Native plants · Nebraska
Native plants of Dundy County
191 plant species are recorded as native to Nebraska in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Dundy County by USDA PLANTS. 92 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
Dundy County, Nebraska
- Native species
- 191 Typical Nebraska county: 169 (median of 93 counties)
- Garden-ready natives
- 92 Typical Nebraska county: 81
- Share by type (all 191 native species)
-
Percent of the 191 native species in each growth type
Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (59%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (30%).
The native plant list
Garden-ready natives 92
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 cordgrass Spartina gracilis | Grass or grass-like | 3 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3b |
| American bellflower Campanulastrum americanum | Wildflower (forb) | 6 ft | Shade-tolerant | Medium | Zone 12b |
| American water horehound Lycopus americanus | Wildflower (forb) | 1.8 ft | Shade-tolerant | High | Zone 3b |
| arumleaf arrowhead Sagittaria cuneata | Wildflower (forb) | 2.6 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 4a |
| beaked spikerush Eleocharis rostellata | Grass or grass-like | 3 ft | Sun | High | Zone 4b |
| big bluestem Andropogon gerardii | Grass or grass-like | 6 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 2b |
| broadleaf arrowhead Sagittaria latifolia | Wildflower (forb) | 4.9 ft | Sun | High | Zone 4a |
| broom snakeweed Gutierrezia sarothrae | Shrub | 1.5 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3b |
| 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 |
| Canadian horseweed Conyza canadensis | Wildflower (forb) | 5 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 12b |
| Canadian waterweed Elodea canadensis | Wildflower (forb) | — | Sun | High | Zone 4a |
| cardinalflower Lobelia cardinalis | Wildflower (forb) | 5.9 ft | Shade-tolerant | Low | Zone 4a |
| cloaked bulrush Scirpus pallidus | Grass or grass-like | 5 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3b |
| clustered field sedge Carex praegracilis | Grass or grass-like | 2 ft | Sun–part shade | Medium | Zone 3b |
| common duckweed Lemna minor | Wildflower (forb) | — | Sun | High | Zone 3b |
| common evening primrose Oenothera biennis | Wildflower (forb) | 5 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 4b |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| coon's tail Ceratophyllum demersum | Wildflower (forb) | — | Sun–part shade | High | Zone 3b |
| crested pricklypoppy Argemone polyanthemos | Wildflower (forb) | 3 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 5a |
| devil's beggartick Bidens frondosa | Wildflower (forb) | 4 ft | Sun–part shade | Medium | Zone 12a |
| dotted blazing star Liatris punctata | Wildflower (forb) | 2 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3a |
| dotted smartweed Polygonum punctatum | Wildflower (forb) | 3.2 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 10b |
| 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 |
| fowl mannagrass Glyceria striata | Grass or grass-like | 5.7 ft | Shade-tolerant | Medium | Zone 3b |
| fragrant flatsedge Cyperus odoratus | Grass or grass-like | 2 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 11b |
| golden currant Ribes aureum | Shrub | 10 ft | Sun–part shade | Low | Zone 3b |
| golden tickseed Coreopsis tinctoria | Wildflower (forb) | 3 ft | Sun–part shade | High | Zone 12b |
| hairy grama Bouteloua hirsuta | Grass or grass-like | 6 in | Sun | Low | Zone 3b |
| hardstem bulrush Schoenoplectus acutus | Grass or grass-like | 9.8 ft | Sun | High | Zone 3b |
| Illinois bundleflower Desmanthus illinoensis | Wildflower (forb) | 3 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 5b |
| Indian ricegrass Achnatherum hymenoides | Grass or grass-like | 2 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 3a |
| Indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans | Grass or grass-like | 6 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3b |
| leadplant Amorpha canescens | Shrub | 4 ft | Shade-tolerant | Low | Zone 3b |
| lesser bladderwort Utricularia minor | Wildflower (forb) | 2 in | Sun | High | Zone 3a |
| little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium | Grass or grass-like | 3 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 3b |
| marsh muhly Muhlenbergia racemosa | Grass or grass-like | 3 ft | Shade-tolerant | Medium | Zone 3b |
| Mexican muhly Muhlenbergia mexicana | Grass or grass-like | 3 ft | Sun–part shade | Medium | Zone 4a |
| Missouri goldenrod Solidago missouriensis | Wildflower (forb) | 3 ft | Sun–part shade | Low | Zone 3b |
| Missouri gourd Cucurbita foetidissima | Vine | 1 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 5a |
| 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 |
| needle spikerush Eleocharis acicularis | Grass or grass-like | 8 in | Sun | Medium | Zone 5a |
| nodding beggartick Bidens cernua | Wildflower (forb) | 3.2 ft | Sun–part shade | High | Zone 12a |
| Pennsylvania smartweed Polygonum pensylvanicum | Wildflower (forb) | 3.9 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 10b |
| prairie cordgrass Spartina pectinata | Grass or grass-like | 8 ft | Sun | High | Zone 3b |
| 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 |
| prairie sandreed Calamovilfa longifolia | Grass or grass-like | 4.5 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3b |
| purple lovegrass Eragrostis spectabilis | Grass or grass-like | 11 in | Sun | Low | Zone 3a |
| purple poppymallow Callirhoe involucrata | Wildflower (forb) | 1 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3b |
| rice cutgrass Leersia oryzoides | Grass or grass-like | 4.9 ft | Sun | High | Zone 4a |
| Rocky Mountain beeplant Cleome serrulata | Wildflower (forb) | 3 ft | Sun–part shade | Medium | Zone 12b |
| sago pondweed Stuckenia pectinata | Wildflower (forb) | — | Sun | High | Zone 3b |
| saltgrass Distichlis spicata | Grass or grass-like | 1.1 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3b |
| sand bluestem Andropogon hallii | Grass or grass-like | 6.1 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3b |
| sand dropseed Sporobolus cryptandrus | Grass or grass-like | 3 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 3b |
| sand lovegrass Eragrostis trichodes | Grass or grass-like | 3.5 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 5a |
| sandbar willow Salix interior | Tree | 30 ft | Sun | — | Zone 1a |
| sandcherry Prunus pumila | Shrub | 6 ft | Shade-tolerant | Low | Zone 4a |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| skunkbush sumac Rhus trilobata | Shrub | 4 ft | Sun–part shade | Low | Zone 2a |
| slender wheatgrass Elymus trachycaulus | Grass or grass-like | 3 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3b |
| 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 |
| southern waternymph Najas guadalupensis | Wildflower (forb) | 1 ft | Sun | High | Zone 3b |
| squirreltail Elymus elymoides | Grass or grass-like | 1.5 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 3a |
| stiff goldenrod Oligoneuron rigidum | Wildflower (forb) | 3.6 ft | Sun–part shade | Medium | Zone 3a |
| switchgrass Panicum virgatum | Grass or grass-like | 5 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3a |
| 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 |
| Torrey's rush Juncus torreyi | Grass or grass-like | 3.1 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3b |
| upright prairie coneflower Ratibida columnifera | Wildflower (forb) | 3.1 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3a |
| Virginia wildrye Elymus virginicus | Grass or grass-like | 2.5 ft | Shade-tolerant | Medium | Zone 4b |
| western wheatgrass Pascopyrum smithii | Grass or grass-like | 2 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3a |
| white panicle aster Symphyotrichum lanceolatum | Wildflower (forb) | 6 ft | Sun–part shade | High | Zone 3b |
| 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 |
| wirestem muhly Muhlenbergia frondosa | Grass or grass-like | 2 ft | Shade-tolerant | Medium | Zone 3b |
| Woods' rose Rosa woodsii | Shrub | 3 ft | Sun–part shade | Medium | Zone 3a |
| woolly locoweed Astragalus mollissimus | Wildflower (forb) | 2 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 4b |
| woolly plantain Plantago patagonica | Wildflower (forb) | 6 in | Sun | Low | Zone 12b |
No garden-ready natives match these filters. Try clearing one.
Other native species recorded here 99
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.
- American white waterlily Nymphaea odorata
- annual buckwheat Eriogonum annuum
- bald spikerush Eleocharis erythropoda
- bastard toadflax Comandra umbellata
- big devils beggartick Bidens vulgata
- bigbract verbena Verbena bracteata
- bighead pygmycudweed Evax prolifera
- blowout grass Redfieldia flexuosa
- blue skullcap Scutellaria lateriflora
- bottlebrush sedge Carex hystericina
- brittle pricklypear Opuntia fragilis
- buffalobur nightshade Solanum rostratum
- carelessweed Cyclachaena xanthiifolia
- Carolina larkspur Delphinium carolinianum
- climbing false buckwheat Polygonum scandens
- Crawe's sedge Carex crawei
- Cuman ragweed Ambrosia psilostachya
- curlytop knotweed Polygonum lapathifolium
- Dakota mock vervain Glandularia bipinnatifida
- Drummond's false pennyroyal Hedeoma drummondii
- Dudley's rush Juncus dudleyi
- Equisetum ×ferrissii Equisetum ×ferrissii
- false buffalograss Munroa squarrosa
- fetid marigold Dyssodia papposa
- flatspine stickseed Lappula occidentalis
- foothill bladderpod Lesquerella ludoviciana
- great blue lobelia Lobelia siphilitica
- Great Plains flatsedge Cyperus lupulinus
- green comet milkweed Asclepias viridiflora
- hairy fimbry Fimbristylis puberula
- hairy waterclover Marsilea vestita
- hairy wildrye Elymus villosus
- hoary verbena Verbena stricta
- Hopi tea greenthread Thelesperma megapotamicum
- horned pondweed Zannichellia palustris
- James' cryptantha Cryptantha cinerea
- lacy tansyaster Machaeranthera pinnatifida
- lemon scurfpea Psoralidium lanceolatum
- marsh skullcap Scutellaria galericulata
- Maximilian sunflower Helianthus maximiliani
- minute duckweed Lemna perpusilla
- narrowleaf stoneseed Lithospermum incisum
- needleleaf sedge Carex duriuscula
- pale spikerush Eleocharis macrostachya
- plains snakecotton Froelichia floridana
- pony beebalm Monarda pectinata
- prairie groundcherry Physalis hispida
- prairie sandmat Chamaesyce missurica
- prairie spiderwort Tradescantia occidentalis
- prairie sunflower Helianthus petiolaris
- prostrate sandmat Chamaesyce prostrata
- purple sandgrass Triplasis purpurea
- Pursh seepweed Suaeda calceoliformis
- ram's horn Proboscidea louisianica
- redwhisker clammyweed Polanisia dodecandra
- ribseed sandmat Chamaesyce glyptosperma
- rough barnyardgrass Echinochloa muricata
- rush skeletonplant Lygodesmia juncea
- rusty lupine Lupinus pusillus
- sand sagebrush Artemisia filifolia
- sandhill amaranth Amaranthus arenicola
- scarlet beeblossom Oenothera suffrutescens
- silky prairie clover Dalea villosa
- silverleaf Indian breadroot Pediomelum argophyllum
- silverscale saltbush Atriplex argentea
- sixangle spurge Euphorbia hexagona
- sixweeks fescue Vulpia octoflora
- slenderleaf false foxglove Agalinis tenuifolia
- slimflower scurfpea Psoralidium tenuiflorum
- snow on the mountain Euphorbia marginata
- snowball sand verbena Abronia fragrans
- spinystar Escobaria vivipara
- spotted water hemlock Cicuta maculata
- stiffstem flax Linum rigidum
- strict blue-eyed grass Sisyrinchium montanum
- swamp verbena Verbena hastata
- swollen duckweed Lemna gibba
- Texas croton Croton texensis
- Texas goldentop Euthamia gymnospermoides
- tufted lovegrass Eragrostis pectinacea
- tumble windmill grass Chloris verticillata
- tumblegrass Schedonnardus paniculatus
- veiny dock Rumex venosus
- velvetweed Oenothera curtiflora
- velvety goldenrod Solidago mollis
- wavyleaf thistle Cirsium undulatum
- wedgeleaf Phyla cuneifolia
- western poison ivy Toxicodendron rydbergii
- western tansymustard Descurainia pinnata
- white heath aster Symphyotrichum ericoides
- white prairie aster Symphyotrichum falcatum
- whitemouth dayflower Commelina erecta
- whitest evening primrose Oenothera albicaulis
- wild cucumber Echinocystis lobata
- winged lythrum Lythrum alatum
- winged pigweed Cycloloma atriplicifolium
- witchgrass Panicum capillare
- woodbine Parthenocissus vitacea
- woolly sedge Carex pellita
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.
- Kentucky bluegrassPoa pratensis
Compared with Nebraska
The typical county is the median of the 93 Nebraska 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 | Dundy County | Typical county | Statewide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Native species | 191 | 169 | 1,131 |
| Garden-ready natives | 92 | 81 | 452 |
| Tree | 3 | — | 68 |
| Shrub | 10 | — | 48 |
| Wildflower (forb) | 112 | — | 687 |
| Grass or grass-like | 58 | — | 253 |
| Vine | 5 | — | 46 |
| Fern | 3 | — | 29 |
Neighboring counties
Counties that share a ZIP code with Dundy County.
- Chase County, NE 74 garden-ready
- Hitchcock County, NE 70 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
- Dundy County (county FIPS 31057), Nebraska. 191 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