Native plants · Maryland

Native plants of Calvert County

138 plant species are recorded as native to Maryland in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Calvert County by USDA PLANTS. 57 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness.

County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

Calvert County, Maryland

Native species: 138 Typical Maryland county: 184 (median of 24 counties)
Garden-ready natives: 57 Typical Maryland county: 61
Share by type (all 138 native species): Percent of the 138 native species in each growth type

Tree 6% (8)
Shrub 3% (4)
Wildflower (forb) 33% (45)
Grass or grass-like 43% (60)
Vine 4% (6)
Fern 11% (15)

Grasses and grass-like plants make up the largest share of the native list (43%), followed by wildflowers (33%).

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 57

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

Garden-ready native plants of Calvert County, Maryland
Plant	Type	Height	Light	Water use	Hardy to
American spongeplant Limnobium spongia	Wildflower (forb)	6 in	Sun	High	Zone 5a
Atlantic white cedar Chamaecyparis thyoides	Tree	50 ft	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 3b
awlfruit sedge Carex stipata	Grass or grass-like	3.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3b
bald cypress Taxodium distichum	Tree	130 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 5b
beach plum Prunus maritima	Shrub	12 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4a
beaked spikerush Eleocharis rostellata	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Sun	High	Zone 4b
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
broadfruit bur-reed Sparganium eurycarpum	Wildflower (forb)	4.9 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 4a
broadleaf cattail Typha latifolia	Wildflower (forb)	5 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 3b
broom sedge Carex scoparia	Grass or grass-like	2.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 3b
bur-reed sedge Carex sparganioides	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 4a
Canada goldenrod Solidago altissima	Wildflower (forb)	5 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 4b
cinnamon fern Osmunda cinnamomea	Fern	4.9 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4a
common goldstar Hypoxis hirsuta	Wildflower (forb)	10 in	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 4a
common reed Phragmites australis	Shrub	13 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
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 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 redcedar Juniperus virginiana	Tree	50 ft	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 3a
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
giant cutgrass Zizaniopsis miliacea	Grass or grass-like	9 ft	Sun	High	Zone 8b
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
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
hop sedge Carex lupulina	Grass or grass-like	4.3 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 3b
leafy pondweed Potamogeton foliosus	Wildflower (forb)	—	Sun	High	Zone 3b
loblolly pine Pinus taeda	Tree	100 ft	Sun	High	Zone 6b
longhair sedge Carex comosa	Grass or grass-like	5 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 4b
narrowleaf blue-eyed grass Sisyrinchium angustifolium	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 7a
necklace sedge Carex projecta	Grass or grass-like	2 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4a
New York fern Thelypteris noveboracensis	Fern	1.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 4b
oval-leaf sedge Carex cephalophora	Grass or grass-like	2.6 ft	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 4a
prickly bog sedge Carex atlantica	Grass or grass-like	1.8 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 5b
rattlesnake fern Botrychium virginianum	Fern	1.4 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3b
roundleaf greenbrier Smilax rotundifolia	Vine	1 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4a
seaside goldenrod Solidago sempervirens	Wildflower (forb)	3.5 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 6a
shallow sedge Carex lurida	Grass or grass-like	3.2 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 4a
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
silvery sedge Carex canescens	Grass or grass-like	2 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 4a
smallfruit beggarticks Bidens mitis	Wildflower (forb)	3.5 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 12b
southern bayberry Morella caroliniensis	Tree	7 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 6a
star duckweed Lemna trisulca	Wildflower (forb)	4 in	Sun	High	Zone 3b
thicket sedge Carex abscondita	Grass or grass-like	8 in	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 7a
trumpet creeper Campsis radicans	Vine	2 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 6a
upright sedge Carex stricta	Grass or grass-like	4.2 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3b
Virginia pine Pinus virginiana	Tree	70 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 5a
white edge sedge Carex debilis	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 6a
wreath goldenrod Solidago caesia	Wildflower (forb)	3 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 4b
wrinkleleaf goldenrod Solidago rugosa	Wildflower (forb)	3.3 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 4a

Other native species recorded here 81

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
Adam's needle Yucca filamentosa
American climbing fern Lygodium palmatum
bent sedge Carex styloflexa
black edge sedge Carex nigromarginata
broad beechfern Phegopteris hexagonoptera
broad looseflower sedge Carex laxiflora
broadwing sedge Carex alata
brownish beaksedge Rhynchospora capitellata
Carolina wild petunia Ruellia caroliniensis
claspingleaf pondweed Potamogeton perfoliatus
clustered beaksedge Rhynchospora glomerata
Collins' sedge Carex collinsii
cutleaf grapefern Botrychium dissectum
darkgreen sedge Carex venusta
devil's grandmother Elephantopus tomentosus
downy milkpea Galactia volubilis
downy rattlesnake plantain Goodyera pubescens
dwarf umbrella-sedge Fuirena pumila
eastern hayscented fern Dennstaedtia punctilobula
eastern marsh fern Thelypteris palustris
eastern silver aster Symphyotrichum concolor
eastern star sedge Carex radiata
ebony spleenwort Asplenium platyneuron
Engelmann's arrowhead Sagittaria engelmanniana
fan clubmoss Lycopodium digitatum
feathery false lily of the valley Maianthemum racemosum
fewflower ticktrefoil Desmodium pauciflorum
glade fern Diplazium pycnocarpon
glomerate sedge Carex aggregata
Guadeloupe cucumber Melothria pendula
hairy fimbry Fimbristylis puberula
harlequin blueflag Iris versicolor
hirsute sedge Carex complanata
intermediate woodfern Dryopteris intermedia
largeseed forget-me-not Myosotis macrosperma
lesser clearweed Pilea fontana
Long's sedge Carex longii
longbeak arrowhead Sagittaria australis
maroon Carolina milkvine Matelea carolinensis
marsh skullcap Scutellaria galericulata
midland sedge Carex mesochorea
moccasin flower Cypripedium acaule
Muhlenberg's sedge Carex muehlenbergii
netted chainfern Woodwardia areolata
northern long sedge Carex folliculata
parasol sedge Carex umbellata
purplestem angelica Angelica atropurpurea
red turtlehead Chelone obliqua
rosy sedge Carex rosea
rough dropseed Sporobolus clandestinus
sensitive fern Onoclea sensibilis
shaved sedge Carex tonsa
shortleaf skeletongrass Gymnopogon brevifolius
showy goldenrod Solidago erecta
showy goldenrod Solidago speciosa
sidebells wintergreen Orthilia secunda
silvery everlasting Gamochaeta argyrinea
singlehead pussytoes Antennaria solitaria
slender seapurslane Sesuvium maritimum
slender woodland sedge Carex digitalis
smooth Solomon's seal Polygonatum biflorum
smooth ticktrefoil Desmodium laevigatum
smoothsheath sedge Carex laevivaginata
southeastern wildrye Elymus glabriflorus
spreading sedge Carex laxiculmis
spurred butterfly pea Centrosema virginianum
Standley's goosefoot Chenopodium standleyanum
stiff ticktrefoil Desmodium obtusum
Swan's sedge Carex swanii
swollen bladderwort Utricularia inflata
tall lespedeza Lespedeza stuevei
tenlobe false foxglove Agalinis obtusifolia
threadleaf false foxglove Agalinis setacea
twining snoutbean Rhynchosia tomentosa
twoflower melicgrass Melica mutica
velvetleaf ticktrefoil Desmodium viridiflorum
weak stellate sedge Carex seorsa
whitetinge sedge Carex albicans
Willdenow's sedge Carex willdenowii
woollysheath threeawn Aristida lanosa

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, Calvert County and Maryland
Measure	Calvert County	Typical county	Statewide
Native species	138	184	1,872
Garden-ready natives	57	61	635
Tree	8	—	174
Shrub	4	—	112
Wildflower (forb)	45	—	965
Grass or grass-like	60	—	463
Vine	6	—	72
Fern	15	—	86

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Calvert County.

Anne Arundel County, MD 67 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: Calvert County (county FIPS 24009), Maryland. 138 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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