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Native plants · Kentucky

Native plants of Green County

208 plant species are recorded as native to Kentucky in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Green County by USDA PLANTS. 114 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness.

County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

Green County, Kentucky

Native species
208 Typical Kentucky county: 426 (median of 120 counties)
Garden-ready natives
114 Typical Kentucky county: 190
Share by type (all 208 native species)
Percent of the 208 native species in each growth type
Tree 32% (67)
Shrub 4% (8)
Wildflower (forb) 43% (90)
Grass or grass-like 10% (20)
Vine 5% (11)
Fern 6% (12)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (43%), followed by trees (32%).

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 7a (2023 map).

The native plant list

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

Garden-ready natives 114

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

Garden-ready native plants of Green County, Kentucky
PlantType HeightLight Water useHardy to
American beech Fagus grandifolia Tree 80 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3a
American chestnut Castanea dentata Tree 115 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
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 holly Ilex opaca Tree 40 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 5a
American sycamore Platanus occidentalis Tree 100 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4a
American water horehound Lycopus americanus Wildflower (forb) 1.8 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3b
American witchhazel Hamamelis virginiana Tree 20 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4b
arrowleaf tearthumb Polygonum sagittatum Vine 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 6a
black cherry Prunus serotina Tree 80 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
black huckleberry Gaylussacia baccata Shrub 4 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 4a
black locust Robinia pseudoacacia Tree 60 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
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
blackeyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 5a
blackgum Nyssa sylvatica Tree 95 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 5b
blackhaw Viburnum prunifolium Tree 16 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
blackjack oak Quercus marilandica Tree 25 ft Sun Low Zone 6a
blue cohosh Caulophyllum thalictroides Wildflower (forb) 2.5 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
blue mistflower Conoclinium coelestinum Wildflower (forb) 3.2 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 6a
boxelder Acer negundo Tree 60 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 2b
bristly buttercup Ranunculus hispidus Wildflower (forb) 2.5 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
broadleaf cattail Typha latifolia Wildflower (forb) 5 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3b
bulbous bittercress Cardamine bulbosa Wildflower (forb) 1.4 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
burningbush Euonymus atropurpureus Tree 10 ft Shade-tolerant Low —
butterfly milkweed Asclepias tuberosa Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
butternut Juglans cinerea Tree 80 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
Canada germander Teucrium canadense Wildflower (forb) 3.3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3a
Carolina buckthorn Frangula caroliniana Tree 20 ft Shade-tolerant — Zone 4b
Carolina elephantsfoot Elephantopus carolinianus Wildflower (forb) 2.7 ft Sun Medium Zone 6a
cat greenbrier Smilax glauca Vine 1 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 6a
Chickasaw plum Prunus angustifolia Tree 12 ft Sun Medium Zone 4b
chinquapin oak Quercus muehlenbergii Tree 70 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
coastal plain willow Salix caroliniana Tree 33 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 7b
common blue violet Viola sororia Wildflower (forb) 4 in Sun–part shade High Zone 4b
common buttonbush Cephalanthus occidentalis Tree 15 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4a
common hackberry Celtis occidentalis Tree 60 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 2b
common maidenhair Adiantum capillus-veneris Fern 1.7 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4a
common persimmon Diospyros virginiana Tree 55 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 5a
common serviceberry Amelanchier arborea Tree 36 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 2b
cupseed Calycocarpum lyonii Vine 30 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 7a
devil's walkingstick Aralia spinosa Tree 20 ft Sun High Zone 4b
eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides Tree 190 ft Sun High Zone 3a
eastern hemlock Tsuga canadensis Tree 105 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
eastern narrowleaf sedge Carex amphibola Grass or grass-like 2 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 7a
eastern redbud Cercis canadensis Tree 30 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 4b
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
flowering dogwood Cornus florida Tree 30 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 4b
fox sedge Carex vulpinoidea Grass or grass-like 3.2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
Frank's sedge Carex frankii Grass or grass-like 2 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 5a
giant cane Arundinaria gigantea Shrub 25 ft Sun Medium Zone 5a
golden ragwort Packera aurea Wildflower (forb) 3.9 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3a
gray goldenrod Solidago nemoralis Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
greater bladder sedge Carex intumescens Grass or grass-like 3 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4a
green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica Tree 80 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 2b
harvestlice Agrimonia parviflora Wildflower (forb) 6 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4a
honeylocust Gleditsia triacanthos Tree 70 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
hophornbeam Ostrya virginiana Tree 45 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 3b
Indian woodoats Chasmanthium latifolium Grass or grass-like 4.6 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
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
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
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
post oak Quercus stellata Tree 60 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
prairie fleabane Erigeron strigosus Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 4b
pride of Ohio Dodecatheon meadia Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3b
rattlesnake fern Botrychium virginianum Fern 1.4 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3b
red maple Acer rubrum Tree 68 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 2b
red mulberry Morus rubra Tree 70 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
river birch Betula nigra Tree 70 ft Sun High Zone 4a
roundleaf greenbrier Smilax rotundifolia Vine 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
sassafras Sassafras albidum Tree 75 ft Sun Low Zone 4b
saw greenbrier Smilax bona-nox Vine 4 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 5b
sawtooth blackberry Rubus argutus Shrub 8.2 ft Sun Medium Zone 6a
September elm Ulmus serotina Tree 70 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 5a
shagbark hickory Carya ovata Tree 75 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3a
shallow sedge Carex lurida Grass or grass-like 3.2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
shellbark hickory Carya laciniosa Tree 100 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 5a
shingle oak Quercus imbricaria Tree 45 ft Sun Medium Zone 5b
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
slippery elm Ulmus rubra Tree 85 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3a
sourwood Oxydendrum arboreum Tree 35 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 6a
southern red oak Quercus falcata Tree 75 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 6a
strawcolored flatsedge Cyperus strigosus Grass or grass-like 3.2 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
sugar maple Acer saccharum Tree 100 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 2b
sugarberry Celtis laevigata Tree 80 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 5a
swamp smartweed Polygonum hydropiperoides Wildflower (forb) — Sun Medium Zone 10b
sweetgum Liquidambar styraciflua Tree 100 ft Sun High Zone 5a
taperleaf water horehound Lycopus rubellus Wildflower (forb) 1.6 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 5a
teal lovegrass Eragrostis hypnoides Grass or grass-like 4 in Sun High Zone 3b
tuliptree Liriodendron tulipifera Tree 120 ft Sun Medium Zone 5b
Virginia creeper Parthenocissus quinquefolia Vine 1 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 4b
Virginia pine Pinus virginiana Tree 70 ft Sun Low Zone 5a
Virginia wildrye Elymus virginicus Grass or grass-like 2.5 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4b
white oak Quercus alba Tree 100 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3a
wild blue phlox Phlox divaricata Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
wild sweetwilliam Phlox maculata Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 5b
willow oak Quercus phellos Tree 100 ft Sun High Zone 5a
winged elm Ulmus alata Tree 65 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 5b
winged sumac Rhus copallinum Tree 8 ft Sun Low Zone 4b
yellow buckeye Aesculus flava Tree 65 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 5b
yellow flatsedge Cyperus flavescens Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 11b
yellow fumewort Corydalis flavula Wildflower (forb) 1.5 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 5b

Other native species recorded here 94

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 bladdernut Staphylea trifolia
  • American columbo Frasera caroliniensis
  • beaked panicgrass Panicum anceps
  • blackstem spleenwort Asplenium resiliens
  • blisterwort Ranunculus recurvatus
  • blue ash Fraxinus quadrangulata
  • bluntleaf waterleaf Hydrophyllum canadense
  • bristly greenbrier Smilax tamnoides
  • broad beechfern Phegopteris hexagonoptera
  • bulblet bladderfern Cystopteris bulbifera
  • Canadian blacksnakeroot Sanicula canadensis
  • Canadian wildginger Asarum canadense
  • celandine poppy Stylophorum diphyllum
  • chinquapin Castanea pumila
  • Christmas fern Polystichum acrostichoides
  • crinkleroot Cardamine diphylla
  • crossvine Bignonia capreolata
  • curlytop knotweed Polygonum lapathifolium
  • cutleaf toothwort Cardamine concatenata
  • dogtooth violet Erythronium americanum
  • dwarf crested iris Iris cristata
  • dwarf hackberry Celtis pumila
  • dwarf larkspur Delphinium tricorne
  • early saxifrage Saxifraga virginiensis
  • early wildrye Elymus macgregorii
  • eastern false rue anemone Enemion biternatum
  • eastern greenviolet Hybanthus concolor
  • eastern leatherwood Dirca palustris
  • eastern poison ivy Toxicodendron radicans
  • ebony spleenwort Asplenium platyneuron
  • Emory's sedge Carex emoryi
  • fall phlox Phlox paniculata
  • feathery false lily of the valley Maianthemum racemosum
  • fire pink Silene virginica
  • forked bluecurls Trichostema dichotomum
  • forkleaf toothwort Cardamine dissecta
  • fringed loosestrife Lysimachia ciliata
  • glade fern Diplazium pycnocarpon
  • golden zizia Zizia aurea
  • goldenseal Hydrastis canadensis
  • great blue lobelia Lobelia siphilitica
  • great ragweed Ambrosia trifida
  • great waterleaf Hydrophyllum appendiculatum
  • Greek valerian Polemonium reptans
  • Guadeloupe cucumber Melothria pendula
  • hairy Solomon's seal Polygonatum pubescens
  • hairy wildrye Elymus villosus
  • Heller's cudweed Pseudognaphalium helleri
  • hornleaf riverweed Podostemum ceratophyllum
  • hyssopleaf thoroughwort Eupatorium hyssopifolium
  • Indian-tobacco Lobelia inflata
  • Juda's bush Iresine rhizomatosa
  • lateflowering thoroughwort Eupatorium serotinum
  • licorice bedstraw Galium circaezans
  • lobed spleenwort Asplenium pinnatifidum
  • low spikesedge Kyllinga pumila
  • lyreleaf sage Salvia lyrata
  • mayapple Podophyllum peltatum
  • mucronate sprangletop Leptochloa panicea
  • nits and lice Hypericum drummondii
  • nodding wakerobin Trillium flexipes
  • oak mistletoe Phoradendron leucarpum
  • partridgeberry Mitchella repens
  • pitcher's stitchwort Minuartia patula
  • prairie tea Croton monanthogynus
  • purple fringeless orchid Platanthera peramoena
  • purple milkwort Polygala sanguinea
  • rabbit-tobacco Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium
  • red columbine Aquilegia canadensis
  • rue anemone Thalictrum thalictroides
  • rusty blackhaw Viburnum rufidulum
  • silver false spleenwort Deparia acrostichoides
  • silver plumegrass Saccharum alopecuroides
  • smooth rockcress Arabis laevigata
  • soft agrimony Agrimonia pubescens
  • spindleroot Ludwigia hirtella
  • spotted geranium Geranium maculatum
  • spring coralroot Corallorhiza wisteriana
  • striped prince's pine Chimaphila maculata
  • thinleaf late purple aster Symphyotrichum phlogifolium
  • toadshade Trillium sessile
  • twinleaf Jeffersonia diphylla
  • twoflower melicgrass Melica mutica
  • twoleaf miterwort Mitella diphylla
  • upright carrionflower Smilax ecirrhata
  • violet woodsorrel Oxalis violacea
  • Virginia buttonweed Diodia virginiana
  • Virginia pennywort Obolaria virginica
  • Virginia snakeroot Aristolochia serpentaria
  • Virginia springbeauty Claytonia virginica
  • Virginia strawberry Fragaria virginiana
  • white snakeroot Ageratina altissima
  • wild hydrangea Hydrangea arborescens
  • woodland stonecrop Sedum ternatum

Compared with Kentucky

The typical county is the median of the 120 Kentucky 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, Green County and Kentucky
MeasureGreen CountyTypical countyStatewide
Native species 208 426 1,719
Garden-ready natives 114 190 568
Tree 67 — 181
Shrub 8 — 73
Wildflower (forb) 90 — 931
Grass or grass-like 20 — 376
Vine 11 — 85
Fern 12 — 73

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Green 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
Green County (county FIPS 21087), Kentucky. 208 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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