Native plants · Georgia

Native plants of Newton County

79 plant species are recorded as native to Georgia in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Newton County by USDA PLANTS. 27 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness.

County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

Newton County, Georgia

PLANTS records only 27 garden-ready natives here (under 30). County records are thin in some places; the Georgia list is a useful second check.

Native species: 79 Typical Georgia county: 129 (median of 159 counties)
Garden-ready natives: 27 Typical Georgia county: 58
Share by type (all 79 native species): Percent of the 79 native species in each growth type

Tree 22% (17)
Shrub 6% (5)
Wildflower (forb) 42% (33)
Grass or grass-like 10% (8)
Vine 5% (4)
Fern 15% (12)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (42%), followed by trees (22%).

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 zones 8a to 8b (2023 map).

The native plant list

Garden-ready natives 27

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

Garden-ready native plants of Newton County, Georgia
Plant	Type	Height	Light	Water use	Hardy to
American beech Fagus grandifolia	Tree	80 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3a
American chestnut Castanea dentata	Tree	115 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4a
American holly Ilex opaca	Tree	40 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 5a
blackjack oak Quercus marilandica	Tree	25 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 6a
blunt spikerush Eleocharis obtusa	Grass or grass-like	1.6 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 11a
bursting-heart Euonymus americanus	Wildflower (forb)	6 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 5a
Carolina rose Rosa carolina	Shrub	5 ft	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 3a
cat greenbrier Smilax glauca	Vine	1 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 6a
common persimmon Diospyros virginiana	Tree	55 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 5a
common selfheal Prunella vulgaris	Wildflower (forb)	1.5 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 3b
farkleberry Vaccinium arboreum	Tree	28 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 6a
hophornbeam Ostrya virginiana	Tree	45 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 3b
narrowleaf evening primrose Oenothera fruticosa	Wildflower (forb)	3.3 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 4a
nimblewill Muhlenbergia schreberi	Grass or grass-like	3.2 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 4a
nodding lady's tresses Spiranthes cernua	Wildflower (forb)	1.5 ft	Sun	High	Zone 3b
orangegrass Hypericum gentianoides	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 12a
painted buckeye Aesculus sylvatica	Tree	65 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 8a
rattlesnake fern Botrychium virginianum	Fern	1.4 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3b
saw greenbrier Smilax bona-nox	Vine	4 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 5b
sugar maple Acer saccharum	Tree	100 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 2b
sweetbay Magnolia virginiana	Tree	60 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 9a
thicket sedge Carex abscondita	Grass or grass-like	8 in	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 7a
water oak Quercus nigra	Tree	90 ft	Sun	High	Zone 5a
water tupelo Nyssa aquatica	Tree	100 ft	Sun	High	Zone 5a
wax myrtle Morella cerifera	Tree	10 ft	Sun	High	Zone 7a
willow oak Quercus phellos	Tree	100 ft	Sun	High	Zone 5a
yellow passionflower Passiflora lutea	Vine	16 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 5a

Other native species recorded here 52

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.

Adam's needle Yucca filamentosa
American ipecac Gillenia stipulata
axilflower Mecardonia acuminata
azure blue sage Salvia azurea
bearded flatsedge Cyperus squarrosus
bluntlobe cliff fern Woodsia obtusa
chinquapin Castanea pumila
Christmas fern Polystichum acrostichoides
common pricklyash Zanthoxylum americanum
densetuft hairsedge Bulbostylis capillaris
devil's grandmother Elephantopus tomentosus
downy ragged goldenrod Solidago petiolaris
dwarf hackberry Celtis pumila
eastern featherbells Stenanthium gramineum
ebony spleenwort Asplenium platyneuron
fan clubmoss Lycopodium digitatum
fire pink Silene virginica
fragrant sumac Rhus aromatica
globe beaksedge Rhynchospora globularis
hairy forked nailwort Paronychia fastigiata
hairy lipfern Cheilanthes lanosa
heartleaf skullcap Scutellaria ovata
Heller's cudweed Pseudognaphalium helleri
horned bladderwort Utricularia cornuta
hornleaf riverweed Podostemum ceratophyllum
largeflower tickseed Coreopsis grandiflora
lizard's tail Saururus cernuus
lowland bladderfern Cystopteris protrusa
maidenhair spleenwort Asplenium trichomanes
meadow spikemoss Selaginella apoda
Michaux's croton Croton michauxii
narrowleaf bluecurls Trichostema setaceum
netted chainfern Woodwardia areolata
perfoliate bellwort Uvularia perfoliata
prostrate ticktrefoil Desmodium rotundifolium
sensitive fern Onoclea sensibilis
slender threeseed mercury Acalypha gracilens
slenderleaf false foxglove Agalinis tenuifolia
small woodland sunflower Helianthus microcephalus
Small's ragwort Packera anonyma
smallflower phacelia Phacelia dubia
smallfruit spikerush Eleocharis microcarpa
smooth carrionflower Smilax herbacea
southern jointweed Polygonella americana
sparselobe grapefern Botrychium biternatum
spiked crested coralroot Hexalectris spicata
St. Andrew's cross Hypericum hypericoides
standing-cypress Ipomopsis rubra
star chickweed Stellaria pubera
white baneberry Actaea pachypoda
witchgrass Panicum capillare
woolly ragwort Packera tomentosa

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, Newton County and Georgia
Measure	Newton County	Typical county	Statewide
Native species	79	129	1,750
Garden-ready natives	27	58	608
Tree	17	—	202
Shrub	5	—	91
Wildflower (forb)	33	—	908
Grass or grass-like	8	—	403
Vine	4	—	78
Fern	12	—	68

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Newton County.

Butts County, GA 9 garden-ready
Jasper County, GA 51 garden-ready
Morgan County, GA 215 garden-ready
Rockdale County, GA 35 garden-ready
Walton County, GA 60 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: Newton County (county FIPS 13217), Georgia. 79 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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