Native plants · Iowa

Native plants of Decatur County

91 plant species are recorded as native to Iowa in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Decatur County by USDA PLANTS. 51 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness. 1 more species is listed as both native and introduced and kept in a separate section.

County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

Decatur County, Iowa

Native species: 91 Typical Iowa county: 44 (median of 99 counties)
Garden-ready natives: 51 Typical Iowa county: 24
Share by type (all 91 native species): Percent of the 91 native species in each growth type

Tree 3% (3)
Wildflower (forb) 37% (34)
Grass or grass-like 53% (48)
Vine 1% (1)
Fern 5% (5)

Grasses and grass-like plants make up the largest share of the native list (53%), followed by wildflowers (37%).

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 5b (2023 map).

The native plant list

Garden-ready natives 51

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

Garden-ready native plants of Decatur County, Iowa
Plant	Type	Height	Light	Water use	Hardy to
Atlantic camas Camassia scilloides	Wildflower (forb)	2.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4b
big bluestem Andropogon gerardii	Grass or grass-like	6 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 2b
blackjack oak Quercus marilandica	Tree	25 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 6a
bluejoint Calamagrostis canadensis	Grass or grass-like	4.9 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4a
broadleaf rosette grass Dichanthelium latifolium	Grass or grass-like	3.3 ft	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 3a
Canada wildrye Elymus canadensis	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3a
Carolina foxtail Alopecurus carolinianus	Grass or grass-like	1.7 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3a
common cowparsnip Heracleum maximum	Wildflower (forb)	8 ft	Sun	High	Zone 3b
eastern gamagrass Tripsacum dactyloides	Grass or grass-like	5 ft	Sun	High	Zone 5a
fall panicgrass Panicum dichotomiflorum	Grass or grass-like	3.3 ft	Sun	High	Zone 3a
field horsetail Equisetum arvense	Fern	11 in	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 3a
fowl mannagrass Glyceria striata	Grass or grass-like	5.7 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3b
harvestlice Agrimonia parviflora	Wildflower (forb)	6 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 4a
Indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans	Grass or grass-like	6 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
limestone wild petunia Ruellia strepens	Wildflower (forb)	3.6 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 6a
little barley Hordeum pusillum	Grass or grass-like	1.2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 10b
Malabar sprangletop Leptochloa fusca	Grass or grass-like	3.3 ft	Sun	High	Zone 3a
marsh muhly Muhlenbergia racemosa	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3b
narrowleaf blue-eyed grass Sisyrinchium angustifolium	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 7a
nimblewill Muhlenbergia schreberi	Grass or grass-like	3.2 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 4a
nodding beggartick Bidens cernua	Wildflower (forb)	3.2 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 12a
nodding fescue Festuca subverticillata	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 3a
northern maidenhair Adiantum pedatum	Fern	1.3 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3b
Pennsylvania bittercress Cardamine pensylvanica	Wildflower (forb)	1.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4a
pin oak Quercus palustris	Tree	100 ft	Sun	High	Zone 4a
pinnate prairie coneflower Ratibida pinnata	Wildflower (forb)	4 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
porcupinegrass Hesperostipa spartea	Grass or grass-like	4 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
prairie cordgrass Spartina pectinata	Grass or grass-like	8 ft	Sun	High	Zone 3b
prairie dropseed Sporobolus heterolepis	Grass or grass-like	2.3 ft	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 3b
prairie Junegrass Koeleria macrantha	Grass or grass-like	1.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 3b
prairie sandreed Calamovilfa longifolia	Grass or grass-like	4.5 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
prairie wedgescale Sphenopholis obtusata	Grass or grass-like	3.2 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 3a
purple lovegrass Eragrostis spectabilis	Grass or grass-like	11 in	Sun	Low	Zone 3a
purplestem beggarticks Bidens connata	Wildflower (forb)	3.2 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 12a
purpletop tridens Tridens flavus	Grass or grass-like	2.5 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 5a
sharpwing monkeyflower Mimulus alatus	Wildflower (forb)	2.3 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 5a
shellbark hickory Carya laciniosa	Tree	100 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 5a
shortawn foxtail Alopecurus aequalis	Grass or grass-like	2.5 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 3b
sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3a
slender spikerush Eleocharis tenuis	Grass or grass-like	2.9 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 5a
smooth horsetail Equisetum laevigatum	Fern	5 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3b
stalkless yellowcress Rorippa sessiliflora	Wildflower (forb)	1.5 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 12b
swamp milkweed Asclepias incarnata	Wildflower (forb)	4.9 ft	Sun	High	Zone 3b
switchgrass Panicum virgatum	Grass or grass-like	5 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3a
teal lovegrass Eragrostis hypnoides	Grass or grass-like	4 in	Sun	High	Zone 3b
threelobe beggarticks Bidens tripartita	Wildflower (forb)	3.5 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 12a
upland bentgrass Agrostis perennans	Grass or grass-like	3.5 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 4a
Virginia wildrye Elymus virginicus	Grass or grass-like	2.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4b
western wheatgrass Pascopyrum smithii	Grass or grass-like	2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3a
winter bentgrass Agrostis hyemalis	Grass or grass-like	3.5 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 4a
wirestem muhly Muhlenbergia frondosa	Grass or grass-like	2 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3b

Other native species recorded here 40

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.

bearded shorthusk Brachyelytrum erectum
bluejacket Tradescantia ohiensis
bluntlobe cliff fern Woodsia obtusa
Canadian blacksnakeroot Sanicula canadensis
Canadian honewort Cryptotaenia canadensis
clustered blacksnakeroot Sanicula odorata
common cinquefoil Potentilla simplex
earlyleaf brome Bromus latiglumis
eastern bottlebrush grass Elymus hystrix
foxtail barley Hordeum jubatum
hairy wildrye Elymus villosus
hairy woodland brome Bromus pubescens
hazel dodder Cuscuta coryli
meadow garlic Allium canadense
northern slender lady's tresses Spiranthes lacera
Nuttall's prairie parsley Polytaenia nuttallii
poverty dropseed Sporobolus vaginiflorus
prairie groundsel Packera plattensis
prairie milkweed Asclepias sullivantii
prairie threeawn Aristida oligantha
purple milkweed Asclepias purpurascens
rock muhly Muhlenbergia sobolifera
rough barnyardgrass Echinochloa muricata
roundfruit hedgehyssop Gratiola virginiana
roundstem false foxglove Agalinis gattingeri
sensitive fern Onoclea sensibilis
slender wedgescale Sphenopholis intermedia
slimleaf panicgrass Dichanthelium linearifolium
spotted water hemlock Cicuta maculata
spreading chervil Chaerophyllum procumbens
strawberry-tomato Physalis grisea
threeflower melicgrass Melica nitens
tufted lovegrass Eragrostis pectinacea
western silver aster Symphyotrichum sericeum
white lady's slipper Cypripedium candidum
whitehair rosette grass Dichanthelium villosissimum
whorled milkweed Asclepias verticillata
whorled mountainmint Pycnanthemum verticillatum
witchgrass Panicum capillare
yellow pimpernel Taenidia integerrima

Also listed as native and introduced here 1

PLANTS labels these species both native and introduced in this state: some forms are native and others were brought in from elsewhere. Most gardeners should choose plants from the main list.

Kentucky bluegrassPoa pratensis

Compared with Iowa

The typical county is the median of the 99 Iowa 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, Decatur County and Iowa
Measure	Decatur County	Typical county	Statewide
Native species	91	44	1,374
Garden-ready natives	51	24	496
Tree	3	—	110
Shrub	0	—	72
Wildflower (forb)	34	—	779
Grass or grass-like	48	—	298
Vine	1	—	55
Fern	5	—	60

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Decatur County.

Clarke County, IA 24 garden-ready
Ringgold County, IA 87 garden-ready
Wayne County, IA 14 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: Decatur County (county FIPS 19053), Iowa. 91 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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