Native plants · North Dakota

Native plants of Adams County

95 plant species are recorded as native to North Dakota in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Adams County by USDA PLANTS. 62 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness.

County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

Adams County, North Dakota

Native species
95 Typical North Dakota county: 287 (median of 53 counties)
Garden-ready natives
62 Typical North Dakota county: 143
Share by type (all 95 native species)
Percent of the 95 native species in each growth type
Tree 2% (2)
Shrub 7% (7)
Wildflower (forb) 59% (56)
Grass or grass-like 24% (23)
Vine 1% (1)
Fern 6% (6)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (59%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (24%).

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 4b (2023 map).

The native plant list

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

Garden-ready natives 62

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

Garden-ready native plants of Adams County, North Dakota
PlantType HeightLight Water useHardy 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
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
blue grama Bouteloua gracilis Grass or grass-like 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
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 goldenrod Solidago altissima Wildflower (forb) 5 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4b
Canada goldenrod Solidago canadensis Wildflower (forb) 3.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
Canada wildrye Elymus canadensis Grass or grass-like 3 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3a
clustered field sedge Carex praegracilis Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
common juniper Juniperus communis Tree 10 ft Sun Low Zone 3a
common mare's-tail Hippuris vulgaris Wildflower (forb) 2.8 ft Sun High Zone 3b
common spikerush Eleocharis palustris Grass or grass-like 1.3 ft Sun High Zone 3b
common threesquare Schoenoplectus pungens Grass or grass-like 4.9 ft Sun High Zone 3b
devil's beggartick Bidens frondosa Wildflower (forb) 4 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 12a
downy paintedcup Castilleja sessiliflora Wildflower (forb) 1.3 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
fowl bluegrass Poa palustris Grass or grass-like 4 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
Gardner's saltbush Atriplex gardneri Shrub 4 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
golden tickseed Coreopsis tinctoria Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 12b
gray goldenrod Solidago nemoralis Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
hardstem bulrush Schoenoplectus acutus Grass or grass-like 9.8 ft Sun High Zone 3b
Indianhemp Apocynum cannabinum Wildflower (forb) 3.3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3a
inland rush Juncus interior Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
kinnikinnick Arctostaphylos uva-ursi Shrub 6 in Sun–part shade Low Zone 4a
Lewis flax Linum lewisii Wildflower (forb) 2.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
Missouri goldenrod Solidago missouriensis Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade Low 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
Nuttall's alkaligrass Puccinellia nuttalliana Grass or grass-like 10 in Sun Medium Zone 3b
pale agoseris Agoseris glauca Shrub 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
prairie cordgrass Spartina pectinata Grass or grass-like 8 ft Sun High 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 sagewort Artemisia frigida Shrub 2 ft Sun–part shade Low 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
purple prairie clover Dalea purpurea Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
saltgrass Distichlis spicata Grass or grass-like 1.1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
sandcherry Prunus pumila Shrub 6 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 4a
Saskatoon serviceberry Amelanchier alnifolia Tree 15 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 1a
scarlet globemallow Sphaeralcea coccinea Wildflower (forb) 1.5 ft Sun Low Zone 5a
scratchgrass Muhlenbergia asperifolia Grass or grass-like 2 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 5b
silverweed cinquefoil Argentina anserina Wildflower (forb) 6 in Shade-tolerant High Zone 5a
slimstem reedgrass Calamagrostis stricta Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun–part shade High 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
spreading yellowcress Rorippa sinuata Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun Medium 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
textile onion Allium textile Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
threelobe beggarticks Bidens tripartita Wildflower (forb) 3.5 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 12a
thrift mock goldenweed Stenotus armerioides Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun Low Zone 5a
western snowberry Symphoricarpos occidentalis Shrub 3 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3b
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
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
yellow owl's-clover Orthocarpus luteus Wildflower (forb) 1.5 ft Sun Low Zone 12b

Other native species recorded here 33

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.

  • American sloughgrass Beckmannia syzigachne
  • brittle bladderfern Cystopteris fragilis
  • bushy knotweed Polygonum ramosissimum
  • Carolina draba Draba reptans
  • desert biscuitroot Lomatium foeniculaceum
  • Drummond's campion Silene drummondii
  • foothill bladderpod Lesquerella ludoviciana
  • hairy waterclover Marsilea vestita
  • large Indian breadroot Pediomelum esculentum
  • Laxmann's milkvetch Astragalus laxmannii
  • lesser spikemoss Selaginella densa
  • Macoun's barley ×Elyhordeum macounii
  • narrowleaf purple coneflower Echinacea angustifolia
  • neckweed Veronica peregrina
  • needleleaf sedge Carex duriuscula
  • Pennsylvania cinquefoil Potentilla pensylvanica
  • Pennsylvania pellitory Parietaria pensylvanica
  • plains bluegrass Poa arida
  • prairie spiderwort Tradescantia occidentalis
  • ribseed sandmat Chamaesyce glyptosperma
  • Richardson's alumroot Heuchera richardsonii
  • Scouler's popcornflower Plagiobothrys scouleri
  • shaggy fleabane Erigeron pumilus
  • silverleaf Indian breadroot Pediomelum argophyllum
  • smooth cliffbrake Pellaea glabella
  • stemless four-nerve daisy Tetraneuris acaulis
  • stiff sunflower Helianthus pauciflorus
  • velvety goldenrod Solidago mollis
  • water mudwort Limosella aquatica
  • western rockjasmine Androsace occidentalis
  • western tansymustard Descurainia pinnata
  • white heath aster Symphyotrichum ericoides
  • woodland draba Draba nemorosa

Compared with North Dakota

The typical county is the median of the 53 North Dakota 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, Adams County and North Dakota
MeasureAdams CountyTypical countyStatewide
Native species 95 287 890
Garden-ready natives 62 143 386
Tree 2 — 50
Shrub 7 — 62
Wildflower (forb) 56 — 513
Grass or grass-like 23 — 203
Vine 1 — 31
Fern 6 — 31

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Adams 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
Adams County (county FIPS 38001), North Dakota. 95 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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