Native plants · Georgia

Native plants of Hancock County

102 plant species are recorded as native to Georgia in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Hancock County by USDA PLANTS. 41 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness.

County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

Hancock County, Georgia

Native species: 102 Typical Georgia county: 129 (median of 159 counties)
Garden-ready natives: 41 Typical Georgia county: 58
Share by type (all 102 native species): Percent of the 102 native species in each growth type

Tree 23% (23)
Shrub 11% (11)
Wildflower (forb) 41% (42)
Grass or grass-like 19% (19)
Vine 2% (2)
Fern 5% (5)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (41%), followed by trees (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 8b (2023 map).

The native plant list

Garden-ready natives 41

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

Garden-ready native plants of Hancock County, Georgia
Plant	Type	Height	Light	Water use	Hardy to
American plum Prunus americana	Tree	24 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
bigleaf snowbell Styrax grandifolius	Tree	10 ft	Sun–part shade	—	Zone 4b
blackgum Nyssa sylvatica	Tree	95 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 5b
blackjack oak Quercus marilandica	Tree	25 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 6a
blue mistflower Conoclinium coelestinum	Wildflower (forb)	3.2 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 6a
Carolina buckthorn Frangula caroliniana	Tree	20 ft	Shade-tolerant	—	Zone 4b
Carolina rose Rosa carolina	Shrub	5 ft	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 3a
coastal doghobble Leucothoe axillaris	Shrub	6.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 7b
common sweetleaf Symplocos tinctoria	Tree	20 ft	Shade-tolerant	—	Zone 5a
cucumber tree Magnolia acuminata	Tree	100 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 5b
deerberry Vaccinium stamineum	Shrub	16 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 5a
farkleberry Vaccinium arboreum	Tree	28 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 6a
Indian woodoats Chasmanthium latifolium	Grass or grass-like	4.6 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4a
inkberry Ilex glabra	Shrub	8 ft	Sun	High	Zone 6a
lanceleaf tickseed Coreopsis lanceolata	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 6b
lesser creeping rush Juncus repens	Grass or grass-like	6.8 ft	Sun	High	Zone 8b
little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3b
mapleleaf viburnum Viburnum acerifolium	Shrub	6 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4b
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
needle spikerush Eleocharis acicularis	Grass or grass-like	8 in	Sun	Medium	Zone 5a
needleleaf rosette grass Dichanthelium aciculare	Grass or grass-like	1.6 ft	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 7b
northern spicebush Lindera benzoin	Tree	12 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 5a
pignut hickory Carya glabra	Tree	80 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 4a
red buckeye Aesculus pavia	Tree	25 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 5a
southern bayberry Morella caroliniensis	Tree	7 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 6a
southern sugar maple Acer floridanum	Tree	50 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 5b
swamp doghobble Eubotrys racemosus	Shrub	13 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4a
swamp smartweed Polygonum hydropiperoides	Wildflower (forb)	—	Sun	Medium	Zone 10b
swamp titi Cyrilla racemiflora	Tree	30 ft	Shade-tolerant	—	Zone 6b
sweetbay Magnolia virginiana	Tree	60 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 9a
sweetscent Pluchea odorata	Wildflower (forb)	4.9 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 6a
tapertip rush Juncus acuminatus	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 4a
trumpet honeysuckle Lonicera sempervirens	Vine	16 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4a
turkey oak Quercus laevis	Tree	40 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 7a
twoheaded water-starwort Callitriche heterophylla	Wildflower (forb)	—	Sun	High	Zone 4a
water oak Quercus nigra	Tree	90 ft	Sun	High	Zone 5a
waterthread pondweed Potamogeton diversifolius	Wildflower (forb)	3.2 ft	Sun	High	Zone 3b
wax myrtle Morella cerifera	Tree	10 ft	Sun	High	Zone 7a
white fringetree Chionanthus virginicus	Tree	25 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 4a
willow oak Quercus phellos	Tree	100 ft	Sun	High	Zone 5a

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.

Alabama supplejack Berchemia scandens
American pillwort Pilularia americana
American wild carrot Daucus pusillus
arrowfeather threeawn Aristida purpurascens
axilflower Mecardonia acuminata
bearded shorthusk Brachyelytrum erectum
blackseed speargrass Piptochaetium avenaceum
bluejacket Tradescantia ohiensis
Carolina clover Trifolium carolinianum
Carolina ponysfoot Dichondra carolinensis
chaffweed Anagallis minima
Christmas fern Polystichum acrostichoides
clustered fescue Festuca paradoxa
crowpoison Nothoscordum bivalve
Curtiss' milkwort Polygala curtissii
downy danthonia Danthonia sericea
dwarf chinquapin oak Quercus prinoides
dwarf hackberry Celtis pumila
eastern sweetshrub Calycanthus floridus
Elliott's bentgrass Agrostis elliottiana
false aloe Manfreda virginica
fragrant sumac Rhus aromatica
globe beaksedge Rhynchospora globularis
hairy umbrella-sedge Fuirena squarrosa
herbwilliam Ptilimnium capillaceum
horned bladderwort Utricularia cornuta
humped bladderwort Utricularia gibba
keeled bulrush Isolepis carinata
lateflowering thoroughwort Eupatorium serotinum
low spearwort Ranunculus pusillus
marsh mermaidweed Proserpinaca palustris
Maryland meadowbeauty Rhexia mariana
nakedflower ticktrefoil Desmodium nudiflorum
Philadelphia panicgrass Panicum philadelphicum
queen's-delight Stillingia sylvatica
redring milkweed Asclepias variegata
Richard's yelloweyed grass Xyris jupicai
rosepink Sabatia angularis
roundfruit hedgehyssop Gratiola virginiana
rusty blackhaw Viburnum rufidulum
seedbox Ludwigia alternifolia
sensitive fern Onoclea sensibilis
shortseed waterwort Elatine brachysperma
silvery everlasting Gamochaeta argyrinea
sixweeks fescue Vulpia octoflora
slender plantain Plantago heterophylla
slimspike threeawn Aristida longespica
smallflower phacelia Phacelia dubia
smallfruit spikerush Eleocharis microcarpa
sparselobe grapefern Botrychium biternatum
spiked crested coralroot Hexalectris spicata
spring lady's tresses Spiranthes vernalis
St. Andrew's cross Hypericum hypericoides
Viola ×primulifolia Viola ×primulifolia
Virginia chainfern Woodwardia virginica
Virginia plantain Plantago virginica
Virginia tephrosia Tephrosia virginiana
white wild indigo Baptisia alba
wild hydrangea Hydrangea arborescens
wild Job's tears Onosmodium virginianum
woman's tobacco Antennaria plantaginifolia

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, Hancock County and Georgia
Measure	Hancock County	Typical county	Statewide
Native species	102	129	1,750
Garden-ready natives	41	58	608
Tree	23	—	202
Shrub	11	—	91
Wildflower (forb)	42	—	908
Grass or grass-like	19	—	403
Vine	2	—	78
Fern	5	—	68

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Hancock County.

Baldwin County, GA 39 garden-ready
Glascock County, GA 24 garden-ready
Greene County, GA 49 garden-ready
Warren County, GA 7 garden-ready
Washington County, GA 48 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: Hancock County (county FIPS 13141), Georgia. 102 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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