Native plants · Montana
Native plants of Prairie County
130 plant species are recorded as native to Montana in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Prairie County by USDA PLANTS. 79 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
Prairie County, Montana
- Native species
- 130 Typical Montana county: 161 (median of 56 counties)
- Garden-ready natives
- 79 Typical Montana county: 104
- Share by type (all 130 native species)
-
Percent of the 130 native species in each growth type
Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (48%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (23%).
The native plant list
Garden-ready natives 79
Native species with PLANTS growing records (height, light, moisture, minimum temperature). “—” means PLANTS has no value.
| Plant | Type | Height | Light | Water use | Hardy to |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| alkali buttercup Ranunculus cymbalaria | Wildflower (forb) | 1 ft | Shade-tolerant | High | Zone 3b |
| alkali cordgrass Spartina gracilis | Grass or grass-like | 3 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3b |
| alkali sacaton Sporobolus airoides | Grass or grass-like | 3 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 3b |
| American black currant Ribes americanum | Shrub | 3 ft | — | — | Zone 2b |
| American elm Ulmus americana | Tree | 120 ft | Sun–part shade | High | Zone 2b |
| American licorice Glycyrrhiza lepidota | Wildflower (forb) | 4 ft | Sun–part shade | High | Zone 3b |
| American vetch Vicia americana | Vine | 1.3 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 3b |
| arumleaf arrowhead Sagittaria cuneata | Wildflower (forb) | 2.6 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 4a |
| big sagebrush Artemisia tridentata | Tree | 4 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3a |
| blanketflower Gaillardia aristata | Wildflower (forb) | 2 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 4a |
| blue grama Bouteloua gracilis | Grass or grass-like | 1 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3a |
| bluebunch wheatgrass Pseudoroegneria spicata | Grass or grass-like | 3 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 3b |
| bluejoint Calamagrostis canadensis | Grass or grass-like | 4.9 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 4a |
| boxelder Acer negundo | Tree | 60 ft | Shade-tolerant | Medium | Zone 2b |
| broom snakeweed Gutierrezia sarothrae | Shrub | 1.5 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3b |
| Canada wildrye Elymus canadensis | Grass or grass-like | 3 ft | Shade-tolerant | Medium | Zone 3a |
| chokecherry Prunus virginiana | Tree | 25 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3a |
| creeping juniper Juniperus horizontalis | Shrub | 4 ft | Sun | High | Zone 3a |
| darkthroat shootingstar Dodecatheon pulchellum | Wildflower (forb) | 2 ft | Sun–part shade | Medium | Zone 4a |
| dotted blazing star Liatris punctata | Wildflower (forb) | 2 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3a |
| drooping woodreed Cinna latifolia | Grass or grass-like | 4.5 ft | Sun–part shade | High | Zone 3b |
| eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides | Tree | 190 ft | Sun | High | Zone 3a |
| fourwing saltbush Atriplex canescens | Shrub | 4 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3a |
| fowl bluegrass Poa palustris | Grass or grass-like | 4 ft | Sun–part shade | Medium | Zone 3b |
| golden currant Ribes aureum | Shrub | 10 ft | Sun–part shade | Low | Zone 3b |
| golden sedge Carex aurea | Grass or grass-like | 1.2 ft | Sun–part shade | High | Zone 4a |
| gooseberry currant Ribes montigenum | Shrub | 1 ft | Sun–part shade | Medium | Zone 7a |
| green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica | Tree | 80 ft | Shade-tolerant | Medium | Zone 2b |
| green needlegrass Nassella viridula | Grass or grass-like | 2 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 3b |
| hairy false goldenaster Heterotheca villosa | Wildflower (forb) | 3 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 4a |
| Lewis flax Linum lewisii | Wildflower (forb) | 2.5 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3b |
| little barley Hordeum pusillum | Grass or grass-like | 1.2 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 10b |
| meadow barley Hordeum brachyantherum | Grass or grass-like | 2 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3a |
| Missouri goldenrod Solidago missouriensis | Wildflower (forb) | 3 ft | Sun–part shade | Low | Zone 3b |
| Nebraska sedge Carex nebrascensis | Grass or grass-like | 3 ft | Sun | High | Zone 3b |
| needle and thread Hesperostipa comata | Grass or grass-like | 3 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 3b |
| northern bedstraw Galium boreale | Wildflower (forb) | 3 ft | Sun–part shade | Medium | Zone 4a |
| old man's whiskers Geum triflorum | Wildflower (forb) | 1.5 ft | Sun–part shade | Medium | Zone 3b |
| pale agoseris Agoseris glauca | Shrub | 1 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 4a |
| plains pricklypear Opuntia polyacantha | Shrub | 2 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 4b |
| prairie sagewort Artemisia frigida | Shrub | 2 ft | Sun–part shade | Low | Zone 3a |
| prickly rose Rosa acicularis | Shrub | 4 ft | Shade-tolerant | High | Zone 3b |
| purple locoweed Oxytropis lambertii | Wildflower (forb) | 1.4 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 3b |
| purple prairie clover Dalea purpurea | Wildflower (forb) | 3 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3b |
| quaking aspen Populus tremuloides | Tree | 65 ft | Sun | High | Zone 1a |
| redosier dogwood Cornus sericea | Tree | 12 ft | Sun | High | Zone 3b |
| rubber rabbitbrush Ericameria nauseosa | Shrub | 4 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3b |
| saltgrass Distichlis spicata | Grass or grass-like | 1.1 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3b |
| sand dropseed Sporobolus cryptandrus | Grass or grass-like | 3 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 3b |
| sandbar willow Salix interior | Tree | 30 ft | Sun | — | Zone 1a |
| sanddune wallflower Erysimum capitatum | Wildflower (forb) | 2.5 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 4b |
| scarlet globemallow Sphaeralcea coccinea | Wildflower (forb) | 1.5 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 5a |
| shadscale saltbush Atriplex confertifolia | Shrub | 3 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3b |
| showy milkweed Asclepias speciosa | Wildflower (forb) | 6 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 4a |
| silver buffaloberry Shepherdia argentea | Tree | 18 ft | Sun–part shade | Medium | Zone 3b |
| silver sagebrush Artemisia cana | Shrub | 5 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 3a |
| skunkbush sumac Rhus trilobata | Shrub | 4 ft | Sun–part shade | Low | Zone 2a |
| slender cinquefoil Potentilla gracilis | Wildflower (forb) | 2.4 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 3a |
| slender wheatgrass Elymus trachycaulus | Grass or grass-like | 3 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3b |
| soapweed yucca Yucca glauca | Shrub | 1 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 4b |
| spreading yellowcress Rorippa sinuata | Wildflower (forb) | 1 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3b |
| squirreltail Elymus elymoides | Grass or grass-like | 1.5 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 3a |
| tall cinquefoil Potentilla arguta | Wildflower (forb) | 3 ft | Sun–part shade | Medium | Zone 3b |
| tanseyleaf tansyaster Machaeranthera tanacetifolia | Wildflower (forb) | 2 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 4a |
| tenpetal blazingstar Mentzelia decapetala | Wildflower (forb) | 3.5 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3b |
| textile onion Allium textile | Wildflower (forb) | 1 ft | Sun–part shade | Medium | Zone 3b |
| threadleaf sedge Carex filifolia | Grass or grass-like | 1.2 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 3b |
| thrift mock goldenweed Stenotus armerioides | Wildflower (forb) | 1 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 5a |
| 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 |
| western wheatgrass Pascopyrum smithii | Grass or grass-like | 2 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3a |
| western white clematis Clematis ligusticifolia | Vine | 1 ft | Sun–part shade | Medium | Zone 3b |
| white prairie clover Dalea candida | Wildflower (forb) | 2 ft | Sun–part shade | Medium | Zone 3b |
| wild bergamot Monarda fistulosa | Wildflower (forb) | 4.9 ft | Sun–part shade | High | Zone 4a |
| winterfat Krascheninnikovia lanata | Shrub | 2 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 2a |
| Woods' rose Rosa woodsii | Shrub | 3 ft | Sun–part shade | Medium | Zone 3a |
| woolly groundsel Packera cana | Wildflower (forb) | 1.5 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 3a |
| woolly plantain Plantago patagonica | Wildflower (forb) | 6 in | Sun | Low | Zone 12b |
| yellow owl's-clover Orthocarpus luteus | Wildflower (forb) | 1.5 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 12b |
No garden-ready natives match these filters. Try clearing one.
Other native species recorded here 51
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.
Hidden while “Garden-ready only” is on.
- Bebb willow Salix bebbiana
- bigbract verbena Verbena bracteata
- blackseed plantain Plantago rugelii
- bog yellowcress Rorippa palustris
- Canadian gooseberry Ribes oxyacanthoides
- Cuman ragweed Ambrosia psilostachya
- cutleaf nightshade Solanum triflorum
- Drummond's false pennyroyal Hedeoma drummondii
- Dudley's rush Juncus dudleyi
- fineleaf hymenopappus Hymenopappus filifolius
- fireberry hawthorn Crataegus chrysocarpa
- flatspine stickseed Lappula occidentalis
- Flodman's thistle Cirsium flodmanii
- foxtail barley Hordeum jubatum
- fragrant bedstraw Galium triflorum
- hedge false bindweed Calystegia sepium
- hookedspur violet Viola adunca
- large Indian breadroot Pediomelum esculentum
- Mojave seablite Suaeda moquinii
- narrowleaf purple coneflower Echinacea angustifolia
- needleleaf sedge Carex duriuscula
- nodding stickseed Hackelia deflexa
- northern green rush Juncus alpinoarticulatus
- pale spikerush Eleocharis macrostachya
- Paradox cinquefoil Potentilla paradoxa
- Pennsylvania pellitory Parietaria pensylvanica
- povertyweed Iva axillaris
- prairie rose Rosa arkansana
- prairie sunflower Helianthus petiolaris
- ribseed sandmat Chamaesyce glyptosperma
- rosy pussytoes Antennaria rosea
- rusty lupine Lupinus pusillus
- scarlet beeblossom Oenothera suffrutescens
- shaggy fleabane Erigeron pumilus
- shortbeak sedge Carex brevior
- shy wallflower Erysimum inconspicuum
- silverleaf Indian breadroot Pediomelum argophyllum
- sixweeks fescue Vulpia octoflora
- snow on the mountain Euphorbia marginata
- snowball sand verbena Abronia fragrans
- spreading dogbane Apocynum androsaemifolium
- stemless four-nerve daisy Tetraneuris acaulis
- stiff sunflower Helianthus pauciflorus
- stiffstem flax Linum rigidum
- tiny trumpet Collomia linearis
- tumblegrass Schedonnardus paniculatus
- wavyleaf thistle Cirsium undulatum
- western poison ivy Toxicodendron rydbergii
- witchgrass Panicum capillare
- woolly sedge Carex pellita
- yellow avens Geum aleppicum
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.
- common pepperweedLepidium densiflorum
- Kentucky bluegrassPoa pratensis
- white sagebrushArtemisia ludoviciana
Compared with Montana
The typical county is the median of the 56 Montana 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.
| Measure | Prairie County | Typical county | Statewide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Native species | 130 | 161 | 1,086 |
| Garden-ready natives | 79 | 104 | 606 |
| Tree | 12 | — | 71 |
| Shrub | 21 | — | 98 |
| Wildflower (forb) | 62 | — | 609 |
| Grass or grass-like | 30 | — | 246 |
| Vine | 5 | — | 18 |
| Fern | 0 | — | 44 |
Neighboring counties
Counties that share a ZIP code with Prairie County.
- Custer County, MT 107 garden-ready
- Dawson County, MT 100 garden-ready
- McCone County, MT 86 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
- Prairie County (county FIPS 30079), Montana. 130 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