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Native plants · Colorado

Native plants of Bent County

119 plant species are recorded as native to Colorado in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Bent County by USDA PLANTS. 53 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness.

County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

Bent County, Colorado

Native species
119 Typical Colorado county: 237 (median of 63 counties)
Garden-ready natives
53 Typical Colorado county: 148
Share by type (all 119 native species)
Percent of the 119 native species in each growth type
Tree 2% (2)
Shrub 9% (11)
Wildflower (forb) 57% (68)
Grass or grass-like 29% (34)
Vine 2% (2)
Fern 2% (2)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (57%), 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 zone 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 53

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

Garden-ready native plants of Bent County, Colorado
PlantType HeightLight Water useHardy to
alkali sacaton Sporobolus airoides Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
big sagebrush Artemisia tridentata Tree 4 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
broadbeard beardtongue Penstemon angustifolius Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Low Zone 4b
broom snakeweed Gutierrezia sarothrae Shrub 1.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
buffalograss Bouteloua dactyloides Grass or grass-like 6 in Sun Medium 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
dotted blazing star Liatris punctata Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides Tree 190 ft Sun High Zone 3a
false indigo bush Amorpha fruticosa Shrub 15 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
fourwing saltbush Atriplex canescens Shrub 4 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
giant goldenrod Solidago gigantea Wildflower (forb) 8.2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
golden currant Ribes aureum Shrub 10 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3b
green prairie coneflower Ratibida tagetes Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun Low Zone 4b
Illinois bundleflower Desmanthus illinoensis Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 5b
Indian blanket Gaillardia pulchella Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 10b
Indian ricegrass Achnatherum hymenoides Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun Low Zone 3a
Indianhemp Apocynum cannabinum Wildflower (forb) 3.3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3a
James' galleta Pleuraphis jamesii Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun Low Zone 5a
little barley Hordeum pusillum Grass or grass-like 1.2 ft Sun Medium Zone 10b
little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
Malabar sprangletop Leptochloa fusca Grass or grass-like 3.3 ft Sun High Zone 3a
Missouri gourd Cucurbita foetidissima Vine 1 ft Sun Low Zone 5a
needle and thread Hesperostipa comata Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
Nuttall's alkaligrass Puccinellia nuttalliana Grass or grass-like 10 in Sun Medium Zone 3b
plains pricklypear Opuntia polyacantha Shrub 2 ft Sun Low Zone 4b
poverty threeawn Aristida divaricata Grass or grass-like 1.3 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 6b
purple prairie clover Dalea purpurea Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Medium 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
rubber rabbitbrush Ericameria nauseosa Shrub 4 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
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 dropseed Sporobolus cryptandrus Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
sand lovegrass Eragrostis trichodes Grass or grass-like 3.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 5a
scarlet globemallow Sphaeralcea coccinea Wildflower (forb) 1.5 ft Sun Low Zone 5a
scratchgrass Muhlenbergia asperifolia Grass or grass-like 2 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 5b
showy milkweed Asclepias speciosa Wildflower (forb) 6 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
skunkbush sumac Rhus trilobata Shrub 4 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 2a
soapweed yucca Yucca glauca Shrub 1 ft Sun Low Zone 4b
spreading yellowcress Rorippa sinuata Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
squirreltail Elymus elymoides Grass or grass-like 1.5 ft Sun Low Zone 3a
switchgrass Panicum virgatum Grass or grass-like 5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
tanseyleaf tansyaster Machaeranthera tanacetifolia Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
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
Utah sweetvetch Hedysarum boreale Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
vine mesquite Panicum obtusum Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 5a
white prairie clover Dalea candida Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
winterfat Krascheninnikovia lanata Shrub 2 ft Sun Low Zone 2a
woolly locoweed Astragalus mollissimus Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun Low Zone 4b
woolly plantain Plantago patagonica Wildflower (forb) 6 in Sun Low Zone 12b

Other native species recorded here 66

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.

  • annual buckwheat Eriogonum annuum
  • Aunt Lucy Ellisia nyctelea
  • bastard toadflax Comandra umbellata
  • bigbract verbena Verbena bracteata
  • blowout grass Redfieldia flexuosa
  • buffalobur nightshade Solanum rostratum
  • bushy knotweed Polygonum ramosissimum
  • Carolina larkspur Delphinium carolinianum
  • Dakota mock vervain Glandularia bipinnatifida
  • desert princesplume Stanleya pinnata
  • Drummond's false pennyroyal Hedeoma drummondii
  • Engelmann's daisy Engelmannia peristenia
  • false buffalograss Munroa squarrosa
  • fetid marigold Dyssodia papposa
  • flatspine stickseed Lappula occidentalis
  • foxtail barley Hordeum jubatum
  • green comet milkweed Asclepias viridiflora
  • groundplum milkvetch Astragalus crassicarpus
  • heartleaf four o'clock Mirabilis nyctaginea
  • heavy sedge Carex gravida
  • Hopi tea greenthread Thelesperma megapotamicum
  • ivyleaf groundcherry Physalis hederifolia
  • lacy tansyaster Machaeranthera pinnatifida
  • lemon scurfpea Psoralidium lanceolatum
  • mealy goosefoot Chenopodium incanum
  • narrowleaf four o'clock Mirabilis linearis
  • northern bog violet Viola nephrophylla
  • Oregon cliff fern Woodsia oregana
  • plains bluegrass Poa arida
  • plains springparsley Cymopterus acaulis
  • prairie sandmat Chamaesyce missurica
  • prairie spiderwort Tradescantia occidentalis
  • purple sandgrass Triplasis purpurea
  • redwhisker clammyweed Polanisia dodecandra
  • rough barnyardgrass Echinochloa muricata
  • rush skeletonplant Lygodesmia juncea
  • rusty lupine Lupinus pusillus
  • sand sagebrush Artemisia filifolia
  • scarlet beeblossom Oenothera suffrutescens
  • Schweinitz's flatsedge Cyperus schweinitzii
  • shaggy dwarf morning-glory Evolvulus nuttallianus
  • silky prairie clover Dalea villosa
  • sixweeks threeawn Aristida adscensionis
  • slender lipfern Cheilanthes feei
  • slimflower scurfpea Psoralidium tenuiflorum
  • smooth goosefoot Chenopodium subglabrum
  • snow on the mountain Euphorbia marginata
  • snowball sand verbena Abronia fragrans
  • spinystar Escobaria vivipara
  • spreading fleabane Erigeron divergens
  • stemless four-nerve daisy Tetraneuris acaulis
  • stiffstem flax Linum rigidum
  • Texas croton Croton texensis
  • thin paspalum Paspalum setaceum
  • tumblegrass Schedonnardus paniculatus
  • warty caltrop Kallstroemia parviflora
  • wavyleaf thistle Cirsium undulatum
  • wedgeleaf Phyla cuneifolia
  • western tansymustard Descurainia pinnata
  • white heath aster Symphyotrichum ericoides
  • white prairie aster Symphyotrichum falcatum
  • whitemouth dayflower Commelina erecta
  • whitest evening primrose Oenothera albicaulis
  • winged pigweed Cycloloma atriplicifolium
  • witchgrass Panicum capillare
  • woolly tidestromia Tidestromia lanuginosa

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, Bent County and Colorado
MeasureBent CountyTypical countyStatewide
Native species 119 237 1,119
Garden-ready natives 53 148 585
Tree 2 — 66
Shrub 11 — 92
Wildflower (forb) 68 — 626
Grass or grass-like 34 — 278
Vine 2 — 20
Fern 2 — 37

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Bent 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
Bent County (county FIPS 08011), Colorado. 119 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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