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Native plants · Iowa

Native plants of O'Brien County

214 plant species are recorded as native to Iowa in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in O'Brien County by USDA PLANTS. 94 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness. 2 more species are listed as both native and introduced and kept in a separate section.

County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

O'Brien County, Iowa

Native species
214 Typical Iowa county: 44 (median of 99 counties)
Garden-ready natives
94 Typical Iowa county: 24
Share by type (all 214 native species)
Percent of the 214 native species in each growth type
Tree 8% (18)
Shrub 2% (4)
Wildflower (forb) 60% (128)
Grass or grass-like 24% (51)
Vine 5% (10)
Fern 1% (3)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (60%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (24%).

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 5a (2023 map).

The native plant list

Cold hardiness is estimated from each plant’s PLANTS minimum temperature. How we estimate it.

Garden-ready natives 94

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

Garden-ready native plants of O'Brien County, Iowa
PlantType HeightLight Water useHardy to
American basswood Tilia americana Tree 100 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 2b
American bittersweet Celastrus scandens Vine 15 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3b
American elm Ulmus americana Tree 120 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 2b
American hazelnut Corylus americana Shrub 10 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
American vetch Vicia americana Vine 1.3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
American water horehound Lycopus americanus Wildflower (forb) 1.8 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3b
awlfruit sedge Carex stipata Grass or grass-like 3.5 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3b
Bebb's sedge Carex bebbii Grass or grass-like 3 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3b
Bicknell's sedge Carex bicknellii Grass or grass-like 3.4 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 3b
big bluestem Andropogon gerardii Grass or grass-like 6 ft Sun Low Zone 2b
black walnut Juglans nigra Tree 100 ft Sun High Zone 4b
blue grama Bouteloua gracilis Grass or grass-like 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
boxelder Acer negundo Tree 60 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 2b
broadfruit bur-reed Sparganium eurycarpum Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4a
bulbous bittercress Cardamine bulbosa Wildflower (forb) 1.4 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
bur oak Quercus macrocarpa Tree 100 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
butterfly milkweed Asclepias tuberosa Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
Canada goldenrod Solidago altissima Wildflower (forb) 5 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4b
Canada wildrye Elymus canadensis Grass or grass-like 3 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3a
Canadian horseweed Conyza canadensis Wildflower (forb) 5 ft Sun Medium Zone 12b
Canadian milkvetch Astragalus canadensis Wildflower (forb) 6 in Sun Medium Zone 3b
chokecherry Prunus virginiana Tree 25 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
common blue violet Viola sororia Wildflower (forb) 4 in Sun–part shade High Zone 4b
common goldstar Hypoxis hirsuta Wildflower (forb) 10 in Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
common sneezeweed Helenium autumnale Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
composite dropseed Sporobolus compositus Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
cup plant Silphium perfoliatum Wildflower (forb) 6 ft Sun–part shade — Zone 2b
devil's beggartick Bidens frondosa Wildflower (forb) 4 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 12a
dotted blazing star Liatris punctata Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides Tree 190 ft Sun High Zone 3a
eastern redcedar Juniperus virginiana Tree 50 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3a
eastern woodland sedge Carex blanda Grass or grass-like 2 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4b
field horsetail Equisetum arvense Fern 11 in Sun–part shade High Zone 3a
field pussytoes Antennaria neglecta Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
fox sedge Carex vulpinoidea Grass or grass-like 3.2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
fragrant flatsedge Cyperus odoratus Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 11b
gray goldenrod Solidago nemoralis Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica Tree 80 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 2b
green bulrush Scirpus atrovirens Grass or grass-like 5.9 ft Sun Medium Zone 2a
hairy grama Bouteloua hirsuta Grass or grass-like 6 in Sun Low Zone 3b
hophornbeam Ostrya virginiana Tree 45 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 3b
Indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans Grass or grass-like 6 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
Indianhemp Apocynum cannabinum Wildflower (forb) 3.3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3a
Jack in the pulpit Arisaema triphyllum Wildflower (forb) 1.5 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 5b
little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
littleleaf buttercup Ranunculus abortivus Wildflower (forb) 2.8 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3a
longleaf pondweed Potamogeton nodosus Wildflower (forb) — Sun High Zone 3b
marsh muhly Muhlenbergia racemosa Grass or grass-like 3 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3b
needle and thread Hesperostipa comata Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
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 bedstraw Galium boreale Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
partridge pea Chamaecrista fasciculata Wildflower (forb) 2.4 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 7a
peachleaf willow Salix amygdaloides Tree 60 ft Sun High Zone 4a
Pennsylvania smartweed Polygonum pensylvanicum Wildflower (forb) 3.9 ft Sun Medium Zone 10b
Philadelphia fleabane Erigeron philadelphicus Wildflower (forb) 2.8 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4b
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 fleabane Erigeron strigosus Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 4b
prairie Junegrass Koeleria macrantha Grass or grass-like 1.5 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3b
purple milkvetch Astragalus agrestis Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
rattlesnake fern Botrychium virginianum Fern 1.4 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3b
redosier dogwood Cornus sericea Tree 12 ft Sun High Zone 3b
reed canarygrass Phalaris arundinacea Grass or grass-like 5 ft Sun High Zone 3b
rice cutgrass Leersia oryzoides Grass or grass-like 4.9 ft Sun High Zone 4a
riverbank grape Vitis riparia Vine 45 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
roughfruit amaranth Amaranthus tuberculatus Wildflower (forb) 6.6 ft Sun High Zone 4a
roughleaf dogwood Cornus drummondii Tree 20 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 4b
roundhead lespedeza Lespedeza capitata Wildflower (forb) 2.6 ft Sun Low Zone 4b
sandbar willow Salix interior Tree 30 ft Sun — Zone 1a
sawtooth sunflower Helianthus grosseserratus Wildflower (forb) 5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
silver maple Acer saccharinum Tree 90 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 2b
slender wheatgrass Elymus trachycaulus Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
slippery elm Ulmus rubra Tree 85 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3a
smooth blue aster Symphyotrichum laeve Wildflower (forb) 4 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
smooth horsetail Equisetum laevigatum Fern 5 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
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
tall cinquefoil Potentilla arguta Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
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
Torrey's rush Juncus torreyi Grass or grass-like 3.1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
upland bentgrass Agrostis perennans Grass or grass-like 3.5 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4a
upright sedge Carex stricta Grass or grass-like 4.2 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3b
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
wheat sedge Carex atherodes Grass or grass-like 5 ft Sun High Zone 3b
white avens Geum canadense Wildflower (forb) 3.9 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
white prairie clover Dalea candida Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
white sagebrush Artemisia ludoviciana Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
woolly plantain Plantago patagonica Wildflower (forb) 6 in Sun Low Zone 12b

Other native species recorded here 120

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 ginseng Panax quinquefolius
  • American hogpeanut Amphicarpaea bracteata
  • American lopseed Phryma leptostachya
  • American sloughgrass Beckmannia syzigachne
  • arrowleaf violet Viola sagittata
  • Aunt Lucy Ellisia nyctelea
  • autumn onion Allium stellatum
  • bald spikerush Eleocharis erythropoda
  • bearded flatsedge Cyperus squarrosus
  • biannual lettuce Lactuca ludoviciana
  • bigbract verbena Verbena bracteata
  • blackseed plantain Plantago rugelii
  • bloodroot Sanguinaria canadensis
  • bog yellowcress Rorippa palustris
  • bottlebrush sedge Carex hystericina
  • Canadian anemone Anemone canadensis
  • Canadian honewort Cryptotaenia canadensis
  • Canadian wildginger Asarum canadense
  • candle anemone Anemone cylindrica
  • Carolina larkspur Delphinium carolinianum
  • Clayton's sweetroot Osmorhiza claytonii
  • clustered blacksnakeroot Sanicula odorata
  • common milkweed Asclepias syriaca
  • common pricklyash Zanthoxylum americanum
  • compassplant Silphium laciniatum
  • Culver's root Veronicastrum virginicum
  • curlycup gumweed Grindelia squarrosa
  • curlytop knotweed Polygonum lapathifolium
  • downy phlox Phlox pilosa
  • Dudley's rush Juncus dudleyi
  • dutchman's breeches Dicentra cucullaria
  • eastern daisy fleabane Erigeron annuus
  • eastern poison ivy Toxicodendron radicans
  • eastern waterleaf Hydrophyllum virginianum
  • fleshy hawthorn Crataegus succulenta
  • Flodman's thistle Cirsium flodmanii
  • foxtail barley Hordeum jubatum
  • fringed loosestrife Lysimachia ciliata
  • golden zizia Zizia aurea
  • great blue lobelia Lobelia siphilitica
  • great ragweed Ambrosia trifida
  • Greek valerian Polemonium reptans
  • green comet milkweed Asclepias viridiflora
  • groovestem Indian plantain Arnoglossum plantagineum
  • groundplum milkvetch Astragalus crassicarpus
  • hairy wildrye Elymus villosus
  • hairyjoint meadowparsnip Thaspium barbinode
  • heartleaf four o'clock Mirabilis nyctaginea
  • heavy sedge Carex gravida
  • hedge false bindweed Calystegia sepium
  • Heller's rosette grass Dichanthelium oligosanthes
  • hemlock waterparsnip Sium suave
  • hoary puccoon Lithospermum canescens
  • hoary verbena Verbena stricta
  • Jersey tea Ceanothus herbaceus
  • lacy tansyaster Machaeranthera pinnatifida
  • large beardtongue Penstemon grandiflorus
  • largeflower bellwort Uvularia grandiflora
  • leathery knotweed Polygonum achoreum
  • Leiberg's panicum Dichanthelium leibergii
  • longbract spiderwort Tradescantia bracteata
  • longleaf groundcherry Physalis longifolia
  • longstyle sweetroot Osmorhiza longistylis
  • Macoun's barley ×Elyhordeum macounii
  • marsh skullcap Scutellaria galericulata
  • Michigan lily Lilium michiganense
  • Missouri gooseberry Ribes missouriense
  • narrowleaf purple coneflower Echinacea angustifolia
  • narrowleaf stoneseed Lithospermum incisum
  • needleleaf sedge Carex duriuscula
  • New England aster Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
  • Northern Idaho biscuitroot Lomatium orientale
  • northern sweetgrass Hierochloe hirta
  • Norwegian cinquefoil Potentilla norvegica
  • pale dock Rumex altissimus
  • Pennsylvania pellitory Parietaria pensylvanica
  • poverty dropseed Sporobolus vaginiflorus
  • prairie blue-eyed grass Sisyrinchium campestre
  • prairie goldenrod Oligoneuron album
  • prairie groundsel Packera plattensis
  • prairie rose Rosa arkansana
  • prairie threeawn Aristida oligantha
  • ramp Allium tricoccum
  • red baneberry Actaea rubra
  • red columbine Aquilegia canadensis
  • ribseed sandmat Chamaesyce glyptosperma
  • Richardson's alumroot Heuchera richardsonii
  • rosy sedge Carex rosea
  • rough false pennyroyal Hedeoma hispida
  • shortbeak sedge Carex brevior
  • silverleaf Indian breadroot Pediomelum argophyllum
  • sleepy silene Silene antirrhina
  • slender yellow woodsorrel Oxalis dillenii
  • small skullcap Scutellaria parvula
  • smooth oxeye Heliopsis helianthoides
  • smooth Solomon's seal Polygonatum biflorum
  • snow on the mountain Euphorbia marginata
  • snow trillium Trillium nivale
  • soft-hair marbleseed Onosmodium bejariense
  • starry false lily of the valley Maianthemum stellatum
  • stiff sunflower Helianthus pauciflorus
  • stiff tickseed Coreopsis palmata
  • swamp verbena Verbena hastata
  • tall blazing star Liatris aspera
  • upright carrionflower Smilax ecirrhata
  • veiny pea Lathyrus venosus
  • violet woodsorrel Oxalis violacea
  • Virginia groundcherry Physalis virginiana
  • Virginia mountainmint Pycnanthemum virginianum
  • Virginia strawberry Fragaria virginiana
  • western poison ivy Toxicodendron rydbergii
  • western silver aster Symphyotrichum sericeum
  • western tansymustard Descurainia pinnata
  • white four o'clock Mirabilis albida
  • white heath aster Symphyotrichum ericoides
  • whorled milkweed Asclepias verticillata
  • whorled milkwort Polygala verticillata
  • widowsfrill Silene stellata
  • witchgrass Panicum capillare
  • woodbine Parthenocissus vitacea
Also listed as native and introduced here 2

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.

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, O'Brien County and Iowa
MeasureO'Brien CountyTypical countyStatewide
Native species 214 44 1,374
Garden-ready natives 94 24 496
Tree 18 — 110
Shrub 4 — 72
Wildflower (forb) 128 — 779
Grass or grass-like 51 — 298
Vine 10 — 55
Fern 3 — 60

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with O'Brien County.

Look up another ZIP

Matches your ZIP to the county it mostly lies in, then lists the plants recorded as native to your state (Kew’s World Checklist and USDA PLANTS) and recorded in that county by USDA PLANTS.

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
O'Brien County (county FIPS 19141), Iowa. 214 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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