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Native plants recorded in your state and county

Native plants · Colorado

Native plants of Washington County

118 plant species are recorded as native to Colorado in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Washington County by USDA PLANTS. 51 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

Washington County, Colorado

Native species
118 Typical Colorado county: 237 (median of 63 counties)
Garden-ready natives
51 Typical Colorado county: 148
Share by type (all 118 native species)
Percent of the 118 native species in each growth type
Tree <1% (1)
Shrub 13% (15)
Wildflower (forb) 61% (72)
Grass or grass-like 25% (29)
Fern <1% (1)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (61%), 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 zone 5b (2023 map).

The native plant list

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

Garden-ready natives 51

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

Garden-ready native plants of Washington County, Colorado
PlantType HeightLight Water useHardy to
American plum Prunus americana Tree 24 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
blue grama Bouteloua gracilis Grass or grass-like 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
broadbeard beardtongue Penstemon angustifolius Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Low Zone 4b
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
buffalograss Bouteloua dactyloides Grass or grass-like 6 in Sun Medium Zone 3b
common spikerush Eleocharis palustris Grass or grass-like 1.3 ft Sun High Zone 3b
crested pricklypoppy Argemone polyanthemos Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Low Zone 5a
dotted blazing star Liatris punctata Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
downy paintedcup Castilleja sessiliflora Wildflower (forb) 1.3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
fourwing saltbush Atriplex canescens Shrub 4 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
golden tickseed Coreopsis tinctoria Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 12b
green needlegrass Nassella viridula Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
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
Indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans Grass or grass-like 6 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
leadplant Amorpha canescens Shrub 4 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 3b
little barley Hordeum pusillum Grass or grass-like 1.2 ft Sun Medium Zone 10b
needle and thread Hesperostipa comata Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
plains pricklypear Opuntia polyacantha Shrub 2 ft Sun Low Zone 4b
prairie Junegrass Koeleria macrantha Grass or grass-like 1.5 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3b
prairie sagewort Artemisia frigida Shrub 2 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3a
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
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
sandcherry Prunus pumila Shrub 6 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 4a
sanddune wallflower Erysimum capitatum Wildflower (forb) 2.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 4b
sandhill muhly Muhlenbergia pungens Grass or grass-like 1.5 ft Sun Low Zone 5a
scarlet globemallow Sphaeralcea coccinea Wildflower (forb) 1.5 ft Sun Low Zone 5a
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
tenpetal blazingstar Mentzelia decapetala Wildflower (forb) 3.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
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
Torrey's rush Juncus torreyi Grass or grass-like 3.1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
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
white prairie clover Dalea candida Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
white sagebrush Artemisia ludoviciana Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
Woods' rose Rosa woodsii Shrub 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3a
woolly plantain Plantago patagonica Wildflower (forb) 6 in Sun Low Zone 12b

Other native species recorded here 67

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
  • aridland goosefoot Chenopodium desiccatum
  • Aunt Lucy Ellisia nyctelea
  • bastard toadflax Comandra umbellata
  • bigbract verbena Verbena bracteata
  • blowout grass Redfieldia flexuosa
  • Carolina puccoon Lithospermum caroliniense
  • clustered broomrape Orobanche fasciculata
  • Cuman ragweed Ambrosia psilostachya
  • curlycup gumweed Grindelia squarrosa
  • Drummond's false pennyroyal Hedeoma drummondii
  • false buffalograss Munroa squarrosa
  • fetid marigold Dyssodia papposa
  • flatspine bur ragweed Ambrosia acanthicarpa
  • foothill bladderpod Lesquerella ludoviciana
  • green comet milkweed Asclepias viridiflora
  • hoary tansyaster Machaeranthera canescens
  • hoary verbena Verbena stricta
  • Hopi tea greenthread Thelesperma megapotamicum
  • ivyleaf groundcherry Physalis hederifolia
  • James' cryptantha Cryptantha cinerea
  • lacy tansyaster Machaeranthera pinnatifida
  • large Indian breadroot Pediomelum esculentum
  • lemon scurfpea Psoralidium lanceolatum
  • mat sandbur Cenchrus longispinus
  • narrowleaf stoneseed Lithospermum incisum
  • needleleaf sedge Carex duriuscula
  • Oregon cliff fern Woodsia oregana
  • painted milkvetch Astragalus ceramicus
  • pale dock Rumex altissimus
  • prairie groundcherry Physalis hispida
  • prairie rose Rosa arkansana
  • prairie sandmat Chamaesyce missurica
  • prairie spiderwort Tradescantia occidentalis
  • prairie sunflower Helianthus petiolaris
  • ram's horn Proboscidea louisianica
  • redwhisker clammyweed Polanisia dodecandra
  • ribseed sandmat Chamaesyce glyptosperma
  • Rocky Mountain fescue Festuca saximontana
  • rough false pennyroyal Hedeoma hispida
  • rush skeletonplant Lygodesmia juncea
  • rusty lupine Lupinus pusillus
  • sand sagebrush Artemisia filifolia
  • sandhill amaranth Amaranthus arenicola
  • scarlet beeblossom Oenothera suffrutescens
  • Schweinitz's flatsedge Cyperus schweinitzii
  • shaggy dwarf morning-glory Evolvulus nuttallianus
  • shaggy fleabane Erigeron pumilus
  • silky prairie clover Dalea villosa
  • sixangle spurge Euphorbia hexagona
  • sixweeks fescue Vulpia octoflora
  • slimflower scurfpea Psoralidium tenuiflorum
  • snow on the mountain Euphorbia marginata
  • snowball sand verbena Abronia fragrans
  • spinystar Escobaria vivipara
  • stemless four-nerve daisy Tetraneuris acaulis
  • Texas croton Croton texensis
  • tufted lovegrass Eragrostis pectinacea
  • tumblegrass Schedonnardus paniculatus
  • twistspine pricklypear Opuntia macrorhiza
  • velvetweed Oenothera curtiflora
  • velvety goldenrod Solidago mollis
  • wavyleaf thistle Cirsium undulatum
  • wedgeleaf Phyla cuneifolia
  • white prairie aster Symphyotrichum falcatum
  • whitestem blazingstar Mentzelia albicaulis
  • winged pigweed Cycloloma atriplicifolium
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.

  • annual ragweedAmbrosia artemisiifolia

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, Washington County and Colorado
MeasureWashington CountyTypical countyStatewide
Native species 118 237 1,119
Garden-ready natives 51 148 585
Tree 1 — 66
Shrub 15 — 92
Wildflower (forb) 72 — 626
Grass or grass-like 29 — 278
Vine 0 — 20
Fern 1 — 37

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Washington 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
Washington County (county FIPS 08121), 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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