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Native plants · Kentucky

Native plants of Mason County

240 plant species are recorded as native to Kentucky in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Mason County by USDA PLANTS. 130 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

Mason County, Kentucky

Native species
240 Typical Kentucky county: 426 (median of 120 counties)
Garden-ready natives
130 Typical Kentucky county: 190
Share by type (all 240 native species)
Percent of the 240 native species in each growth type
Tree 26% (63)
Shrub 5% (11)
Wildflower (forb) 48% (115)
Grass or grass-like 11% (27)
Vine 7% (17)
Fern 3% (7)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (48%), followed by trees (26%).

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 6b (2023 map).

The native plant list

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

Garden-ready natives 130

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

Garden-ready native plants of Mason County, Kentucky
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 eelgrass Vallisneria americana Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun High Zone 4a
American elm Ulmus americana Tree 120 ft Sun–part shade High 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 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 wisteria Wisteria frutescens Vine 50 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 7a
Atlantic camas Camassia scilloides Wildflower (forb) 2.5 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4b
bitternut hickory Carya cordiformis Tree 75 ft Sun Medium Zone 2b
black cherry Prunus serotina Tree 80 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
black locust Robinia pseudoacacia Tree 60 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
black maple Acer nigrum Tree 100 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 2b
black oak Quercus velutina Tree 80 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
black raspberry Rubus occidentalis Shrub 6 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4b
black walnut Juglans nigra Tree 100 ft Sun High Zone 4b
black willow Salix nigra Tree 100 ft Sun High Zone 1b
blackgum Nyssa sylvatica Tree 95 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 5b
blackhaw Viburnum prunifolium Tree 16 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
blue mistflower Conoclinium coelestinum Wildflower (forb) 3.2 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 6a
blunt spikerush Eleocharis obtusa Grass or grass-like 1.6 ft Sun Medium Zone 11a
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
broomsedge bluestem Andropogon virginicus Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 5b
bur oak Quercus macrocarpa Tree 100 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
burningbush Euonymus atropurpureus Tree 10 ft Shade-tolerant Low —
butterfly milkweed Asclepias tuberosa Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
Carolina buckthorn Frangula caroliniana Tree 20 ft Shade-tolerant — Zone 4b
Carolina rose Rosa carolina Shrub 5 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3a
chinquapin oak Quercus muehlenbergii Tree 70 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
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 buttonbush Cephalanthus occidentalis Tree 15 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4a
common hackberry Celtis occidentalis Tree 60 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 2b
common persimmon Diospyros virginiana Tree 55 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 5a
common rush Juncus effusus Grass or grass-like 6.6 ft Sun Medium 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
devil's darning needles Clematis virginiana Vine 15 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
ditch stonecrop Penthorum sedoides Wildflower (forb) 2.6 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4b
eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides Tree 190 ft Sun High Zone 3a
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 redcedar Juniperus virginiana Tree 50 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3a
false daisy Eclipta prostrata Wildflower (forb) 3.2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 10b
false indigo bush Amorpha fruticosa Shrub 15 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
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
fowl mannagrass Glyceria striata Grass or grass-like 5.7 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3b
fragrant flatsedge Cyperus odoratus Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 11b
Frank's sedge Carex frankii Grass or grass-like 2 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 5a
frost grape Vitis vulpina Vine 83 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 5a
giant cane Arundinaria gigantea Shrub 25 ft Sun Medium Zone 5a
golden tickseed Coreopsis tinctoria Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 12b
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
hazel alder Alnus serrulata Tree 30 ft Sun High Zone 5a
heartleaf peppervine Ampelopsis cordata Vine 2 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 6b
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
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
Jerusalem artichoke Helianthus tuberosus Wildflower (forb) 9.8 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3a
Kentucky coffeetree Gymnocladus dioicus Tree 100 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
limestone bittercress Cardamine douglassii Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4a
littleleaf buttercup Ranunculus abortivus Wildflower (forb) 2.8 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3a
lopsided rush Juncus secundus Grass or grass-like 1.5 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
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
narrowleaf blue-eyed grass Sisyrinchium angustifolium Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 7a
northern catalpa Catalpa speciosa Tree 60 ft Sun Low 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
pin oak Quercus palustris Tree 100 ft Sun High Zone 4a
pinnate prairie coneflower Ratibida pinnata Wildflower (forb) 4 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
post oak Quercus stellata Tree 60 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
purpleflowering raspberry Rubus odoratus Shrub 5 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
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
riverbank grape Vitis riparia Vine 45 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
roundleaf greenbrier Smilax rotundifolia Vine 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
sandbar willow Salix interior Tree 30 ft Sun — Zone 1a
sassafras Sassafras albidum Tree 75 ft Sun Low Zone 4b
sawtooth blackberry Rubus argutus Shrub 8.2 ft Sun Medium Zone 6a
shagbark hickory Carya ovata Tree 75 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3a
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
smallspike false nettle Boehmeria cylindrica Wildflower (forb) 3.9 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
smooth hedgenettle Stachys tenuifolia Wildflower (forb) 25 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4a
smooth sumac Rhus glabra Tree 12 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
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
squarrose sedge Carex squarrosa Grass or grass-like 3 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4b
staghorn sumac Rhus typhina Tree 30 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 4a
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
swamp milkweed Asclepias incarnata Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Sun High Zone 3b
swamp rose Rosa palustris Shrub 8.2 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
teal lovegrass Eragrostis hypnoides Grass or grass-like 4 in Sun High Zone 3b
trumpet creeper Campsis radicans Vine 2 ft Sun Low Zone 6a
tuliptree Liriodendron tulipifera Tree 120 ft Sun Medium Zone 5b
Virginia bluebells Mertensia virginica Wildflower (forb) 2.3 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4b
Virginia creeper Parthenocissus quinquefolia Vine 1 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 4b
Virginia threeseed mercury Acalypha virginica Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 10b
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 oak Quercus alba Tree 100 ft Sun–part shade 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
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 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.

  • Adam and Eve Aplectrum hyemale
  • American bladdernut Staphylea trifolia
  • blackseed plantain Plantago rugelii
  • blisterwort Ranunculus recurvatus
  • bloodroot Sanguinaria canadensis
  • blue ash Fraxinus quadrangulata
  • bog yellowcress Rorippa palustris
  • branched bur-reed Sparganium androcladum
  • bristly greenbrier Smilax tamnoides
  • Canadian summer bluet Houstonia canadensis
  • Canadian wildginger Asarum canadense
  • Carolina geranium Geranium carolinianum
  • celandine poppy Stylophorum diphyllum
  • Christmas fern Polystichum acrostichoides
  • clasping Venus' looking-glass Triodanis perfoliata
  • clustered blacksnakeroot Sanicula odorata
  • common boneset Eupatorium perfoliatum
  • common cinquefoil Potentilla simplex
  • common milkweed Asclepias syriaca
  • common moonseed Menispermum canadense
  • common pricklyash Zanthoxylum americanum
  • common yellow oxalis Oxalis stricta
  • crinkleroot Cardamine diphylla
  • curlytop knotweed Polygonum lapathifolium
  • cutleaf toothwort Cardamine concatenata
  • dogtooth violet Erythronium americanum
  • downy hawthorn Crataegus mollis
  • dutchman's breeches Dicentra cucullaria
  • dwarf larkspur Delphinium tricorne
  • eastern false rue anemone Enemion biternatum
  • eastern greenviolet Hybanthus concolor
  • eastern poison ivy Toxicodendron radicans
  • ebony spleenwort Asplenium platyneuron
  • false boneset Brickellia eupatorioides
  • fan clubmoss Lycopodium digitatum
  • fernleaf phacelia Phacelia bipinnatifida
  • fibrousroot sedge Carex communis
  • field pansy Viola bicolor
  • field thistle Cirsium discolor
  • giant ironweed Vernonia gigantea
  • glomerate sedge Carex aggregata
  • great blue lobelia Lobelia siphilitica
  • great waterleaf Hydrophyllum appendiculatum
  • Greek valerian Polemonium reptans
  • hairyfruit chervil Chaerophyllum tainturieri
  • heartleaf hedgenettle Stachys cordata
  • honeyvine Cynanchum laeve
  • hooded arrowhead Sagittaria calycina
  • Indian-tobacco Lobelia inflata
  • inflated narrow-leaf sedge Carex grisea
  • James' sedge Carex jamesii
  • largeseed forget-me-not Myosotis macrosperma
  • licorice bedstraw Galium circaezans
  • longstyle sweetroot Osmorhiza longistylis
  • lowland bladderfern Cystopteris protrusa
  • man of the earth Ipomoea pandurata
  • meadow spikemoss Selaginella apoda
  • Mexican plum Prunus mexicana
  • Miami mist Phacelia purshii
  • mucronate sprangletop Leptochloa panicea
  • narrowleaf paleseed Leucospora multifida
  • navel cornsalad Valerianella umbilicata
  • neckweed Veronica peregrina
  • oak mistletoe Phoradendron leucarpum
  • oneseed bur cucumber Sicyos angulatus
  • pineland threeseed mercury Acalypha ostryifolia
  • poverty oatgrass Danthonia spicata
  • purplerocket Iodanthus pinnatifidus
  • ram's horn Proboscidea louisianica
  • red columbine Aquilegia canadensis
  • richwoods sedge Carex oligocarpa
  • rock buttercup Ranunculus micranthus
  • roundleaf ragwort Packera obovata
  • rusty blackhaw Viburnum rufidulum
  • sensitive fern Onoclea sensibilis
  • shortstalk false bindweed Calystegia silvatica
  • silky dogwood Cornus obliqua
  • slender looseflower sedge Carex gracilescens
  • slender yellow woodsorrel Oxalis dillenii
  • smooth rockcress Arabis laevigata
  • smooth Solomon's seal Polygonatum biflorum
  • Spanish needles Bidens bipinnata
  • spotted geranium Geranium maculatum
  • spotted sandmat Chamaesyce maculata
  • spreading chervil Chaerophyllum procumbens
  • spreading sedge Carex laxiculmis
  • spring blue eyed Mary Collinsia verna
  • squirrel corn Dicentra canadensis
  • star chickweed Stellaria pubera
  • striped cream violet Viola striata
  • tall thimbleweed Anemone virginiana
  • tinted woodland spurge Euphorbia commutata
  • toadshade Trillium sessile
  • twinleaf Jeffersonia diphylla
  • violet woodsorrel Oxalis violacea
  • Virginia fanpetals Sida hermaphrodita
  • Virginia plantain Plantago virginica
  • Virginia springbeauty Claytonia virginica
  • Virginia strawberry Fragaria virginiana
  • white bear sedge Carex albursina
  • white fawnlily Erythronium albidum
  • white snakeroot Ageratina altissima
  • white trillium Trillium grandiflorum
  • wild hydrangea Hydrangea arborescens
  • wingstem Verbesina alternifolia
  • woodland lettuce Lactuca floridana
  • woodland stonecrop Sedum ternatum
  • yellow giant hyssop Agastache nepetoides
  • yellowseed false pimpernel Lindernia dubia
  • zigzag spiderwort Tradescantia subaspera
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.

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, Mason County and Kentucky
MeasureMason CountyTypical countyStatewide
Native species 240 426 1,719
Garden-ready natives 130 190 568
Tree 63 — 181
Shrub 11 — 73
Wildflower (forb) 115 — 931
Grass or grass-like 27 — 376
Vine 17 — 85
Fern 7 — 73

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Mason 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
Mason County (county FIPS 21161), Kentucky. 240 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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