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Native plants · Idaho

Native plants of Madison County

92 plant species are recorded as native to Idaho in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Madison County by USDA PLANTS. 58 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

Madison County, Idaho

Native species
92 Typical Idaho county: 302 (median of 44 counties)
Garden-ready natives
58 Typical Idaho county: 211
Share by type (all 92 native species)
Percent of the 92 native species in each growth type
Tree 7% (6)
Shrub 11% (10)
Wildflower (forb) 58% (53)
Grass or grass-like 24% (22)
Fern 1% (1)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (58%), 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 58

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

Garden-ready native plants of Madison County, Idaho
PlantType HeightLight Water useHardy to
alpine timothy Phleum alpinum Grass or grass-like 1.4 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3a
American speedwell Veronica americana Wildflower (forb) 10 in Shade-tolerant High Zone 3b
Anderson's larkspur Delphinium andersonii Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 5b
arrowleaf balsamroot Balsamorhiza sagittata Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
blue wildrye Elymus glaucus Grass or grass-like 3.3 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 3b
boxelder Acer negundo Tree 60 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 2b
California oatgrass Danthonia californica Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 9a
Columbia needlegrass Achnatherum nelsonii Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Low Zone 4b
common sneezeweed Helenium autumnale Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
common snowberry Symphoricarpos albus Shrub 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
cous biscuitroot Lomatium cous Wildflower (forb) 10 in Sun Low Zone 4b
cursed buttercup Ranunculus sceleratus Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 12b
Drummond's willow Salix drummondiana Shrub 12 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4b
fernleaf biscuitroot Lomatium dissectum Wildflower (forb) 15 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 8a
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
golden currant Ribes aureum Shrub 10 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3b
granite prickly phlox Linanthus pungens Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 4a
heartleaf arnica Arnica cordifolia Wildflower (forb) 1.5 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4b
Idaho fescue Festuca idahoensis Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
lambstongue ragwort Senecio integerrimus Wildflower (forb) 1.1 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
longbeak buttercup Ranunculus longirostris Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4b
marsh muhly Muhlenbergia racemosa Grass or grass-like 3 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3b
meadow barley Hordeum brachyantherum Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
muttongrass Poa fendleriana Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
narrowleaf cottonwood Populus angustifolia Tree 60 ft Sun High Zone 4b
narrowleaf willow Salix exigua Tree 10 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3b
needle spikerush Eleocharis acicularis Grass or grass-like 8 in Sun Medium Zone 5a
pale agoseris Agoseris glauca Shrub 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
pale evening primrose Oenothera pallida Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
Rainier pleated gentian Gentiana calycosa Wildflower (forb) 7 in Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 8a
red elderberry Sambucus racemosa Tree 18 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4a
Rocky Mountain beeplant Cleome serrulata Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 12b
Rocky Mountain maple Acer glabrum Tree 30 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3a
Ross' sedge Carex rossii Grass or grass-like 1 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
Sandberg bluegrass Poa secunda Grass or grass-like 1.4 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3b
scabland penstemon Penstemon deustus Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
showy milkweed Asclepias speciosa Wildflower (forb) 6 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
silverberry Elaeagnus commutata Shrub 12 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
skunkbush sumac Rhus trilobata Shrub 4 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 2a
slender cinquefoil Potentilla gracilis Wildflower (forb) 2.4 ft Sun Low Zone 3a
slender hairgrass Deschampsia elongata Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
slender wheatgrass Elymus trachycaulus Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
slenderbeak sedge Carex athrostachya Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4a
small enchanter's nightshade Circaea alpina Wildflower (forb) 11 in Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3b
textile onion Allium textile Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
thinleaf huckleberry Vaccinium membranaceum Shrub 4.5 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3b
threadleaf fleabane Erigeron filifolius Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun Low Zone 6a
tufted evening primrose Oenothera caespitosa Wildflower (forb) 6 in Sun Low Zone 6a
Wasatch beardtongue Penstemon cyananthus Wildflower (forb) 2.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 5a
western snowberry Symphoricarpos occidentalis Shrub 3 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3b
western valerian Valeriana occidentalis Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun High Zone 4b
western wheatgrass Pascopyrum smithii Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
white sagebrush Artemisia ludoviciana Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
Woods' rose Rosa woodsii Shrub 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3a
yellow rabbitbrush Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus Shrub 3 ft Sun Low Zone 5a
yellow spiderflower Cleome lutea Wildflower (forb) 2.7 ft Sun Low Zone 12a
yellow willow Salix lutea Tree 16 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3a

Other native species recorded here 34

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 sloughgrass Beckmannia syzigachne
  • balsam groundsel Packera paupercula
  • bastard toadflax Comandra umbellata
  • Bicknell's cranesbill Geranium bicknellii
  • bluntleaf sandwort Moehringia lateriflora
  • curlycup gumweed Grindelia squarrosa
  • cutleaf nightshade Solanum triflorum
  • elkweed Frasera speciosa
  • false mermaidweed Floerkea proserpinacoides
  • flatspine stickseed Lappula occidentalis
  • foxtail barley Hordeum jubatum
  • fringed loosestrife Lysimachia ciliata
  • fringed willowherb Epilobium ciliatum
  • hookedspur violet Viola adunca
  • knotsheath sedge Carex retrorsa
  • lanceleaf figwort Scrophularia lanceolata
  • lemon scurfpea Psoralidium lanceolatum
  • lesser wirelettuce Stephanomeria minor
  • manybranched pepperweed Lepidium ramosissimum
  • meadow deathcamas Zigadenus venenosus
  • painted milkvetch Astragalus ceramicus
  • plains springparsley Cymopterus acaulis
  • povertyweed Iva axillaris
  • Scouler's popcornflower Plagiobothrys scouleri
  • spring coralroot Corallorhiza wisteriana
  • stream orchid Epipactis gigantea
  • summer coralroot Corallorhiza maculata
  • sweetcicely Osmorhiza berteroi
  • tall annual willowherb Epilobium brachycarpum
  • warty spurge Euphorbia spathulata
  • water whorlgrass Catabrosa aquatica
  • western tansymustard Descurainia pinnata
  • witchgrass Panicum capillare
  • woolly sedge Carex pellita
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 Idaho

The typical county is the median of the 44 Idaho 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, Madison County and Idaho
MeasureMadison CountyTypical countyStatewide
Native species 92 302 975
Garden-ready natives 58 211 591
Tree 6 — 65
Shrub 10 — 97
Wildflower (forb) 53 — 552
Grass or grass-like 22 — 206
Vine 0 — 14
Fern 1 — 41

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Madison 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
Madison County (county FIPS 16065), Idaho. 92 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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