Native plants · Georgia

Native plants of Houston County

87 plant species are recorded as native to Georgia in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Houston County by USDA PLANTS. 42 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness.

County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

Houston County, Georgia

Native species: 87 Typical Georgia county: 129 (median of 159 counties)
Garden-ready natives: 42 Typical Georgia county: 58
Share by type (all 87 native species): Percent of the 87 native species in each growth type

Tree 26% (23)
Shrub 8% (7)
Wildflower (forb) 40% (35)
Grass or grass-like 3% (3)
Vine 8% (7)
Fern 14% (12)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (40%), followed by trees (26%).

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 42

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

Garden-ready native plants of Houston County, Georgia
Plant	Type	Height	Light	Water use	Hardy to
American beautyberry Callicarpa americana	Shrub	6 ft	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 6b
American pokeweed Phytolacca americana	Wildflower (forb)	7.3 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4a
American snowbell Styrax americanus	Tree	10 ft	Sun–part shade	—	Zone 5b
bigleaf snowbell Styrax grandifolius	Tree	10 ft	Sun–part shade	—	Zone 4b
black willow Salix nigra	Tree	100 ft	Sun	High	Zone 1b
Carolina buckthorn Frangula caroliniana	Tree	20 ft	Shade-tolerant	—	Zone 4b
coastal doghobble Leucothoe axillaris	Shrub	6.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 7b
coastal sweetpepperbush Clethra alnifolia	Shrub	16 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 5a
common evening primrose Oenothera biennis	Wildflower (forb)	5 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4b
common persimmon Diospyros virginiana	Tree	55 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 5a
common sweetleaf Symplocos tinctoria	Tree	20 ft	Shade-tolerant	—	Zone 5a
dwarf palmetto Sabal minor	Tree	9 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 8a
fetterbush lyonia Lyonia lucida	Shrub	6.6 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 7b
gray goldenrod Solidago nemoralis	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4a
Gulf Sebastian-bush Ditrysinia fruticosa	Shrub	12 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 5b
hairy white oldfield aster Symphyotrichum pilosum	Wildflower (forb)	3 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4a
hophornbeam Ostrya virginiana	Tree	45 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 3b
laurel greenbrier Smilax laurifolia	Vine	1 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 6b
laurel oak Quercus laurifolia	Tree	70 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 7a
New York fern Thelypteris noveboracensis	Fern	1.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 4b
partridge pea Chamaecrista fasciculata	Wildflower (forb)	2.4 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 7a
pignut hickory Carya glabra	Tree	80 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 4a
post oak Quercus stellata	Tree	60 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4a
prairie fleabane Erigeron strigosus	Wildflower (forb)	3 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4b
prairie willow Salix humilis	Shrub	10 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 3a
prickly bog sedge Carex atlantica	Grass or grass-like	1.8 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 5b
rattlesnake fern Botrychium virginianum	Fern	1.4 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3b
red buckeye Aesculus pavia	Tree	25 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 5a
sassafras Sassafras albidum	Tree	75 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 4b
slippery elm Ulmus rubra	Tree	85 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 3a
southern magnolia Magnolia grandiflora	Tree	100 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 8a
southern sugar maple Acer floridanum	Tree	50 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 5b
Spanish moss Tillandsia usneoides	Vine	—	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 9b
swamp loosestrife Decodon verticillatus	Shrub	8 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 5a
tuliptree Liriodendron tulipifera	Tree	120 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 5b
turkey oak Quercus laevis	Tree	40 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 7a
two-wing silverbell Halesia diptera	Tree	15 ft	Sun–part shade	—	Zone 8a
water oak Quercus nigra	Tree	90 ft	Sun	High	Zone 5a
waterpod Hydrolea quadrivalvis	Wildflower (forb)	1.5 ft	Sun	High	Zone 8b
white oak Quercus alba	Tree	100 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 3a
willow oak Quercus phellos	Tree	100 ft	Sun	High	Zone 5a
wreath goldenrod Solidago caesia	Wildflower (forb)	3 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 4b

Other native species recorded here 45

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.

American black nightshade Solanum americanum
annual ragweed Ambrosia artemisiifolia
aquatic milkweed Asclepias perennis
Atlantic goldenrod Solidago arguta
Atlantic pigeonwings Clitoria mariana
blackstem spleenwort Asplenium resiliens
bluntlobe cliff fern Woodsia obtusa
bristly greenbrier Smilax tamnoides
Carolina horsenettle Solanum carolinense
Cherokee sedge Carex cherokeensis
Christmas fern Polystichum acrostichoides
cutleaf evening primrose Oenothera laciniata
cutleaf grapefern Botrychium dissectum
cutleaf groundcherry Physalis angulata
downy yellow false foxglove Aureolaria virginica
eastern poison ivy Toxicodendron radicans
ebony spleenwort Asplenium platyneuron
eyebane Chamaesyce nutans
goldenclub Orontium aquaticum
greater marsh St. Johnswort Triadenum walteri
gum bully Sideroxylon lanuginosum
hairy clustervine Jacquemontia tamnifolia
helmet flower Scutellaria integrifolia
largeflower tickseed Coreopsis grandiflora
limestone adderstongue Ophioglossum engelmannii
Maryland goldenaster Chrysopsis mariana
netted chainfern Woodwardia areolata
paleleaf woodland sunflower Helianthus strumosus
poorjoe Diodia teres
rough Mexican clover Richardia scabra
seedbox Ludwigia alternifolia
sensitive fern Onoclea sensibilis
sensitive partridge pea Chamaecrista nictitans
shortpod draba Draba brachycarpa
small woodland sunflower Helianthus microcephalus
sparselobe grapefern Botrychium biternatum
spurred butterfly pea Centrosema virginianum
star tickseed Coreopsis pubescens
sundial lupine Lupinus perennis
tall blazing star Liatris aspera
tall lespedeza Lespedeza stuevei
thin paspalum Paspalum setaceum
Virginia chainfern Woodwardia virginica
Virginia tephrosia Tephrosia virginiana
white wild indigo Baptisia alba

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, Houston County and Georgia
Measure	Houston County	Typical county	Statewide
Native species	87	129	1,750
Garden-ready natives	42	58	608
Tree	23	—	202
Shrub	7	—	91
Wildflower (forb)	35	—	908
Grass or grass-like	3	—	403
Vine	7	—	78
Fern	12	—	68

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Houston County.

Dooly County, GA 39 garden-ready
Macon County, GA 65 garden-ready
Peach County, GA 27 garden-ready
Pulaski County, GA 20 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: Houston County (county FIPS 13153), Georgia. 87 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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