Native plants · Mississippi

Native plants of Lowndes County

124 plant species are recorded as native to Mississippi in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Lowndes County by USDA PLANTS. 46 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

Lowndes County, Mississippi

Native species: 124 Typical Mississippi county: 241 (median of 82 counties)
Garden-ready natives: 46 Typical Mississippi county: 116
Share by type (all 124 native species): Percent of the 124 native species in each growth type

Tree 10% (13)
Shrub 4% (5)
Wildflower (forb) 68% (84)
Grass or grass-like 7% (9)
Vine 10% (12)
Fern <1% (1)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (68%), followed by trees (10%).

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 8a to 8b (2023 map).

The native plant list

Garden-ready natives 46

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

Garden-ready native plants of Lowndes County, Mississippi
Plant	Type	Height	Light	Water use	Hardy to
American bellflower Campanulastrum americanum	Wildflower (forb)	6 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 12b
Atlantic camas Camassia scilloides	Wildflower (forb)	2.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4b
blue mistflower Conoclinium coelestinum	Wildflower (forb)	3.2 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 6a
boxelder Acer negundo	Tree	60 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 2b
calico aster Symphyotrichum lateriflorum	Wildflower (forb)	4 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4a
Canada goldenrod Solidago canadensis	Wildflower (forb)	3.5 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3a
Canadian horseweed Conyza canadensis	Wildflower (forb)	5 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 12b
Carolina elephantsfoot Elephantopus carolinianus	Wildflower (forb)	2.7 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 6a
clasping coneflower Dracopis amplexicaulis	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	High	Zone 10b
climbing hempvine Mikania scandens	Vine	1 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3b
coastal doghobble Leucothoe axillaris	Shrub	6.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 7b
common blue violet Viola sororia	Wildflower (forb)	4 in	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 4b
eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides	Tree	190 ft	Sun	High	Zone 3a
eastern redbud Cercis canadensis	Tree	30 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 4b
gray goldenrod Solidago nemoralis	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4a
green arrow arum Peltandra virginica	Wildflower (forb)	2.3 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 5a
Gulf Sebastian-bush Ditrysinia fruticosa	Shrub	12 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 5b
hairy white oldfield aster Symphyotrichum pilosum	Wildflower (forb)	3 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4a
Illinois bundleflower Desmanthus illinoensis	Wildflower (forb)	3 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 5b
Indianhemp Apocynum cannabinum	Wildflower (forb)	3.3 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 3a
mountain azalea Rhododendron canescens	Shrub	14 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 6a
narrowleaf silkgrass Pityopsis graminifolia	Wildflower (forb)	2.8 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 7a
partridge pea Chamaecrista fasciculata	Wildflower (forb)	2.4 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 7a
peppervine Nekemias arborea	Vine	1 in	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 6a
pignut hickory Carya glabra	Tree	80 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 4a
pinnate prairie coneflower Ratibida pinnata	Wildflower (forb)	4 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
poorland flatsedge Cyperus compressus	Grass or grass-like	1 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 11a
possumhaw Ilex decidua	Tree	33 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 5b
pride of Ohio Dodecatheon meadia	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3b
pumpkin ash Fraxinus profunda	Tree	120 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 5a
red mulberry Morus rubra	Tree	70 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4a
sassafras Sassafras albidum	Tree	75 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 4b
scarlet Indian paintbrush Castilleja coccinea	Wildflower (forb)	1.6 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4b
shellbark hickory Carya laciniosa	Tree	100 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 5a
silky dogwood Cornus amomum	Shrub	10 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 3b
southern waxy sedge Carex glaucescens	Grass or grass-like	4.9 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 6a
sugarberry Celtis laevigata	Tree	80 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 5a
trumpet creeper Campsis radicans	Vine	2 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 6a
Virginia creeper Parthenocissus quinquefolia	Vine	1 ft	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 4b
white avens Geum canadense	Wildflower (forb)	3.9 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4a
white prairie clover Dalea candida	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 3b
wild blue phlox Phlox divaricata	Wildflower (forb)	3 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 4a
willow oak Quercus phellos	Tree	100 ft	Sun	High	Zone 5a
wingleaf primrose-willow Ludwigia decurrens	Wildflower (forb)	4.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 8a
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 78

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.

Alabama supplejack Berchemia scandens
American bluehearts Buchnera americana
American buckwheat vine Brunnichia ovata
American columbo Frasera caroliniensis
anisescented goldenrod Solidago odora
annual marsh elder Iva annua
Atlantic pigeonwings Clitoria mariana
axilflower Mecardonia acuminata
blue ash Fraxinus quadrangulata
camphor pluchea Pluchea camphorata
camphorweed Heterotheca subaxillaris
Carolina horsenettle Solanum carolinense
Carolina wild petunia Ruellia caroliniensis
Carolina woollywhite Hymenopappus scabiosaeus
common boneset Eupatorium perfoliatum
common moonseed Menispermum canadense
compassplant Silphium laciniatum
cutleaf evening primrose Oenothera laciniata
Dakota mock vervain Glandularia bipinnatifida
devil's grandmother Elephantopus tomentosus
diamond-flowers Stenaria nigricans
dogfennel Eupatorium capillifolium
dwarf plantain Plantago pusilla
eastern milkpea Galactia regularis
false aloe Manfreda virginica
flowering spurge Euphorbia corollata
giant ironweed Vernonia gigantea
globe flatsedge Cyperus echinatus
golden zizia Zizia aurea
great ragweed Ambrosia trifida
green dragon Arisaema dracontium
heartwing sorrel Rumex hastatulus
Heller's rosette grass Dichanthelium oligosanthes
hoary puccoon Lithospermum canescens
James' sedge Carex jamesii
juniper leaf Polypremum procumbens
king of the meadow Thalictrum pubescens
lanceleaf buckthorn Rhamnus lanceolata
lateflowering thoroughwort Eupatorium serotinum
lemonyellow false goldenaster Heterotheca camporum
lesser yellow lady's slipper Cypripedium parviflorum
limestone adderstongue Ophioglossum engelmannii
Maryland goldenaster Chrysopsis mariana
Maryland milkwort Polygala mariana
Mead's sedge Carex meadii
narrowleaf mountainmint Pycnanthemum tenuifolium
narrowleaf pinweed Lechea tenuifolia
narrowleaf whitetop aster Sericocarpus linifolius
New England aster Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
Nuttall's prairie parsley Polytaenia nuttallii
pale dock Rumex altissimus
poorjoe Diodia teres
purple passionflower Passiflora incarnata
Reznicek's sedge Carex reznicekii
rough rattlesnakeroot Prenanthes aspera
roundfruit hedgehyssop Gratiola virginiana
roundleaf thoroughwort Eupatorium rotundifolium
Sampson's snakeroot Orbexilum pedunculatum
slender looseflower sedge Carex gracilescens
slender threeseed mercury Acalypha gracilens
small skullcap Scutellaria parvula
smallhead doll's daisy Boltonia diffusa
spotted water hemlock Cicuta maculata
St. Andrew's cross Hypericum hypericoides
swamp leather flower Clematis crispa
tall lespedeza Lespedeza stuevei
three-lobe violet Viola triloba
turk's-cap lily Lilium superbum
twining snoutbean Rhynchosia tomentosa
vasevine Clematis viorna
Venus' pride Houstonia purpurea
Virginia plantain Plantago virginica
wavyleaf aster Symphyotrichum undulatum
white fawnlily Erythronium albidum
white heath aster Symphyotrichum ericoides
wholeleaf rosinweed Silphium integrifolium
winged lythrum Lythrum alatum
wiry panicgrass Panicum flexile

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.

annual ragweedAmbrosia artemisiifolia

Compared with Mississippi

The typical county is the median of the 82 Mississippi 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, Lowndes County and Mississippi
Measure	Lowndes County	Typical county	Statewide
Native species	124	241	1,473
Garden-ready natives	46	116	528
Tree	13	—	164
Shrub	5	—	63
Wildflower (forb)	84	—	770
Grass or grass-like	9	—	358
Vine	12	—	72
Fern	1	—	46

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Lowndes County.

Monroe County, MS 102 garden-ready
Noxubee County, MS 145 garden-ready
Oktibbeha County, MS 64 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: Lowndes County (county FIPS 28087), Mississippi. 124 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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