Native plants · Georgia

Native plants of Douglas County

96 plant species are recorded as native to Georgia in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Douglas County by USDA PLANTS. 35 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness.

County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

Douglas County, Georgia

Native species: 96 Typical Georgia county: 129 (median of 159 counties)
Garden-ready natives: 35 Typical Georgia county: 58
Share by type (all 96 native species): Percent of the 96 native species in each growth type

Tree 11% (11)
Shrub 5% (5)
Wildflower (forb) 54% (52)
Grass or grass-like 20% (19)
Vine 1% (1)
Fern 8% (8)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (54%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (20%).

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 8a (2023 map).

The native plant list

Garden-ready natives 35

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

Garden-ready native plants of Douglas County, Georgia
Plant	Type	Height	Light	Water use	Hardy to
big bluestem Andropogon gerardii	Grass or grass-like	6 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 2b
black cherry Prunus serotina	Tree	80 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4a
blackgum Nyssa sylvatica	Tree	95 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 5b
blackjack oak Quercus marilandica	Tree	25 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 6a
blunt broom sedge Carex tribuloides	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4b
bristly buttercup Ranunculus hispidus	Wildflower (forb)	2.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4a
Canadian lousewort Pedicularis canadensis	Wildflower (forb)	1.3 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3a
Chickasaw plum Prunus angustifolia	Tree	12 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4b
common goldstar Hypoxis hirsuta	Wildflower (forb)	10 in	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 4a
common sneezeweed Helenium autumnale	Wildflower (forb)	4.9 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3a
coppery St. Johnswort Hypericum denticulatum	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 7b
eastern gamagrass Tripsacum dactyloides	Grass or grass-like	5 ft	Sun	High	Zone 5a
grassleaf rush Juncus marginatus	Grass or grass-like	2 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 5a
lanceleaf loosestrife Lysimachia lanceolata	Wildflower (forb)	2.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 5a
mountain azalea Rhododendron canescens	Shrub	14 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 6a
narrowleaf evening primrose Oenothera fruticosa	Wildflower (forb)	3.3 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 4a
needlepod rush Juncus scirpoides	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 7a
New York fern Thelypteris noveboracensis	Fern	1.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 4b
pale purple coneflower Echinacea pallida	Wildflower (forb)	1.2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4a
pink azalea Rhododendron periclymenoides	Shrub	10 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 5b
prairie willow Salix humilis	Shrub	10 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 3a
red mulberry Morus rubra	Tree	70 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4a
riverbank wildrye Elymus riparius	Grass or grass-like	4.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 4a
smallspike false nettle Boehmeria cylindrica	Wildflower (forb)	3.9 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4a
smooth phlox Phlox glaberrima	Wildflower (forb)	3 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 4b
smooth sumac Rhus glabra	Tree	12 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 4a
sourwood Oxydendrum arboreum	Tree	35 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 6a
southern red oak Quercus falcata	Tree	75 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 6a
St. Peterswort Hypericum crux-andreae	Shrub	2 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 6b
swamp sunflower Helianthus angustifolius	Wildflower (forb)	5.6 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 4b
switchgrass Panicum virgatum	Grass or grass-like	5 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3a
tenangle pipewort Eriocaulon decangulare	Wildflower (forb)	2.6 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 6b
velvet panicum Dichanthelium scoparium	Grass or grass-like	4.3 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3b
water oak Quercus nigra	Tree	90 ft	Sun	High	Zone 5a
winged sumac Rhus copallinum	Tree	8 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 4b

Other native species recorded here 61

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 fimbry Fimbristylis annua
Appalachian stitchwort Minuartia glabra
arrowhead rattlebox Crotalaria sagittalis
balsam groundsel Packera paupercula
bearded flatsedge Cyperus squarrosus
beechdrops Epifagus virginiana
Blue Ridge blueberry Vaccinium pallidum
Carolina clover Trifolium carolinianum
Christmas fern Polystichum acrostichoides
clustered beaksedge Rhynchospora glomerata
coastal false asphodel Triantha racemosa
creeping primrose-willow Ludwigia repens
Culver's root Veronicastrum virginicum
cutleaf evening primrose Oenothera laciniata
cylindricfruit primrose-willow Ludwigia glandulosa
drumheads Polygala cruciata
ebony spleenwort Asplenium platyneuron
Elliott's bentgrass Agrostis elliottiana
fewflower nutrush Scleria pauciflora
fourflower yellow loosestrife Lysimachia quadriflora
fringed nutrush Scleria ciliata
globe beaksedge Rhynchospora globularis
greater tickseed Coreopsis major
green fringed orchid Platanthera lacera
hairy sunflower Helianthus hirsutus
handsome Harry Rhexia virginica
helmet flower Scutellaria integrifolia
hoary verbena Verbena stricta
leathery rush Juncus coriaceus
marsh pea Lathyrus palustris
meadow spikemoss Selaginella apoda
Michaux's croton Croton michauxii
narrowleaf mountainmint Pycnanthemum tenuifolium
netted chainfern Woodwardia areolata
northern selaginella Selaginella rupestris
orange coneflower Rudbeckia fulgida
pleatleaf knotweed Polygonum tenue
red milkweed Asclepias rubra
redring milkweed Asclepias variegata
roundleaf thoroughwort Eupatorium rotundifolium
rue anemone Thalictrum thalictroides
sensitive fern Onoclea sensibilis
slender lespedeza Lespedeza virginica
slender rose gentian Sabatia campanulata
smallflower phacelia Phacelia dubia
snowy orchid Platanthera nivea
southern crab apple Malus angustifolia
sparselobe grapefern Botrychium biternatum
spring lady's tresses Spiranthes vernalis
swamp wedgescale Sphenopholis pensylvanica
tall tickseed Coreopsis tripteris
thickleaf phlox Phlox carolina
threadleaf evening primrose Oenothera linifolia
tuberous grasspink Calopogon tuberosus
turk's-cap lily Lilium superbum
Viola ×primulifolia Viola ×primulifolia
Virginia bunchflower Veratrum virginicum
weakstalk bulrush Schoenoplectiella purshiana
white colicroot Aletris farinosa
witchgrass Panicum capillare
woodland sunflower Helianthus divaricatus

Compared with Georgia

The typical county is the median of the 159 Georgia 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, Douglas County and Georgia
Measure	Douglas County	Typical county	Statewide
Native species	96	129	1,750
Garden-ready natives	35	58	608
Tree	11	—	202
Shrub	5	—	91
Wildflower (forb)	52	—	908
Grass or grass-like	19	—	403
Vine	1	—	78
Fern	8	—	68

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Douglas County.

Carroll County, GA 74 garden-ready
Cobb County, GA 88 garden-ready
Paulding County, GA 22 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: Douglas County (county FIPS 13097), Georgia. 96 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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