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Native plants · Iowa

Native plants of Plymouth County

202 plant species are recorded as native to Iowa in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Plymouth County by USDA PLANTS. 97 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

Plymouth County, Iowa

Native species
202 Typical Iowa county: 44 (median of 99 counties)
Garden-ready natives
97 Typical Iowa county: 24
Share by type (all 202 native species)
Percent of the 202 native species in each growth type
Tree 10% (20)
Shrub 5% (10)
Wildflower (forb) 62% (126)
Grass or grass-like 16% (32)
Vine 5% (11)
Fern 1% (3)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (62%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (16%).

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 97

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

Garden-ready native plants of Plymouth County, Iowa
PlantType HeightLight Water useHardy to
American basswood Tilia americana Tree 100 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 2b
American black currant Ribes americanum Shrub 3 ft — — Zone 2b
American vetch Vicia americana Vine 1.3 ft Sun Low 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
bitternut hickory Carya cordiformis Tree 75 ft Sun Medium Zone 2b
black raspberry Rubus occidentalis Shrub 6 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4b
black walnut Juglans nigra Tree 100 ft Sun High Zone 4b
blue cohosh Caulophyllum thalictroides Wildflower (forb) 2.5 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
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
broadleaf arrowhead Sagittaria latifolia Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Sun High Zone 4a
broadleaf cattail Typha latifolia Wildflower (forb) 5 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3b
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 germander Teucrium canadense Wildflower (forb) 3.3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3a
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
cloaked bulrush Scirpus pallidus Grass or grass-like 5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
common blue violet Viola sororia Wildflower (forb) 4 in Sun–part shade High Zone 4b
common evening primrose Oenothera biennis Wildflower (forb) 5 ft Sun Medium Zone 4b
composite dropseed Sporobolus compositus Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
coon's tail Ceratophyllum demersum Wildflower (forb) — Sun–part shade High 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
downy paintedcup Castilleja sessiliflora Wildflower (forb) 1.3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides Tree 190 ft Sun High 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
fragrant flatsedge Cyperus odoratus Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 11b
frost grape Vitis vulpina Vine 83 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 5a
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
honeylocust Gleditsia triacanthos Tree 70 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
hophornbeam Ostrya virginiana Tree 45 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 3b
Illinois bundleflower Desmanthus illinoensis Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 5b
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
jewelweed Impatiens capensis Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 10b
Kentucky coffeetree Gymnocladus dioicus Tree 100 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
lambstongue ragwort Senecio integerrimus Wildflower (forb) 1.1 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
largeleaf pondweed Potamogeton amplifolius Wildflower (forb) — Sun High Zone 4a
leadplant Amorpha canescens Shrub 4 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 3b
leafy pondweed Potamogeton foliosus Wildflower (forb) — Sun High Zone 3b
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
Missouri River willow Salix eriocephala Tree 52 ft Shade-tolerant High 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 catalpa Catalpa speciosa Tree 60 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
pale touch-me-not Impatiens pallida Wildflower (forb) 8.2 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 10b
Pennsylvania smartweed Polygonum pensylvanicum Wildflower (forb) 3.9 ft Sun Medium Zone 10b
plains muhly Muhlenbergia cuspidata Grass or grass-like 1.4 ft Sun 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
prairie sandreed Calamovilfa longifolia Grass or grass-like 4.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
prairie willow Salix humilis Shrub 10 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3a
purple locoweed Oxytropis lambertii Wildflower (forb) 1.4 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
pussy willow Salix discolor Tree 40 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4a
rattlesnake fern Botrychium virginianum Fern 1.4 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3b
riverbank grape Vitis riparia Vine 45 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
Rocky Mountain beeplant Cleome serrulata Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 12b
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
sago pondweed Stuckenia pectinata Wildflower (forb) — Sun High Zone 3b
sand dropseed Sporobolus cryptandrus Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
sandbar willow Salix interior Tree 30 ft Sun — Zone 1a
scarlet globemallow Sphaeralcea coccinea Wildflower (forb) 1.5 ft Sun Low Zone 5a
sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
silver buffaloberry Shepherdia argentea Tree 18 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
silver maple Acer saccharinum Tree 90 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 2b
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
smooth sumac Rhus glabra Tree 12 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
soapweed yucca Yucca glauca Shrub 1 ft Sun Low Zone 4b
softstem bulrush Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani Grass or grass-like 9 ft Sun High Zone 3b
swamp milkweed Asclepias incarnata Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Sun High Zone 3b
tall cinquefoil Potentilla arguta Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
tenpetal blazingstar Mentzelia decapetala Wildflower (forb) 3.5 ft Sun Medium 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
upright prairie coneflower Ratibida columnifera Wildflower (forb) 3.1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
western snowberry Symphoricarpos occidentalis Shrub 3 ft Sun–part shade Low 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
wild bergamot Monarda fistulosa Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4a

Other native species recorded here 105

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 hogpeanut Amphicarpaea bracteata
  • American lopseed Phryma leptostachya
  • aromatic aster Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
  • bastard toadflax Comandra umbellata
  • beggarslice Hackelia virginiana
  • big devils beggartick Bidens vulgata
  • blackseed plantain Plantago rugelii
  • blue skullcap Scutellaria lateriflora
  • bristly greenbrier Smilax tamnoides
  • buffalobur nightshade Solanum rostratum
  • Canadian anemone Anemone canadensis
  • Canadian blacksnakeroot Sanicula canadensis
  • Carolina larkspur Delphinium carolinianum
  • common milkweed Asclepias syriaca
  • common moonseed Menispermum canadense
  • common threeseed mercury Acalypha rhomboidea
  • common yellow oxalis Oxalis stricta
  • compassplant Silphium laciniatum
  • curlytop knotweed Polygonum lapathifolium
  • desert goosefoot Chenopodium pratericola
  • downy gentian Gentiana puberulenta
  • downy phlox Phlox pilosa
  • dutchman's breeches Dicentra cucullaria
  • dwarf horseweed Conyza ramosissima
  • eastern poison ivy Toxicodendron radicans
  • eastern waterleaf Hydrophyllum virginianum
  • fetid marigold Dyssodia papposa
  • Flodman's thistle Cirsium flodmanii
  • fluxweed Trichostema brachiatum
  • foxtail barley Hordeum jubatum
  • fragrant bedstraw Galium triflorum
  • fringed loosestrife Lysimachia ciliata
  • grassleaf mudplantain Heteranthera dubia
  • great ragweed Ambrosia trifida
  • green comet milkweed Asclepias viridiflora
  • groundplum milkvetch Astragalus crassicarpus
  • hairy four o'clock Mirabilis hirsuta
  • hairy wildrye Elymus villosus
  • heartleaf four o'clock Mirabilis nyctaginea
  • heavy sedge Carex gravida
  • hedge false bindweed Calystegia sepium
  • Heller's rosette grass Dichanthelium oligosanthes
  • hoary puccoon Lithospermum canescens
  • hoary verbena Verbena stricta
  • Jersey tea Ceanothus herbaceus
  • lacy tansyaster Machaeranthera pinnatifida
  • lanceleaf figwort Scrophularia lanceolata
  • lanceleaf sage Salvia reflexa
  • large beardtongue Penstemon grandiflorus
  • large Indian breadroot Pediomelum esculentum
  • Leiberg's panicum Dichanthelium leibergii
  • longbract spiderwort Tradescantia bracteata
  • longleaf groundcherry Physalis longifolia
  • mapleleaf goosefoot Chenopodium simplex
  • matted sandmat Chamaesyce serpens
  • Missouri gooseberry Ribes missouriense
  • narrowleaf purple coneflower Echinacea angustifolia
  • narrowleaf stoneseed Lithospermum incisum
  • northern sweetgrass Hierochloe hirta
  • Norwegian cinquefoil Potentilla norvegica
  • oneseed bur cucumber Sicyos angulatus
  • pale dock Rumex altissimus
  • Pennsylvania pellitory Parietaria pensylvanica
  • Pennsylvania sedge Carex pensylvanica
  • pointedleaf ticktrefoil Desmodium glutinosum
  • prairie blue-eyed grass Sisyrinchium campestre
  • prairie false dandelion Nothocalais cuspidata
  • prairie groundsel Packera plattensis
  • prairie rose Rosa arkansana
  • prairie violet Viola pedatifida
  • red columbine Aquilegia canadensis
  • ribseed sandmat Chamaesyce glyptosperma
  • Richardson's pondweed Potamogeton richardsonii
  • rosy sedge Carex rosea
  • rough barnyardgrass Echinochloa muricata
  • rush skeletonplant Lygodesmia juncea
  • scarlet beeblossom Oenothera suffrutescens
  • shortbeak sedge Carex brevior
  • silverleaf Indian breadroot Pediomelum argophyllum
  • smallflower fumewort Corydalis micrantha
  • smooth oxeye Heliopsis helianthoides
  • smooth rose Rosa blanda
  • smooth Solomon's seal Polygonatum biflorum
  • snow on the mountain Euphorbia marginata
  • soft agrimony Agrimonia pubescens
  • soft-hair marbleseed Onosmodium bejariense
  • spotted sandmat Chamaesyce maculata
  • stiff sunflower Helianthus pauciflorus
  • stiffstem flax Linum rigidum
  • swamp verbena Verbena hastata
  • tarragon Artemisia dracunculus
  • toothed spurge Euphorbia dentata
  • tufted lovegrass Eragrostis pectinacea
  • violet woodsorrel Oxalis violacea
  • Virginia springbeauty Claytonia virginica
  • western poison ivy Toxicodendron rydbergii
  • western silver aster Symphyotrichum sericeum
  • western tansymustard Descurainia pinnata
  • white fawnlily Erythronium albidum
  • white heath aster Symphyotrichum ericoides
  • white vervain Verbena urticifolia
  • whorled milkweed Asclepias verticillata
  • whorled milkwort Polygala verticillata
  • witchgrass Panicum capillare
  • woodland strawberry Fragaria vesca
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.

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, Plymouth County and Iowa
MeasurePlymouth CountyTypical countyStatewide
Native species 202 44 1,374
Garden-ready natives 97 24 496
Tree 20 — 110
Shrub 10 — 72
Wildflower (forb) 126 — 779
Grass or grass-like 32 — 298
Vine 11 — 55
Fern 3 — 60

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Plymouth 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
Plymouth County (county FIPS 19149), Iowa. 202 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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