Native plants · Maryland

Native plants of Baltimore city

120 plant species are recorded as native to Maryland in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Baltimore city by USDA PLANTS. 44 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness.

County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

Baltimore city, Maryland

Native species: 120 Typical Maryland county: 184 (median of 24 counties)
Garden-ready natives: 44 Typical Maryland county: 61
Share by type (all 120 native species): Percent of the 120 native species in each growth type

Tree <1% (1)
Shrub <1% (1)
Wildflower (forb) 13% (15)
Grass or grass-like 82% (98)
Vine <1% (1)
Fern 3% (4)

Grasses and grass-like plants make up the largest share of the native list (82%), followed by wildflowers (13%).

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 zones 7b to 8a (2023 map).

The native plant list

Garden-ready natives 44

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

Garden-ready native plants of Baltimore city, Maryland
Plant	Type	Height	Light	Water use	Hardy to
awlfruit sedge Carex stipata	Grass or grass-like	3.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3b
blunt broom sedge Carex tribuloides	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4b
bristlystalked sedge Carex leptalea	Grass or grass-like	1.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 4a
broom sedge Carex scoparia	Grass or grass-like	2.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 3b
bur oak Quercus macrocarpa	Tree	100 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 3b
bur-reed sedge Carex sparganioides	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 4a
Bush's sedge Carex bushii	Grass or grass-like	2 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 5a
cat greenbrier Smilax glauca	Vine	1 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 6a
crested sedge Carex cristatella	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 4a
cypress swamp sedge Carex joorii	Grass or grass-like	4.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 7a
drooping sedge Carex prasina	Grass or grass-like	2.3 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4b
eastern narrowleaf sedge Carex amphibola	Grass or grass-like	2 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 7a
eastern rough sedge Carex scabrata	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 4a
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
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
fringed sedge Carex crinita	Grass or grass-like	5.2 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 4a
graceful sedge Carex gracillima	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4a
Gray's sedge Carex grayi	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 4a
greater bladder sedge Carex intumescens	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
greenwhite sedge Carex albolutescens	Grass or grass-like	3.9 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 3b
hairy sedge Carex lacustris	Grass or grass-like	5 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 4b
hairyfruit sedge Carex trichocarpa	Grass or grass-like	3.5 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 4a
hop sedge Carex lupulina	Grass or grass-like	4.3 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 3b
inland sedge Carex interior	Grass or grass-like	1.5 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 3b
limestone meadow sedge Carex granularis	Grass or grass-like	2.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 4a
longhair sedge Carex comosa	Grass or grass-like	5 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 4b
northern maidenhair Adiantum pedatum	Fern	1.3 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3b
oval-leaf sedge Carex cephalophora	Grass or grass-like	2.6 ft	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 4a
Pennsylvania buttercup Ranunculus pensylvanicus	Wildflower (forb)	3.9 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 4b
prairie willow Salix humilis	Shrub	10 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 3a
prickly bog sedge Carex atlantica	Grass or grass-like	1.8 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 5b
quill sedge Carex tenera	Grass or grass-like	2.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4a
shallow sedge Carex lurida	Grass or grass-like	3.2 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 4a
silvery sedge Carex canescens	Grass or grass-like	2 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 4a
squarrose sedge Carex squarrosa	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4b
thicket sedge Carex abscondita	Grass or grass-like	8 in	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 7a
troublesome sedge Carex molesta	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
twisted sedge Carex torta	Grass or grass-like	2.8 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4a
upright sedge Carex stricta	Grass or grass-like	4.2 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3b
variable sedge Carex polymorpha	Grass or grass-like	2 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 4a
white edge sedge Carex debilis	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 6a

Other native species recorded here 76

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.

bent sedge Carex styloflexa
black edge sedge Carex nigromarginata
Blue Ridge sedge Carex lucorum
blue sedge Carex glaucodea
bluntlobe cliff fern Woodsia obtusa
bottlebrush sedge Carex hystericina
broad beechfern Phegopteris hexagonoptera
broad looseflower sedge Carex laxiflora
broadleaf sedge Carex platyphylla
broadwing sedge Carex alata
brome-like sedge Carex bromoides
button sedge Carex bullata
Buxbaum's sedge Carex buxbaumii
Canada mayflower Maianthemum canadense
Carolina sedge Carex caroliniana
Collins' sedge Carex collinsii
dogtooth violet Erythronium americanum
downy rattlesnake plantain Goodyera pubescens
eastern star sedge Carex radiata
Emory's sedge Carex emoryi
false hop sedge Carex lupuliformis
feathery false lily of the valley Maianthemum racemosum
fescue sedge Carex festucacea
fibrousroot sedge Carex communis
flat-spiked sedge Carex planispicata
fuzzy wuzzy sedge Carex hirsutella
glomerate sedge Carex aggregata
hay sedge Carex argyrantha
hirsute sedge Carex complanata
Hitchcock's sedge Carex hitchcockiana
inflated narrow-leaf sedge Carex grisea
James' sedge Carex jamesii
large whorled pogonia Isotria verticillata
Leavenworth's sedge Carex leavenworthii
lesser yellow lady's slipper Cypripedium parviflorum
lined sedge Carex striatula
Long's sedge Carex longii
Louisiana sedge Carex louisianica
midland sedge Carex mesochorea
Muhlenberg's sedge Carex muehlenbergii
nodding sedge Carex gynandra
northern long sedge Carex folliculata
openfield sedge Carex conoidea
parasol sedge Carex umbellata
Pennsylvania sedge Carex pensylvanica
pretty sedge Carex woodii
pubescent sedge Carex hirtifolia
reflexed sedge Carex retroflexa
ribbed sedge Carex virescens
Richardson's sedge Carex richardsonii
rigid sedge Carex tetanica
rosy sedge Carex rosea
sessileleaf bellwort Uvularia sessilifolia
shaved sedge Carex tonsa
shortbeak sedge Carex brevior
showy goldenrod Solidago speciosa
slender looseflower sedge Carex gracilescens
slender woodland sedge Carex digitalis
smooth Solomon's seal Polygonatum biflorum
smoothsheath sedge Carex laevivaginata
soft fox sedge Carex conjuncta
spreading sedge Carex laxiculmis
Swan's sedge Carex swanii
Texas sedge Carex texensis
threeleaf goldthread Coptis trifolia
tuberous grasspink Calopogon tuberosus
velvet sedge Carex vestita
weak stellate sedge Carex seorsa
white bear sedge Carex albursina
white fringed orchid Platanthera blephariglottis
whitetinge sedge Carex albicans
wild quinine Parthenium integrifolium
Willdenow's sedge Carex willdenowii
woolly sedge Carex pellita
yellow fringed orchid Platanthera ciliaris
yellowfruit sedge Carex annectens

Compared with Maryland

The typical county is the median of the 24 Maryland 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, Baltimore city and Maryland
Measure	Baltimore city	Typical county	Statewide
Native species	120	184	1,872
Garden-ready natives	44	61	635
Tree	1	—	174
Shrub	1	—	112
Wildflower (forb)	15	—	965
Grass or grass-like	98	—	463
Vine	1	—	72
Fern	4	—	86

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Baltimore city.

Anne Arundel County, MD 67 garden-ready
Baltimore County, MD 78 garden-ready

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: Baltimore city (county FIPS 24510), Maryland. 120 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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