Native plants · Colorado

Native plants of Elbert County

66 plant species are recorded as native to Colorado in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Elbert County by USDA PLANTS. 36 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness.

County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

Elbert County, Colorado

Native species: 66 Typical Colorado county: 237 (median of 63 counties)
Garden-ready natives: 36 Typical Colorado county: 148
Share by type (all 66 native species): Percent of the 66 native species in each growth type

Tree 8% (5)
Shrub 5% (3)
Wildflower (forb) 61% (40)
Grass or grass-like 23% (15)
Vine 2% (1)
Fern 3% (2)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (61%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (23%).

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 5b (2023 map).

The native plant list

Garden-ready natives 36

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

Garden-ready native plants of Elbert County, Colorado
Plant	Type	Height	Light	Water use	Hardy to
alderleaf mountain mahogany Cercocarpus montanus	Tree	15 ft	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 3a
American vetch Vicia americana	Vine	1.3 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3b
broadbeard beardtongue Penstemon angustifolius	Wildflower (forb)	3 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 4b
Canadian horseweed Conyza canadensis	Wildflower (forb)	5 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 12b
chokecherry Prunus virginiana	Tree	25 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3a
common duckweed Lemna minor	Wildflower (forb)	—	Sun	High	Zone 3b
crested pricklypoppy Argemone polyanthemos	Wildflower (forb)	3 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 5a
downy paintedcup Castilleja sessiliflora	Wildflower (forb)	1.3 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3b
dwarf spikerush Eleocharis parvula	Grass or grass-like	1.2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
fiddleleaf hawksbeard Crepis runcinata	Wildflower (forb)	1 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
green needlegrass Nassella viridula	Grass or grass-like	2 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3b
Indian ricegrass Achnatherum hymenoides	Grass or grass-like	2 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3a
lambstongue ragwort Senecio integerrimus	Wildflower (forb)	1.1 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 3b
mountain muhly Muhlenbergia montana	Grass or grass-like	1.5 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
needle and thread Hesperostipa comata	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3b
Northwest Territory sedge Carex utriculata	Grass or grass-like	3.5 ft	Sun	High	Zone 3a
peachleaf willow Salix amygdaloides	Tree	60 ft	Sun	High	Zone 4a
prairie Junegrass Koeleria macrantha	Grass or grass-like	1.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 3b
purple locoweed Oxytropis lambertii	Wildflower (forb)	1.4 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3b
Rocky Mountain iris Iris missouriensis	Wildflower (forb)	1 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 4b
rough bentgrass Agrostis scabra	Grass or grass-like	2.5 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
sandbar willow Salix interior	Tree	30 ft	Sun	—	Zone 1a
sanddune wallflower Erysimum capitatum	Wildflower (forb)	2.5 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4b
scarlet gilia Ipomopsis aggregata	Wildflower (forb)	3 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 5b
shortawn foxtail Alopecurus aequalis	Grass or grass-like	2.5 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 3b
showy milkweed Asclepias speciosa	Wildflower (forb)	6 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4a
silvery lupine Lupinus argenteus	Wildflower (forb)	1.5 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3a
skunkbush sumac Rhus trilobata	Shrub	4 ft	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 2a
smooth horsetail Equisetum laevigatum	Fern	5 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3b
squirreltail Elymus elymoides	Grass or grass-like	1.5 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3a
tailcup lupine Lupinus caudatus	Wildflower (forb)	5 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 4b
textile onion Allium textile	Wildflower (forb)	1 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 3b
threadleaf sedge Carex filifolia	Grass or grass-like	1.2 ft	Sun	Low	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
wax currant Ribes cereum	Shrub	3 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 5a

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.

bastard toadflax Comandra umbellata
clustered broomrape Orobanche fasciculata
common starlily Leucocrinum montanum
fall rosette grass Dichanthelium wilcoxianum
fineleaf hymenopappus Hymenopappus filifolius
foothill bladderpod Lesquerella ludoviciana
James' cryptantha Cryptantha cinerea
Jersey tea Ceanothus herbaceus
Laxmann's milkvetch Astragalus laxmannii
lemon scurfpea Psoralidium lanceolatum
meadow willow Salix petiolaris
needleleaf sedge Carex duriuscula
Northern Idaho biscuitroot Lomatium orientale
poverty oatgrass Danthonia spicata
prairie false dandelion Nothocalais cuspidata
prairie spiderwort Tradescantia occidentalis
sanddune cryptantha Cryptantha fendleri
scarlet beeblossom Oenothera suffrutescens
shaggy fleabane Erigeron pumilus
sixweeks fescue Vulpia octoflora
slender lipfern Cheilanthes feei
slender snakecotton Froelichia gracilis
slimflower scurfpea Psoralidium tenuiflorum
small-leaf pussytoes Antennaria parvifolia
snowball sand verbena Abronia fragrans
spearleaf stonecrop Sedum lanceolatum
spiny phlox Phlox hoodii
starry false lily of the valley Maianthemum stellatum
stemless four-nerve daisy Tetraneuris acaulis
stemless Townsend daisy Townsendia exscapa

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, Elbert County and Colorado
Measure	Elbert County	Typical county	Statewide
Native species	66	237	1,119
Garden-ready natives	36	148	585
Tree	5	—	66
Shrub	3	—	92
Wildflower (forb)	40	—	626
Grass or grass-like	15	—	278
Vine	1	—	20
Fern	2	—	37

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Elbert County.

Adams County, CO 55 garden-ready
Arapahoe County, CO 58 garden-ready
Douglas County, CO 169 garden-ready
El Paso County, CO 286 garden-ready
Lincoln County, CO 84 garden-ready

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: Elbert County (county FIPS 08039), Colorado. 66 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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