Native plants · Indiana

Native plants of Adams County

255 plant species are recorded as native to Indiana in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Adams County by USDA PLANTS. 122 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

Adams County, Indiana

Native species
255 Typical Indiana county: 494 (median of 92 counties)
Garden-ready natives
122 Typical Indiana county: 211
Share by type (all 255 native species)
Percent of the 255 native species in each growth type
Tree 16% (41)
Shrub 4% (9)
Wildflower (forb) 56% (143)
Grass or grass-like 19% (48)
Vine 4% (10)
Fern 2% (4)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (56%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (19%).

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 6a (2023 map).

The native plant list

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

Garden-ready natives 122

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

Garden-ready native plants of Adams County, Indiana
PlantType HeightLight Water useHardy to
American basswood Tilia americana Tree 100 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 2b
American beech Fagus grandifolia Tree 80 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3a
American bellflower Campanulastrum americanum Wildflower (forb) 6 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 12b
American bittersweet Celastrus scandens Vine 15 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3b
American black currant Ribes americanum Shrub 3 ft — — Zone 2b
American hornbeam Carpinus caroliniana Tree 30 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
American plum Prunus americana Tree 24 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
American pokeweed Phytolacca americana Wildflower (forb) 7.3 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
American water plantain Alisma subcordatum Wildflower (forb) 6 in Sun High Zone 4a
arctic brome Bromus kalmii Grass or grass-like 3 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 4a
awlfruit sedge Carex stipata Grass or grass-like 3.5 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3b
beaked agrimony Agrimonia rostellata Wildflower (forb) 2.3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
bitternut hickory Carya cordiformis Tree 75 ft Sun Medium Zone 2b
black cherry Prunus serotina Tree 80 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
black maple Acer nigrum Tree 100 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 2b
blackeyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 5a
blackhaw Viburnum prunifolium Tree 16 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
blunt broom sedge Carex tribuloides Grass or grass-like 3 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4b
blunt spikerush Eleocharis obtusa Grass or grass-like 1.6 ft Sun Medium Zone 11a
bluntleaf bedstraw Galium obtusum Wildflower (forb) 1.5 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4a
bristly buttercup Ranunculus hispidus Wildflower (forb) 2.5 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
broadleaf rosette grass Dichanthelium latifolium Grass or grass-like 3.3 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3a
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
burningbush Euonymus atropurpureus Tree 10 ft Shade-tolerant Low —
calico aster Symphyotrichum lateriflorum Wildflower (forb) 4 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
Canada goldenrod Solidago altissima Wildflower (forb) 5 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4b
Canada goldenrod Solidago canadensis Wildflower (forb) 3.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
Canadian horseweed Conyza canadensis Wildflower (forb) 5 ft Sun Medium Zone 12b
Carolina rose Rosa carolina Shrub 5 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3a
climbing rose Rosa setigera Vine 16 ft Sun Low Zone 6a
common blue wood aster Symphyotrichum cordifolium Wildflower (forb) 5 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
common buttonbush Cephalanthus occidentalis Tree 15 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4a
common hoptree Ptelea trifoliata Tree 25 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4a
common sneezeweed Helenium autumnale Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
common winterberry Ilex verticillata Tree 10 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4b
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
cutleaf coneflower Rudbeckia laciniata Wildflower (forb) 8.2 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 3b
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
downy arrowwood Viburnum rafinesqueanum Shrub 6 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 3a
eastern redbud Cercis canadensis Tree 30 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 4b
fall panicgrass Panicum dichotomiflorum Grass or grass-like 3.3 ft Sun High Zone 3a
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
fragrant flatsedge Cyperus odoratus Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 11b
Georgia bulrush Scirpus georgianus Grass or grass-like 4.5 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
graceful sedge Carex gracillima Grass or grass-like 3 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
gray dogwood Cornus racemosa Shrub 10 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 2b
Gray's sedge Carex grayi Grass or grass-like 3 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4a
greater straw sedge Carex normalis Grass or grass-like 5 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4a
halberdleaf rosemallow Hibiscus laevis Wildflower (forb) 8 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 6a
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
hophornbeam Ostrya virginiana Tree 45 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 3b
Jack in the pulpit Arisaema triphyllum Wildflower (forb) 1.5 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 5b
Jerusalem artichoke Helianthus tuberosus Wildflower (forb) 9.8 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3a
jewelweed Impatiens capensis Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 10b
Kentucky coffeetree Gymnocladus dioicus Tree 100 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
littleleaf buttercup Ranunculus abortivus Wildflower (forb) 2.8 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3a
longleaf starwort Stellaria longifolia Wildflower (forb) 1.5 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3b
mapleleaf viburnum Viburnum acerifolium Shrub 6 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4b
Mexican muhly Muhlenbergia mexicana Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
Muskingum sedge Carex muskingumensis Grass or grass-like 3 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4a
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
northern red oak Quercus rubra Tree 81 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
northern spicebush Lindera benzoin Tree 12 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 5a
Ohio buckeye Aesculus glabra Tree 68 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
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
Philadelphia fleabane Erigeron philadelphicus Wildflower (forb) 2.8 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4b
pin oak Quercus palustris Tree 100 ft Sun High Zone 4a
poverty rush Juncus tenuis Grass or grass-like 1.5 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
pumpkin ash Fraxinus profunda Tree 120 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 5a
purplestem beggarticks Bidens connata Wildflower (forb) 3.2 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 12a
quaking aspen Populus tremuloides Tree 65 ft Sun High Zone 1a
quill sedge Carex tenera Grass or grass-like 2.5 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
red mulberry Morus rubra Tree 70 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
rice cutgrass Leersia oryzoides Grass or grass-like 4.9 ft Sun High Zone 4a
riverbank wildrye Elymus riparius Grass or grass-like 4.5 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4a
rough avens Geum laciniatum Wildflower (forb) 3.1 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 5a
roughleaf dogwood Cornus drummondii Tree 20 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 4b
sandbar willow Salix interior Tree 30 ft Sun — Zone 1a
sharpwing monkeyflower Mimulus alatus Wildflower (forb) 2.3 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 5a
shingle oak Quercus imbricaria Tree 45 ft Sun Medium Zone 5b
shoreline sedge Carex hyalinolepis Grass or grass-like 4 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4b
Shumard's oak Quercus shumardii Tree 100 ft Sun Medium Zone 5a
silver maple Acer saccharinum Tree 90 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 2b
small beggarticks Bidens discoidea Wildflower (forb) 5.2 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 12b
smooth hedgenettle Stachys tenuifolia Wildflower (forb) 25 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4a
smooth sumac Rhus glabra Tree 12 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
spring avens Geum vernum Wildflower (forb) 1.6 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 5b
squarrose sedge Carex squarrosa Grass or grass-like 3 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4b
stiff marsh bedstraw Galium tinctorium Wildflower (forb) 10 in Shade-tolerant High Zone 4a
sugar maple Acer saccharum Tree 100 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 2b
swamp cottonwood Populus heterophylla Tree 100 ft Sun High Zone 5a
swamp rose Rosa palustris Shrub 8.2 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
swamp white oak Quercus bicolor Tree 100 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4b
sweet woodreed Cinna arundinacea Grass or grass-like 4.9 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 4a
taperleaf water horehound Lycopus rubellus Wildflower (forb) 1.6 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 5a
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 creeper Parthenocissus quinquefolia Vine 1 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 4b
Virginia dayflower Commelina virginica Wildflower (forb) 3.5 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 5b
Virginia iris Iris virginica Wildflower (forb) 3.3 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 8b
Virginia water horehound Lycopus virginicus Wildflower (forb) 4 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4a
Virginia wildrye Elymus virginicus Grass or grass-like 2.5 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4b
white ash Fraxinus americana Tree 90 ft Sun High Zone 4a
white avens Geum canadense Wildflower (forb) 3.9 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
white meadowsweet Spiraea alba Shrub 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
white oak Quercus alba Tree 100 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3a
whitegrass Leersia virginica Grass or grass-like 3.9 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3a
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
winter bentgrass Agrostis hyemalis Grass or grass-like 3.5 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4a
woodland bluegrass Poa sylvestris Grass or grass-like 3 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4a
woolgrass Scirpus cyperinus Grass or grass-like 4.9 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4a
wreath goldenrod Solidago caesia Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4b
zigzag goldenrod Solidago flexicaulis Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 5b

Other native species recorded here 133

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 alumroot Heuchera americana
  • American beakgrain Diarrhena americana
  • American false pennyroyal Hedeoma pulegioides
  • American hogpeanut Amphicarpaea bracteata
  • American lopseed Phryma leptostachya
  • American senna Senna hebecarpa
  • bastard toadflax Comandra umbellata
  • bearded shorthusk Brachyelytrum erectum
  • Bebb willow Salix bebbiana
  • beechdrops Epifagus virginiana
  • biennial beeblossom Oenothera gaura
  • big devils beggartick Bidens vulgata
  • blackseed plantain Plantago rugelii
  • bloodroot Sanguinaria canadensis
  • bluntleaf sandwort Moehringia lateriflora
  • bog yellowcress Rorippa palustris
  • brome-like sedge Carex bromoides
  • buttonbush dodder Cuscuta cephalanthi
  • Canada lettuce Lactuca canadensis
  • Canadian anemone Anemone canadensis
  • Canadian blacksnakeroot Sanicula canadensis
  • Canadian clearweed Pilea pumila
  • Canadian honewort Cryptotaenia canadensis
  • Canadian wildginger Asarum canadense
  • Canadian woodnettle Laportea canadensis
  • Carolina horsenettle Solanum carolinense
  • clammy hedgehyssop Gratiola neglecta
  • Clayton's sweetroot Osmorhiza claytonii
  • common cinquefoil Potentilla simplex
  • common threeseed mercury Acalypha rhomboidea
  • common yellow oxalis Oxalis stricta
  • cutleaf toothwort Cardamine concatenata
  • Davis' sedge Carex davisii
  • downy hawthorn Crataegus mollis
  • dutchman's breeches Dicentra cucullaria
  • earlyleaf brome Bromus latiglumis
  • eastern bottlebrush grass Elymus hystrix
  • eastern poison ivy Toxicodendron radicans
  • eastern prickly gooseberry Ribes cynosbati
  • eastern waterleaf Hydrophyllum virginianum
  • elmleaf goldenrod Solidago ulmifolia
  • false mermaidweed Floerkea proserpinacoides
  • feathery false lily of the valley Maianthemum racemosum
  • feverwort Triosteum perfoliatum
  • fire pink Silene virginica
  • floating mannagrass Glyceria septentrionalis
  • fragrant bedstraw Galium triflorum
  • fringed loosestrife Lysimachia ciliata
  • giant ironweed Vernonia gigantea
  • goldenseal Hydrastis canadensis
  • great blue lobelia Lobelia siphilitica
  • Greek valerian Polemonium reptans
  • green dragon Arisaema dracontium
  • hairy pagoda-plant Blephilia hirsuta
  • hairy Solomon's seal Polygonatum pubescens
  • hairy wildrye Elymus villosus
  • hairyjoint meadowparsnip Thaspium barbinode
  • harbinger of spring Erigenia bulbosa
  • heartleaf skullcap Scutellaria ovata
  • hedgehog woodrush Luzula echinata
  • jumpseed Polygonum virginianum
  • lanceleaf fogfruit Phyla lanceolata
  • largeflower bellwort Uvularia grandiflora
  • largefruit blacksnakeroot Sanicula trifoliata
  • largeleaf waterleaf Hydrophyllum macrophyllum
  • lateflowering thoroughwort Eupatorium serotinum
  • Leavenworth's sedge Carex leavenworthii
  • limber honeysuckle Lonicera dioica
  • longleaf groundcherry Physalis longifolia
  • longsepal beardtongue Penstemon calycosus
  • mayapple Podophyllum peltatum
  • meadow garlic Allium canadense
  • Michigan lily Lilium michiganense
  • nakedflower ticktrefoil Desmodium nudiflorum
  • neckweed Veronica peregrina
  • New England aster Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
  • nodding wakerobin Trillium flexipes
  • obedient plant Physostegia virginiana
  • orangefruit horse-gentian Triosteum aurantiacum
  • pale dock Rumex altissimus
  • Parlin's pussytoes Antennaria parlinii
  • Pennsylvania pellitory Parietaria pensylvanica
  • pointedleaf ticktrefoil Desmodium glutinosum
  • poverty oatgrass Danthonia spicata
  • pubescent sedge Carex hirtifolia
  • purple meadowparsnip Thaspium trifoliatum
  • red hickory Carya ovalis
  • rosy sedge Carex rosea
  • roundleaf ragwort Packera obovata
  • roundseed St. Johnswort Hypericum sphaerocarpum
  • scaldweed Cuscuta gronovii
  • sensitive fern Onoclea sensibilis
  • shining bedstraw Galium concinnum
  • Short's aster Symphyotrichum shortii
  • shortbeak arrowhead Sagittaria brevirostra
  • silky dogwood Cornus obliqua
  • skullcap speedwell Veronica scutellata
  • slender looseflower sedge Carex gracilescens
  • slender wedgescale Sphenopholis intermedia
  • smooth oxeye Heliopsis helianthoides
  • smooth rockcress Arabis laevigata
  • spinulose woodfern Dryopteris carthusiana
  • spotted geranium Geranium maculatum
  • spotted sandmat Chamaesyce maculata
  • spotted water hemlock Cicuta maculata
  • spreading chervil Chaerophyllum procumbens
  • spreading dogbane Apocynum androsaemifolium
  • spring blue eyed Mary Collinsia verna
  • sweetscented joe pye weed Eutrochium purpureum
  • tall thimbleweed Anemone virginiana
  • Tennessee bladderfern Cystopteris tennesseensis
  • thinleaf sunflower Helianthus decapetalus
  • toadshade Trillium sessile
  • Tuckerman's sedge Carex tuckermanii
  • tufted lovegrass Eragrostis pectinacea
  • twoleaf miterwort Mitella diphylla
  • veiny skullcap Scutellaria nervosa
  • violet lespedeza Lespedeza violacea
  • Virginia pepperweed Lepidium virginicum
  • Virginia snakeroot Aristolochia serpentaria
  • Virginia springbeauty Claytonia virginica
  • waxyfruit hawthorn Crataegus pruinosa
  • waxyleaf meadow-rue Thalictrum revolutum
  • white snakeroot Ageratina altissima
  • white turtlehead Chelone glabra
  • white vervain Verbena urticifolia
  • whiteflower leafcup Polymnia canadensis
  • wingstem Verbesina alternifolia
  • woodbine Parthenocissus vitacea
  • woodland lettuce Lactuca floridana
  • yellow giant hyssop Agastache nepetoides
  • yellow pimpernel Taenidia integerrima
  • yellowseed false pimpernel Lindernia dubia
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.

  • climbing false buckwheatPolygonum scandens
  • hedge false bindweedCalystegia sepium

Compared with Indiana

The typical county is the median of the 92 Indiana 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, Adams County and Indiana
MeasureAdams CountyTypical countyStatewide
Native species 255 494 1,773
Garden-ready natives 122 211 601
Tree 41 — 164
Shrub 9 — 88
Wildflower (forb) 143 — 954
Grass or grass-like 48 — 416
Vine 10 — 74
Fern 4 — 77

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Adams 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
Adams County (county FIPS 18001), Indiana. 255 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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