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Native plants · Iowa

Native plants of Taylor County

223 plant species are recorded as native to Iowa in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Taylor County by USDA PLANTS. 113 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness.

County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

Taylor County, Iowa

Native species
223 Typical Iowa county: 44 (median of 99 counties)
Garden-ready natives
113 Typical Iowa county: 24
Share by type (all 223 native species)
Percent of the 223 native species in each growth type
Tree 11% (25)
Shrub 4% (9)
Wildflower (forb) 57% (128)
Grass or grass-like 20% (45)
Vine 5% (12)
Fern 2% (4)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (57%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (20%).

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

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

Garden-ready natives 113

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

Garden-ready native plants of Taylor County, Iowa
PlantType HeightLight Water useHardy to
Allegheny blackberry Rubus allegheniensis Shrub 6 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4b
American basswood Tilia americana Tree 100 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 2b
American bellflower Campanulastrum americanum Wildflower (forb) 6 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 12b
American black currant Ribes americanum Shrub 3 ft — — Zone 2b
American hazelnut Corylus americana Shrub 10 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
American lotus Nelumbo lutea Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun High Zone 3b
American water plantain Alisma subcordatum Wildflower (forb) 6 in Sun High Zone 4a
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 cherry Prunus serotina Tree 80 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
black oak Quercus velutina Tree 80 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
black walnut Juglans nigra Tree 100 ft Sun High Zone 4b
black willow Salix nigra Tree 100 ft Sun High Zone 1b
blackhaw Viburnum prunifolium Tree 16 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
bluejoint Calamagrostis canadensis Grass or grass-like 4.9 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
blunt broom sedge Carex tribuloides Grass or grass-like 3 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4b
broadleaf rosette grass Dichanthelium latifolium Grass or grass-like 3.3 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3a
broom sedge Carex scoparia Grass or grass-like 2.5 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3b
burningbush Euonymus atropurpureus Tree 10 ft Shade-tolerant Low —
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 milkvetch Astragalus canadensis Wildflower (forb) 6 in Sun Medium Zone 3b
Carolina foxtail Alopecurus carolinianus Grass or grass-like 1.7 ft Sun Low Zone 3a
climbing rose Rosa setigera Vine 16 ft Sun Low Zone 6a
cockspur hawthorn Crataegus crus-galli Tree 30 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
common blue violet Viola sororia Wildflower (forb) 4 in Sun–part shade High Zone 4b
common blue wood aster Symphyotrichum cordifolium Wildflower (forb) 5 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
common duckweed Lemna minor Wildflower (forb) — Sun High Zone 3b
common selfheal Prunella vulgaris Wildflower (forb) 1.5 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
common sneezeweed Helenium autumnale Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
coralberry Symphoricarpos orbiculatus Shrub 2 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 5a
crested sedge Carex cristatella Grass or grass-like 3 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4a
cup plant Silphium perfoliatum Wildflower (forb) 6 ft Sun–part shade — Zone 2b
ditch stonecrop Penthorum sedoides Wildflower (forb) 2.6 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4b
dotted smartweed Polygonum punctatum Wildflower (forb) 3.2 ft Sun Medium Zone 10b
eastern woodland sedge Carex blanda Grass or grass-like 2 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4b
fowl mannagrass Glyceria striata Grass or grass-like 5.7 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3b
fox sedge Carex vulpinoidea Grass or grass-like 3.2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
fringeleaf wild petunia Ruellia humilis Wildflower (forb) 2.6 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 4a
giant goldenrod Solidago gigantea Wildflower (forb) 8.2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
Gray's sedge Carex grayi Grass or grass-like 3 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4a
great St. Johnswort Hypericum ascyron Wildflower (forb) 5 ft Sun Medium Zone 5a
greater straw sedge Carex normalis Grass or grass-like 5 ft Shade-tolerant High 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
groundnut Apios americana Vine 1 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 5a
honeylocust Gleditsia triacanthos Tree 70 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
hop sedge Carex lupulina Grass or grass-like 4.3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
Illinois bundleflower Desmanthus illinoensis Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 5b
Indianhemp Apocynum cannabinum Wildflower (forb) 3.3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3a
inland rush Juncus interior Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
leadplant Amorpha canescens Shrub 4 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 3b
longleaf pondweed Potamogeton nodosus Wildflower (forb) — Sun High Zone 3b
Maryland senna Senna marilandica Wildflower (forb) 6.6 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 5b
mockernut hickory Carya tomentosa Tree 85 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
nannyberry Viburnum lentago Tree 28 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
New Jersey tea Ceanothus americanus Shrub 3 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 4b
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
Ohio buckeye Aesculus glabra Tree 68 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
oval-leaf sedge Carex cephalophora Grass or grass-like 2.6 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 4a
partridge pea Chamaecrista fasciculata Wildflower (forb) 2.4 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 7a
pawpaw Asimina triloba Tree 25 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4b
peachleaf willow Salix amygdaloides Tree 60 ft Sun High Zone 4a
Pennsylvania smartweed Polygonum pensylvanicum Wildflower (forb) 3.9 ft Sun Medium Zone 10b
pinnate prairie coneflower Ratibida pinnata Wildflower (forb) 4 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
poverty rush Juncus tenuis Grass or grass-like 1.5 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
prairie blazing star Liatris pycnostachya Wildflower (forb) 3.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
prairie crab apple Malus ioensis Tree 25 ft Sun Medium Zone 4b
prairie fleabane Erigeron strigosus Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 4b
prairie wedgescale Sphenopholis obtusata Grass or grass-like 3.2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3a
prairie willow Salix humilis Shrub 10 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3a
purpletop tridens Tridens flavus Grass or grass-like 2.5 ft Sun Low Zone 5a
red mulberry Morus rubra Tree 70 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
redroot flatsedge Cyperus erythrorhizos Grass or grass-like 2.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 11a
reed canarygrass Phalaris arundinacea Grass or grass-like 5 ft Sun High Zone 3b
river bulrush Bolboschoenus fluviatilis Grass or grass-like 6.6 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
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
sago pondweed Stuckenia pectinata Wildflower (forb) — Sun High Zone 3b
sandbar willow Salix interior Tree 30 ft Sun — Zone 1a
sawtooth sunflower Helianthus grosseserratus Wildflower (forb) 5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
shagbark hickory Carya ovata Tree 75 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3a
shingle oak Quercus imbricaria Tree 45 ft Sun Medium Zone 5b
sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
slender flatsedge Cyperus bipartitus Grass or grass-like 5 ft Sun Medium Zone 10b
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
softstem bulrush Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani Grass or grass-like 9 ft Sun High Zone 3b
southern waternymph Najas guadalupensis Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun High Zone 3b
spotted St. Johnswort Hypericum punctatum Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
spring avens Geum vernum Wildflower (forb) 1.6 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 5b
star duckweed Lemna trisulca Wildflower (forb) 4 in Sun High Zone 3b
stiff goldenrod Oligoneuron rigidum Wildflower (forb) 3.6 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3a
Torrey's rush Juncus torreyi Grass or grass-like 3.1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
troublesome sedge Carex molesta Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
upright sedge Carex stricta Grass or grass-like 4.2 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3b
valley redstem Ammannia coccinea Wildflower (forb) 1.6 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
Virginia creeper Parthenocissus quinquefolia Vine 1 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 4b
Virginia iris Iris virginica Wildflower (forb) 3.3 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 8b
Virginia wildrye Elymus virginicus Grass or grass-like 2.5 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4b
white avens Geum canadense Wildflower (forb) 3.9 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
white doll's daisy Boltonia asteroides Wildflower (forb) 8 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
white meadowsweet Spiraea alba Shrub 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
white panicle aster Symphyotrichum lanceolatum Wildflower (forb) 6 ft Sun–part shade High 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
wild blue phlox Phlox divaricata Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
zigzag goldenrod Solidago flexicaulis Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 5b

Other native species recorded here 110

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.

  • bald spikerush Eleocharis erythropoda
  • Baldwin's ironweed Vernonia baldwinii
  • bastard toadflax Comandra umbellata
  • bearded flatsedge Cyperus squarrosus
  • bigbract verbena Verbena bracteata
  • blue skullcap Scutellaria lateriflora
  • bluejacket Tradescantia ohiensis
  • bog yellowcress Rorippa palustris
  • brittle bladderfern Cystopteris fragilis
  • buffalobur nightshade Solanum rostratum
  • button eryngo Eryngium yuccifolium
  • Canada lettuce Lactuca canadensis
  • Canadian blacksnakeroot Sanicula canadensis
  • Carolina horsenettle Solanum carolinense
  • carpenter's square Scrophularia marilandica
  • clustered blacksnakeroot Sanicula odorata
  • Columbian watermeal Wolffia columbiana
  • common milkweed Asclepias syriaca
  • common moonseed Menispermum canadense
  • common pricklyash Zanthoxylum americanum
  • common threeseed mercury Acalypha rhomboidea
  • common yellow oxalis Oxalis stricta
  • compassplant Silphium laciniatum
  • Culver's root Veronicastrum virginicum
  • curlytop knotweed Polygonum lapathifolium
  • Davis' sedge Carex davisii
  • diamond-flowers Stenaria nigricans
  • downy phlox Phlox pilosa
  • Dudley's rush Juncus dudleyi
  • dwarf larkspur Delphinium tricorne
  • eastern daisy fleabane Erigeron annuus
  • eastern waterleaf Hydrophyllum virginianum
  • feverwort Triosteum perfoliatum
  • flowering spurge Euphorbia corollata
  • foxtail barley Hordeum jubatum
  • fragrant bedstraw Galium triflorum
  • fringed loosestrife Lysimachia ciliata
  • golden zizia Zizia aurea
  • great blue lobelia Lobelia siphilitica
  • green dragon Arisaema dracontium
  • grooved flax Linum sulcatum
  • groovestem Indian plantain Arnoglossum plantagineum
  • hairy four o'clock Mirabilis hirsuta
  • hairy hawkweed Hieracium longipilum
  • hairy hedgenettle Stachys pilosa
  • hairy wildrye Elymus villosus
  • Hayden's sedge Carex haydenii
  • hedge false bindweed Calystegia sepium
  • hoary frostweed Helianthemum bicknellii
  • hoary verbena Verbena stricta
  • honeyvine Cynanchum laeve
  • hooded arrowhead Sagittaria calycina
  • lanceleaf buckthorn Rhamnus lanceolata
  • largebracted plantain Plantago aristata
  • Leiberg's panicum Dichanthelium leibergii
  • longbract spiderwort Tradescantia bracteata
  • lowland bladderfern Cystopteris protrusa
  • lowland yellow loosestrife Lysimachia hybrida
  • manyfruit primrose-willow Ludwigia polycarpa
  • mapleleaf goosefoot Chenopodium simplex
  • meadow garlic Allium canadense
  • Michigan lily Lilium michiganense
  • mullein foxglove Dasistoma macrophylla
  • narrowleaf mountainmint Pycnanthemum tenuifolium
  • neckweed Veronica peregrina
  • New England aster Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
  • Norwegian cinquefoil Potentilla norvegica
  • obedient plant Physostegia virginiana
  • oneseed bur cucumber Sicyos angulatus
  • pale dock Rumex altissimus
  • pale spikerush Eleocharis macrostachya
  • palespike lobelia Lobelia spicata
  • plain gentian Gentiana alba
  • poverty dropseed Sporobolus vaginiflorus
  • prairie milkweed Asclepias sullivantii
  • purple giant hyssop Agastache scrophulariifolia
  • purple meadow-rue Thalictrum dasycarpum
  • red columbine Aquilegia canadensis
  • rope dodder Cuscuta glomerata
  • rough barnyardgrass Echinochloa muricata
  • Seneca snakeroot Polygala senega
  • sensitive fern Onoclea sensibilis
  • shortbeak arrowhead Sagittaria brevirostra
  • silky dogwood Cornus obliqua
  • sleepy silene Silene antirrhina
  • slender yellow woodsorrel Oxalis dillenii
  • smooth oxeye Heliopsis helianthoides
  • spotted sandmat Chamaesyce maculata
  • spotted water hemlock Cicuta maculata
  • stiff sunflower Helianthus pauciflorus
  • stiff tickseed Coreopsis palmata
  • swamp verbena Verbena hastata
  • tall thimbleweed Anemone virginiana
  • tall tickseed Coreopsis tripteris
  • tufted lovegrass Eragrostis pectinacea
  • Virginia pepperweed Lepidium virginicum
  • western waterweed Elodea nuttallii
  • white heath aster Symphyotrichum ericoides
  • white vervain Verbena urticifolia
  • wholeleaf rosinweed Silphium integrifolium
  • whorled milkweed Asclepias verticillata
  • widowsfrill Silene stellata
  • wild cucumber Echinocystis lobata
  • wild yam Dioscorea villosa
  • winged lythrum Lythrum alatum
  • wingstem Verbesina alternifolia
  • witchgrass Panicum capillare
  • woman's tobacco Antennaria plantaginifolia
  • woodland lettuce Lactuca floridana
  • yellowseed false pimpernel Lindernia dubia

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, Taylor County and Iowa
MeasureTaylor CountyTypical countyStatewide
Native species 223 44 1,374
Garden-ready natives 113 24 496
Tree 25 — 110
Shrub 9 — 72
Wildflower (forb) 128 — 779
Grass or grass-like 45 — 298
Vine 12 — 55
Fern 4 — 60

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Taylor 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
Taylor County (county FIPS 19173), Iowa. 223 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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