Native plants · Maryland

Native plants of Somerset County

63 plant species are recorded as native to Maryland in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Somerset County by USDA PLANTS. 27 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness. 1 more species is listed as both native and introduced and kept in a separate section.

County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

Somerset County, Maryland

PLANTS records only 27 garden-ready natives here (under 30). County records are thin in some places; the Maryland list is a useful second check.

Native species: 63 Typical Maryland county: 184 (median of 24 counties)
Garden-ready natives: 27 Typical Maryland county: 61
Share by type (all 63 native species): Percent of the 63 native species in each growth type

Tree 3% (2)
Wildflower (forb) 35% (22)
Grass or grass-like 60% (38)
Fern 2% (1)

Grasses and grass-like plants make up the largest share of the native list (60%), followed by wildflowers (35%).

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 27

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

Garden-ready native plants of Somerset County, Maryland
Plant	Type	Height	Light	Water use	Hardy to
blunt broom sedge Carex tribuloides	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4b
bog rush Juncus biflorus	Grass or grass-like	3.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 5b
bristlystalked sedge Carex leptalea	Grass or grass-like	1.5 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
cypress swamp sedge Carex joorii	Grass or grass-like	4.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 7a
eastern redcedar Juniperus virginiana	Tree	50 ft	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 3a
fox sedge Carex vulpinoidea	Grass or grass-like	3.2 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 3b
fringed sedge Carex crinita	Grass or grass-like	5.2 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 4a
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
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
prickly bog sedge Carex atlantica	Grass or grass-like	1.8 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 5b
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
shortbeard plumegrass Saccharum brevibarbe	Grass or grass-like	6.5 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 6b
smallfruit beggarticks Bidens mitis	Wildflower (forb)	3.5 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 12b
thicket sedge Carex abscondita	Grass or grass-like	8 in	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 7a
upright sedge Carex stricta	Grass or grass-like	4.2 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3b
white doll's daisy Boltonia asteroides	Wildflower (forb)	8 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 3b
white edge sedge Carex debilis	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 6a
wrinkleleaf goldenrod Solidago rugosa	Wildflower (forb)	3.3 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 4a

Other native species recorded here 36

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.

anisescented goldenrod Solidago odora
axilflower Mecardonia acuminata
big carpetgrass Axonopus furcatus
black edge sedge Carex nigromarginata
broadwing sedge Carex alata
brome-like sedge Carex bromoides
button sedge Carex bullata
claspingleaf St. Johnswort Hypericum gymnanthum
clustered beaksedge Rhynchospora glomerata
clustered mille graines Oldenlandia uniflora
creeping St. Johnswort Hypericum adpressum
crested yellow orchid Platanthera cristata
cylindricfruit primrose-willow Ludwigia glandulosa
downy goldenrod Solidago puberula
drumheads Polygala cruciata
early goldenrod Solidago juncea
Engelmann's arrowhead Sagittaria engelmanniana
fescue sedge Carex festucacea
giant sedge Carex gigantea
hirsute sedge Carex complanata
hyssopleaf hedgenettle Stachys aspera
Long's sedge Carex longii
Mitchell's sedge Carex mitchelliana
mudbank crowngrass Paspalum dissectum
netted nutrush Scleria reticularis
parasol sedge Carex umbellata
sandplain flax Linum intercursum
shaved sedge Carex tonsa
showy goldenrod Solidago erecta
smoothsheath sedge Carex laevivaginata
Swan's sedge Carex swanii
velvetleaf ticktrefoil Desmodium viridiflorum
Walter's sedge Carex striata
weak stellate sedge Carex seorsa
whitetinge sedge Carex albicans
yellowfruit sedge Carex annectens

Also listed as native and introduced here 1

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.

common reedPhragmites australis

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, Somerset County and Maryland
Measure	Somerset County	Typical county	Statewide
Native species	63	184	1,872
Garden-ready natives	27	61	635
Tree	2	—	174
Shrub	0	—	112
Wildflower (forb)	22	—	965
Grass or grass-like	38	—	463
Vine	0	—	72
Fern	1	—	86

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Somerset County.

Wicomico County, MD 50 garden-ready
Worcester 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: Somerset County (county FIPS 24039), Maryland. 63 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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