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Native plants · Minnesota

Native plants of Watonwan County

106 plant species are recorded as native to Minnesota in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Watonwan County by USDA PLANTS. 49 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

Watonwan County, Minnesota

Native species
106 Typical Minnesota county: 435 (median of 87 counties)
Garden-ready natives
49 Typical Minnesota county: 193
Share by type (all 106 native species)
Percent of the 106 native species in each growth type
Tree 10% (11)
Shrub 6% (6)
Wildflower (forb) 63% (67)
Grass or grass-like 13% (14)
Vine 6% (6)
Fern 2% (2)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (63%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (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 zone 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 49

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

Garden-ready native plants of Watonwan County, Minnesota
PlantType HeightLight Water useHardy to
American black currant Ribes americanum Shrub 3 ft — — Zone 2b
American elm Ulmus americana Tree 120 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 2b
American vetch Vicia americana Vine 1.3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
black raspberry Rubus occidentalis Shrub 6 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4b
black willow Salix nigra Tree 100 ft Sun High Zone 1b
blackeyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 5a
boxelder Acer negundo Tree 60 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 2b
broadleaf arrowhead Sagittaria latifolia Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Sun High Zone 4a
broadleaf cattail Typha latifolia Wildflower (forb) 5 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3b
burningbush Euonymus atropurpureus Tree 10 ft Shade-tolerant Low —
Canadian lousewort Pedicularis canadensis Wildflower (forb) 1.3 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3a
chokecherry Prunus virginiana Tree 25 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
clustered field sedge Carex praegracilis Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
common blue violet Viola sororia Wildflower (forb) 4 in Sun–part shade High Zone 4b
common goldstar Hypoxis hirsuta Wildflower (forb) 10 in Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
devil's beggartick Bidens frondosa Wildflower (forb) 4 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 12a
downy yellow violet Viola pubescens Wildflower (forb) 1.3 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides Tree 190 ft Sun High Zone 3a
eastern woodland sedge Carex blanda Grass or grass-like 2 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4b
false indigo bush Amorpha fruticosa Shrub 15 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
field pussytoes Antennaria neglecta Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
fox sedge Carex vulpinoidea Grass or grass-like 3.2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
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
Indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans Grass or grass-like 6 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
leadplant Amorpha canescens Shrub 4 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 3b
little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
littleleaf buttercup Ranunculus abortivus Wildflower (forb) 2.8 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3a
nodding beggartick Bidens cernua Wildflower (forb) 3.2 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 12a
partridge pea Chamaecrista fasciculata Wildflower (forb) 2.4 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 7a
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
prairie blazing star Liatris pycnostachya Wildflower (forb) 3.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
prairie fleabane Erigeron strigosus Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 4b
prairie sandreed Calamovilfa longifolia Grass or grass-like 4.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
prairie willow Salix humilis Shrub 10 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3a
purple milkvetch Astragalus agrestis Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
rattlesnake fern Botrychium virginianum Fern 1.4 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3b
riverbank grape Vitis riparia Vine 45 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
rock elm Ulmus thomasii Tree 90 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 2b
roughfruit amaranth Amaranthus tuberculatus Wildflower (forb) 6.6 ft Sun High Zone 4a
roundhead lespedeza Lespedeza capitata Wildflower (forb) 2.6 ft Sun Low Zone 4b
silver maple Acer saccharinum Tree 90 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 2b
smooth horsetail Equisetum laevigatum Fern 5 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
stiff goldenrod Oligoneuron rigidum Wildflower (forb) 3.6 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3a
tall cinquefoil Potentilla arguta Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
threelobe beggarticks Bidens tripartita Wildflower (forb) 3.5 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 12a
white panicle aster Symphyotrichum lanceolatum Wildflower (forb) 6 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3b
white sagebrush Artemisia ludoviciana Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Low Zone 4a

Other native species recorded here 57

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.

  • amberique-bean Strophostyles helvola
  • American mannagrass Glyceria grandis
  • American sloughgrass Beckmannia syzigachne
  • Aunt Lucy Ellisia nyctelea
  • autumn onion Allium stellatum
  • bastard toadflax Comandra umbellata
  • button eryngo Eryngium yuccifolium
  • Canadian anemone Anemone canadensis
  • common milkweed Asclepias syriaca
  • downy hawthorn Crataegus mollis
  • downy phlox Phlox pilosa
  • eastern waterleaf Hydrophyllum virginianum
  • falsegold groundsel Packera pseudaurea
  • Flodman's thistle Cirsium flodmanii
  • fourflower yellow loosestrife Lysimachia quadriflora
  • foxtail barley Hordeum jubatum
  • golden zizia Zizia aurea
  • Great Plains lady's tresses Spiranthes magnicamporum
  • great ragweed Ambrosia trifida
  • groovestem Indian plantain Arnoglossum plantagineum
  • groundplum milkvetch Astragalus crassicarpus
  • heartleaf four o'clock Mirabilis nyctaginea
  • heavy sedge Carex gravida
  • hoary puccoon Lithospermum canescens
  • hoary verbena Verbena stricta
  • lanceleaf figwort Scrophularia lanceolata
  • Leiberg's panicum Dichanthelium leibergii
  • longbract spiderwort Tradescantia bracteata
  • marsh pea Lathyrus palustris
  • meadow garlic Allium canadense
  • meadow willow Salix petiolaris
  • meadow zizia Zizia aptera
  • Missouri gooseberry Ribes missouriense
  • Missouri violet Viola missouriensis
  • northern bog violet Viola nephrophylla
  • northern sweetgrass Hierochloe hirta
  • northern water plantain Alisma triviale
  • obedient plant Physostegia virginiana
  • Pennsylvania pellitory Parietaria pensylvanica
  • prairie blue-eyed grass Sisyrinchium campestre
  • prairie ironweed Vernonia fasciculata
  • prairie violet Viola pedatifida
  • Richardson's alumroot Heuchera richardsonii
  • shortbeak sedge Carex brevior
  • showy ticktrefoil Desmodium canadense
  • starry false lily of the valley Maianthemum stellatum
  • stiff sunflower Helianthus pauciflorus
  • stiff tickseed Coreopsis palmata
  • swamp verbena Verbena hastata
  • tall thistle Cirsium altissimum
  • veiny pea Lathyrus venosus
  • violet woodsorrel Oxalis violacea
  • Virginia mountainmint Pycnanthemum virginianum
  • Virginia strawberry Fragaria virginiana
  • white heath aster Symphyotrichum ericoides
  • white snakeroot Ageratina altissima
  • woodbine Parthenocissus vitacea
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.

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, Watonwan County and Minnesota
MeasureWatonwan CountyTypical countyStatewide
Native species 106 435 1,506
Garden-ready natives 49 193 550
Tree 11 — 105
Shrub 6 — 96
Wildflower (forb) 67 — 824
Grass or grass-like 14 — 361
Vine 6 — 43
Fern 2 — 77

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Watonwan 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
Watonwan County (county FIPS 27165), Minnesota. 106 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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