia psilostachya
  • cutleaf nightshade Solanum triflorum
  • Dakota mock vervain Glandularia bipinnatifida
  • desert goosefoot Chenopodium pratericola
  • ditch rabbitsfoot grass Polypogon interruptus
  • false buffalograss Munroa squarrosa
  • flatspine stickseed Lappula occidentalis
  • foothill bladderpod Lesquerella ludoviciana
  • fringed willowherb Epilobium ciliatum
  • hairy evening primrose Oenothera villosa
  • James' cryptantha Cryptantha cinerea
  • lacy tansyaster Machaeranthera pinnatifida
  • large Indian breadroot Pediomelum esculentum
  • mealy goosefoot Chenopodium incanum
  • narrowleaf bur-reed Sparganium angustifolium
  • narrowleaf purple coneflower Echinacea angustifolia
  • narrowleaf stoneseed Lithospermum incisum
  • northern bog violet Viola nephrophylla
  • Northern Idaho biscuitroot Lomatium orientale
  • Pennsylvania cinquefoil Potentilla pensylvanica
  • pitseed goosefoot Chenopodium berlandieri
  • plains bluegrass Poa arida
  • pony beebalm Monarda pectinata
  • prostrate sandmat Chamaesyce prostrata
  • purple meadow-rue Thalictrum dasycarpum
  • redwhisker clammyweed Polanisia dodecandra
  • rusty lupine Lupinus pusillus
  • scarlet beeblossom Oenothera suffrutescens
  • shaggy dwarf morning-glory Evolvulus nuttallianus
  • shaggy fleabane Erigeron pumilus
  • shortspike watermilfoil Myriophyllum sibiricum
  • silverscale saltbush Atriplex argentea
  • sixweeks fescue Vulpia octoflora
  • sleepy silene Silene antirrhina
  • slenderleaf false foxglove Agalinis tenuifolia
  • slimflower scurfpea Psoralidium tenuiflorum
  • snowball sand verbena Abronia fragrans
  • spinystar Escobaria vivipara
  • swamp verbena Verbena hastata
  • Texas croton Croton texensis
  • tiny trumpet Collomia linearis
  • tufted lovegrass Eragrostis pectinacea
  • tumble windmill grass Chloris verticillata
  • tumblegrass Schedonnardus paniculatus
  • velvetweed Oenothera curtiflora
  • Virginia groundcherry Physalis virginiana
  • warty spurge Euphorbia spathulata
  • wedgeleaf Phyla cuneifolia
  • wild cucumber Echinocystis lobata
  • winged lythrum Lythrum alatum
  • woodland draba Draba nemorosa
Also listed as native and introduced here 1

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 Colorado

The typical county is the median of the 63 Colorado 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, Arapahoe County and Colorado
MeasureArapahoe CountyTypical countyStatewide
Native species 118 237 1,119
Garden-ready natives 58 148 585
Tree 2 — 66
Shrub 8 — 92
Wildflower (forb) 73 — 626
Grass or grass-like 30 — 278
Vine 5 — 20
Fern 0 — 37

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Arapahoe County.

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
Arapahoe County (county FIPS 08005), Colorado. 118 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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