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Native plants · Minnesota

Native plants of Rock County

221 plant species are recorded as native to Minnesota in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Rock County by USDA PLANTS. 83 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness. 3 more species are listed as both native and introduced and kept in a separate section.

County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

Rock County, Minnesota

Native species
221 Typical Minnesota county: 435 (median of 87 counties)
Garden-ready natives
83 Typical Minnesota county: 193
Share by type (all 221 native species)
Percent of the 221 native species in each growth type
Tree 3% (7)
Shrub 4% (8)
Wildflower (forb) 64% (142)
Grass or grass-like 21% (46)
Vine 5% (10)
Fern 4% (8)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (64%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (21%).

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 4b to 5a (2023 map).

The native plant list

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

Garden-ready natives 83

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

Garden-ready native plants of Rock County, Minnesota
PlantType HeightLight Water useHardy to
American bittersweet Celastrus scandens Vine 15 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3b
American black currant Ribes americanum Shrub 3 ft — — Zone 2b
American vetch Vicia americana Vine 1.3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
American water horehound Lycopus americanus Wildflower (forb) 1.8 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3b
big bluestem Andropogon gerardii Grass or grass-like 6 ft Sun Low Zone 2b
blackeyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 5a
broadfruit bur-reed Sparganium eurycarpum Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4a
buffalograss Bouteloua dactyloides Grass or grass-like 6 in Sun Medium Zone 3b
Canada wildrye Elymus canadensis Grass or grass-like 3 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3a
Canadian lousewort Pedicularis canadensis Wildflower (forb) 1.3 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3a
Canadian milkvetch Astragalus canadensis Wildflower (forb) 6 in Sun Medium Zone 3b
Canadian waterweed Elodea canadensis Wildflower (forb) — Sun High Zone 4a
cloaked bulrush Scirpus pallidus Grass or grass-like 5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
closed bottle gentian Gentiana andrewsii Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
common cowparsnip Heracleum maximum Wildflower (forb) 8 ft Sun High Zone 3b
common goldstar Hypoxis hirsuta Wildflower (forb) 10 in Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
common hackberry Celtis occidentalis Tree 60 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 2b
common sneezeweed Helenium autumnale Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
coon's tail Ceratophyllum demersum Wildflower (forb) — Sun–part shade High Zone 3b
devil's beggartick Bidens frondosa Wildflower (forb) 4 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 12a
disk waterhyssop Bacopa rotundifolia Wildflower (forb) 1 in Sun High Zone 4a
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
false indigo bush Amorpha fruticosa Shrub 15 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
fiddleleaf hawksbeard Crepis runcinata Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
field horsetail Equisetum arvense Fern 11 in Sun–part shade High Zone 3a
flatstem pondweed Potamogeton zosteriformis Wildflower (forb) — Sun High Zone 3b
fowl mannagrass Glyceria striata Grass or grass-like 5.7 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3b
fox sedge Carex vulpinoidea Grass or grass-like 3.2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
green bulrush Scirpus atrovirens Grass or grass-like 5.9 ft Sun Medium Zone 2a
hairy grama Bouteloua hirsuta Grass or grass-like 6 in Sun Low Zone 3b
inland rush Juncus interior Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
Jack in the pulpit Arisaema triphyllum Wildflower (forb) 1.5 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 5b
largeleaf pondweed Potamogeton amplifolius Wildflower (forb) — Sun High Zone 4a
leadplant Amorpha canescens Shrub 4 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 3b
leafy pondweed Potamogeton foliosus Wildflower (forb) — Sun High Zone 3b
little barley Hordeum pusillum Grass or grass-like 1.2 ft Sun Medium Zone 10b
longleaf pondweed Potamogeton nodosus Wildflower (forb) — Sun High Zone 3b
longleaf starwort Stellaria longifolia Wildflower (forb) 1.5 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3b
marsh muhly Muhlenbergia racemosa Grass or grass-like 3 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3b
Missouri goldenrod Solidago missouriensis Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3b
nodding beggartick Bidens cernua Wildflower (forb) 3.2 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 12a
old man's whiskers Geum triflorum Wildflower (forb) 1.5 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
partridge pea Chamaecrista fasciculata Wildflower (forb) 2.4 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 7a
Pennsylvania bittercress Cardamine pensylvanica Wildflower (forb) 1.5 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
Pennsylvania buttercup Ranunculus pensylvanicus Wildflower (forb) 3.9 ft Shade-tolerant High 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
pinnate prairie coneflower Ratibida pinnata Wildflower (forb) 4 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
porcupinegrass Hesperostipa spartea Grass or grass-like 4 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
poverty rush Juncus tenuis Grass or grass-like 1.5 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
prairie dropseed Sporobolus heterolepis Grass or grass-like 2.3 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3b
prairie fleabane Erigeron strigosus Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 4b
prairie Junegrass Koeleria macrantha Grass or grass-like 1.5 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3b
prairie wedgescale Sphenopholis obtusata Grass or grass-like 3.2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3a
purple locoweed Oxytropis lambertii Wildflower (forb) 1.4 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
purple milkvetch Astragalus agrestis Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
redroot flatsedge Cyperus erythrorhizos Grass or grass-like 2.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 11a
rice cutgrass Leersia oryzoides Grass or grass-like 4.9 ft Sun High Zone 4a
roughfruit amaranth Amaranthus tuberculatus Wildflower (forb) 6.6 ft Sun High Zone 4a
roundleaf serviceberry Amelanchier sanguinea Tree 10 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3a
sandbar willow Salix interior Tree 30 ft Sun — Zone 1a
Saskatoon serviceberry Amelanchier alnifolia Tree 15 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 1a
sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
slimstem reedgrass Calamagrostis stricta Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3a
smooth blue aster Symphyotrichum laeve Wildflower (forb) 4 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
smooth horsetail Equisetum laevigatum Fern 5 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
softstem bulrush Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani Grass or grass-like 9 ft Sun High Zone 3b
star duckweed Lemna trisulca Wildflower (forb) 4 in Sun High Zone 3b
tapertip flatsedge Cyperus acuminatus Grass or grass-like 1.3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3b
teal lovegrass Eragrostis hypnoides Grass or grass-like 4 in Sun High Zone 3b
threelobe beggarticks Bidens tripartita Wildflower (forb) 3.5 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 12a
tiny mousetail Myosurus minimus Wildflower (forb) 5 in Sun–part shade Medium Zone 12b
twoheaded water-starwort Callitriche heterophylla Wildflower (forb) — Sun High Zone 4a
upright prairie coneflower Ratibida columnifera Wildflower (forb) 3.1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
western snowberry Symphoricarpos occidentalis Shrub 3 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3b
white avens Geum canadense Wildflower (forb) 3.9 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
white doll's daisy Boltonia asteroides Wildflower (forb) 8 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
white meadowsweet Spiraea alba Shrub 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
white prairie clover Dalea candida Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
white sagebrush Artemisia ludoviciana Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
wild bergamot Monarda fistulosa Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4a
woolly plantain Plantago patagonica Wildflower (forb) 6 in Sun Low Zone 12b

Other native species recorded here 138

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.

  • Allegheny monkeyflower Mimulus ringens
  • American hogpeanut Amphicarpaea bracteata
  • aromatic aster Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
  • aster Symphyotrichum ×amethystinum
  • Aunt Lucy Ellisia nyctelea
  • bearded flatsedge Cyperus squarrosus
  • biannual lettuce Lactuca ludoviciana
  • big devils beggartick Bidens vulgata
  • blackfoot quillwort Isoetes melanopoda
  • blue mudplantain Heteranthera limosa
  • blue skullcap Scutellaria lateriflora
  • bog yellowcress Rorippa palustris
  • bottlebrush sedge Carex hystericina
  • brittle pricklypear Opuntia fragilis
  • buffalobur nightshade Solanum rostratum
  • Canadian anemone Anemone canadensis
  • Canadian clearweed Pilea pumila
  • candle anemone Anemone cylindrica
  • Carolina anemone Anemone caroliniana
  • Carolina geranium Geranium carolinianum
  • Carolina larkspur Delphinium carolinianum
  • churchmouse threeawn Aristida dichotoma
  • clammy groundcherry Physalis heterophylla
  • clammy hedgehyssop Gratiola neglecta
  • clasping Venus' looking-glass Triodanis perfoliata
  • common boneset Eupatorium perfoliatum
  • common moonseed Menispermum canadense
  • common yellow oxalis Oxalis stricta
  • compassplant Silphium laciniatum
  • Culver's root Veronicastrum virginicum
  • curlycup gumweed Grindelia squarrosa
  • downy gentian Gentiana puberulenta
  • downy phlox Phlox pilosa
  • Dudley's rush Juncus dudleyi
  • dutchman's breeches Dicentra cucullaria
  • eastern waterleaf Hydrophyllum virginianum
  • Emory's sedge Carex emoryi
  • fetid marigold Dyssodia papposa
  • fireberry hawthorn Crataegus chrysocarpa
  • fiveangled dodder Cuscuta pentagona
  • fleshy hawthorn Crataegus succulenta
  • Flodman's thistle Cirsium flodmanii
  • fluxweed Trichostema brachiatum
  • forked threeawn Aristida basiramea
  • foxtail barley Hordeum jubatum
  • fringed loosestrife Lysimachia ciliata
  • golden zizia Zizia aurea
  • grassleaf mudplantain Heteranthera dubia
  • great blue lobelia Lobelia siphilitica
  • grooved flax Linum sulcatum
  • hairy four o'clock Mirabilis hirsuta
  • hairy hedgenettle Stachys pilosa
  • hairy waterclover Marsilea vestita
  • hairy wildrye Elymus villosus
  • hazel dodder Cuscuta coryli
  • heartleaf four o'clock Mirabilis nyctaginea
  • heavy sedge Carex gravida
  • Heller's rosette grass Dichanthelium oligosanthes
  • hoary puccoon Lithospermum canescens
  • hoary verbena Verbena stricta
  • lanceleaf figwort Scrophularia lanceolata
  • large beardtongue Penstemon grandiflorus
  • Leiberg's panicum Dichanthelium leibergii
  • lilac penstemon Penstemon gracilis
  • long-stolon sedge Carex inops
  • longbract spiderwort Tradescantia bracteata
  • longleaf summer bluet Houstonia longifolia
  • Mead's sedge Carex meadii
  • meadow garlic Allium canadense
  • meadow zizia Zizia aptera
  • narrowleaf purple coneflower Echinacea angustifolia
  • narrowleaf vervain Verbena simplex
  • needleleaf sedge Carex duriuscula
  • needletip blue-eyed grass Sisyrinchium mucronatum
  • New England aster Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
  • northern bugleweed Lycopus uniflorus
  • Northern Idaho biscuitroot Lomatium orientale
  • northern selaginella Selaginella rupestris
  • northern sweetgrass Hierochloe hirta
  • oneseed bur cucumber Sicyos angulatus
  • Oregon cliff fern Woodsia oregana
  • Pennsylvania cinquefoil Potentilla pensylvanica
  • Pennsylvania sedge Carex pensylvanica
  • pleatleaf knotweed Polygonum tenue
  • poverty dropseed Sporobolus vaginiflorus
  • prairie goldenrod Oligoneuron album
  • prairie groundsel Packera plattensis
  • prairie ironweed Vernonia fasciculata
  • prairie plantain Plantago elongata
  • prairie rose Rosa arkansana
  • prairie violet Viola pedatifida
  • purple rattlesnakeroot Prenanthes racemosa
  • Richardson's alumroot Heuchera richardsonii
  • rigid sedge Carex tetanica
  • rock polypody Polypodium virginianum
  • rough barnyardgrass Echinochloa muricata
  • rough false pennyroyal Hedeoma hispida
  • rush skeletonplant Lygodesmia juncea
  • Scouler's popcornflower Plagiobothrys scouleri
  • shortbeak sedge Carex brevior
  • shortspike watermilfoil Myriophyllum sibiricum
  • silverleaf Indian breadroot Pediomelum argophyllum
  • sixweeks fescue Vulpia octoflora
  • sleepy silene Silene antirrhina
  • slenderleaf false foxglove Agalinis tenuifolia
  • small skullcap Scutellaria parvula
  • smooth oxeye Heliopsis helianthoides
  • smooth rose Rosa blanda
  • smooth Solomon's seal Polygonatum biflorum
  • snow on the mountain Euphorbia marginata
  • southwestern waterwort Elatine rubella
  • spinulose woodfern Dryopteris carthusiana
  • spotted sandmat Chamaesyce maculata
  • spotted water hemlock Cicuta maculata
  • stiff tickseed Coreopsis palmata
  • sunbright Phemeranthus parviflorus
  • swamp verbena Verbena hastata
  • tall blazing star Liatris aspera
  • tall thistle Cirsium altissimum
  • Texas goldentop Euthamia gymnospermoides
  • threadleaf crowfoot Ranunculus trichophyllus
  • tiny trumpet Collomia linearis
  • tumblegrass Schedonnardus paniculatus
  • veiny pea Lathyrus venosus
  • violet woodsorrel Oxalis violacea
  • Virginia groundcherry Physalis virginiana
  • Virginia mountainmint Pycnanthemum virginianum
  • warty spurge Euphorbia spathulata
  • water mudwort Limosella aquatica
  • water pygmyweed Crassula aquatica
  • western tansymustard Descurainia pinnata
  • white rattlesnakeroot Prenanthes alba
  • whorled milkweed Asclepias verticillata
  • wild cucumber Echinocystis lobata
  • woodbine Parthenocissus vitacea
  • woodland draba Draba nemorosa
  • woolly sedge Carex pellita
  • yellowseed false pimpernel Lindernia dubia
Also listed as native and introduced here 3

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.

  • climbing false buckwheatPolygonum scandens
  • common pepperweedLepidium densiflorum
  • common reedPhragmites australis

Compared with Minnesota

The typical county is the median of the 87 Minnesota 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, Rock County and Minnesota
MeasureRock CountyTypical countyStatewide
Native species 221 435 1,506
Garden-ready natives 83 193 550
Tree 7 — 105
Shrub 8 — 96
Wildflower (forb) 142 — 824
Grass or grass-like 46 — 361
Vine 10 — 43
Fern 8 — 77

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Rock 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
Rock County (county FIPS 27133), Minnesota. 221 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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