Native plants · Georgia

Native plants of Pickens County

104 plant species are recorded as native to Georgia in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Pickens County by USDA PLANTS. 43 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness.

County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

Pickens County, Georgia

Native species: 104 Typical Georgia county: 129 (median of 159 counties)
Garden-ready natives: 43 Typical Georgia county: 58
Share by type (all 104 native species): Percent of the 104 native species in each growth type

Tree 22% (23)
Shrub 12% (12)
Wildflower (forb) 41% (43)
Grass or grass-like 10% (10)
Vine 2% (2)
Fern 13% (14)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (41%), 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 zone 8a (2023 map).

The native plant list

Garden-ready natives 43

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

Garden-ready native plants of Pickens County, Georgia
Plant	Type	Height	Light	Water use	Hardy to
American holly Ilex opaca	Tree	40 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 5a
American witchhazel Hamamelis virginiana	Tree	20 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 4b
awlfruit sedge Carex stipata	Grass or grass-like	3.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3b
big bluestem Andropogon gerardii	Grass or grass-like	6 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 2b
black huckleberry Gaylussacia baccata	Shrub	4 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 4a
blackhaw Viburnum prunifolium	Tree	16 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4a
blackjack oak Quercus marilandica	Tree	25 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 6a
Carolina hemlock Tsuga caroliniana	Tree	65 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 7b
chestnut oak Quercus montana	Tree	73 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 4a
common ninebark Physocarpus opulifolius	Shrub	10 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 4a
common winterberry Ilex verticillata	Tree	10 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 4b
deerberry Vaccinium stamineum	Shrub	16 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 5a
deertongue Dichanthelium clandestinum	Grass or grass-like	2 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 4a
eastern hemlock Tsuga canadensis	Tree	105 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4a
eastern white pine Pinus strobus	Tree	150 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 4a
great laurel Rhododendron maximum	Tree	25 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 6a
Jack in the pulpit Arisaema triphyllum	Wildflower (forb)	1.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 5b
late purple aster Symphyotrichum patens	Wildflower (forb)	2.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3b
maleberry Lyonia ligustrina	Shrub	9 ft	Shade-tolerant	—	Zone 5a
mountain laurel Kalmia latifolia	Tree	6 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 5a
New Jersey tea Ceanothus americanus	Shrub	3 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 4b
northern maidenhair Adiantum pedatum	Fern	1.3 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3b
northern red oak Quercus rubra	Tree	81 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 3b
pawpaw Asimina triloba	Tree	25 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4b
prairie willow Salix humilis	Shrub	10 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 3a
rattlesnake fern Botrychium virginianum	Fern	1.4 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3b
red chokeberry Aronia arbutifolia	Shrub	5 ft	Sun	High	Zone 5b
sawtooth blackberry Rubus argutus	Shrub	8.2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 6a
scarlet oak Quercus coccinea	Tree	70 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4b
shallow sedge Carex lurida	Grass or grass-like	3.2 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 4a
slippery elm Ulmus rubra	Tree	85 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 3a
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
summer grape Vitis aestivalis	Vine	30 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 5a
swamp smartweed Polygonum hydropiperoides	Wildflower (forb)	—	Sun	Medium	Zone 10b
sweet birch Betula lenta	Tree	60 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4b
tuliptree Liriodendron tulipifera	Tree	120 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 5b
umbrella-tree Magnolia tripetala	Tree	30 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 7a
Virginia pine Pinus virginiana	Tree	70 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 5a
waterthread pondweed Potamogeton diversifolius	Wildflower (forb)	3.2 ft	Sun	High	Zone 3b
white oak Quercus alba	Tree	100 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 3a
winter bentgrass Agrostis hyemalis	Grass or grass-like	3.5 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 4a
zigzag goldenrod Solidago flexicaulis	Wildflower (forb)	3 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 5b

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.

anisescented goldenrod Solidago odora
birdfoot violet Viola pedata
black baneberry Actaea racemosa
blackstem spleenwort Asplenium resiliens
blisterwort Ranunculus recurvatus
bluntlobe cliff fern Woodsia obtusa
Bowman's root Gillenia trifoliata
Brazilian watermeal Wolffia brasiliensis
bristly locust Robinia hispida
Christmas fern Polystichum acrostichoides
common cinquefoil Potentilla simplex
common dittany Cunila origanoides
early saxifrage Saxifraga virginiensis
eastern bluestar Amsonia tabernaemontana
eastern hayscented fern Dennstaedtia punctilobula
eastern sweetshrub Calycanthus floridus
ebony spleenwort Asplenium platyneuron
feathery false lily of the valley Maianthemum racemosum
feverwort Triosteum perfoliatum
flame azalea Rhododendron calendulaceum
fourleaf milkweed Asclepias quadrifolia
great yellow woodsorrel Oxalis grandis
greater tickseed Coreopsis major
hairy lipfern Cheilanthes lanosa
hairy woodrush Luzula acuminata
hairyseed paspalum Paspalum pubiflorum
halberdleaf yellow violet Viola hastata
heartleaf foamflower Tiarella cordifolia
lace grass Eragrostis capillaris
lateflowering thoroughwort Eupatorium serotinum
longleaf summer bluet Houstonia longifolia
maidenhair spleenwort Asplenium trichomanes
marginal woodfern Dryopteris marginalis
Maryland goldenaster Chrysopsis mariana
mountain spleenwort Asplenium montanum
narrowleaf mountainmint Pycnanthemum tenuifolium
oak mistletoe Phoradendron leucarpum
openflower rosette grass Dichanthelium laxiflorum
poverty oatgrass Danthonia spicata
purple cliffbrake Pellaea atropurpurea
racemed milkwort Polygala polygama
red columbine Aquilegia canadensis
rock polypody Polypodium virginianum
small woodland sunflower Helianthus microcephalus
Small's ragwort Packera anonyma
southern mountainmint Pycnanthemum pycnanthemoides
spotted geranium Geranium maculatum
stiff cowbane Oxypolis rigidior
thickleaf phlox Phlox carolina
trailing arbutus Epigaea repens
twoflower dwarfdandelion Krigia biflora
Venus' pride Houstonia purpurea
Virginia dwarfdandelion Krigia virginica
Virginia strawberry Fragaria virginiana
Virginia tephrosia Tephrosia virginiana
walking fern Asplenium rhizophyllum
white snakeroot Ageratina altissima
whorled yellow loosestrife Lysimachia quadrifolia
wild comfrey Cynoglossum virginianum
wild yam Dioscorea villosa
yellowroot Xanthorhiza simplicissima

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, Pickens County and Georgia
Measure	Pickens County	Typical county	Statewide
Native species	104	129	1,750
Garden-ready natives	43	58	608
Tree	23	—	202
Shrub	12	—	91
Wildflower (forb)	43	—	908
Grass or grass-like	10	—	403
Vine	2	—	78
Fern	14	—	68

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Pickens County.

Cherokee County, GA 98 garden-ready
Dawson County, GA 81 garden-ready
Gilmer County, GA 73 garden-ready
Gordon County, GA 65 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: Pickens County (county FIPS 13227), Georgia. 104 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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