Native plants · Nebraska
Native plants of Frontier County
88 plant species are recorded as native to Nebraska in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Frontier County by USDA PLANTS. 47 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness.
County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP
Frontier County, Nebraska
- Native species
- 88 Typical Nebraska county: 169 (median of 93 counties)
- Garden-ready natives
- 47 Typical Nebraska county: 81
- Share by type (all 88 native species)
-
Percent of the 88 native species in each growth type
Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (48%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (34%).
The native plant list
Garden-ready natives 47
Native species with PLANTS growing records (height, light, moisture, minimum temperature). “—” means PLANTS has no value.
| Plant | Type | Height | Light | Water use | Hardy to |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American plum Prunus americana | Tree | 24 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3b |
| arumleaf arrowhead Sagittaria cuneata | Wildflower (forb) | 2.6 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 4a |
| awlfruit sedge Carex stipata | Grass or grass-like | 3.5 ft | Shade-tolerant | Medium | Zone 3b |
| big bluestem Andropogon gerardii | Grass or grass-like | 6 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 2b |
| blue grama Bouteloua gracilis | Grass or grass-like | 1 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3a |
| boxelder Acer negundo | Tree | 60 ft | Shade-tolerant | Medium | Zone 2b |
| 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 wildrye Elymus canadensis | Grass or grass-like | 3 ft | Shade-tolerant | Medium | Zone 3a |
| chokecherry Prunus virginiana | Tree | 25 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3a |
| cloaked bulrush Scirpus pallidus | Grass or grass-like | 5 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3b |
| common threesquare Schoenoplectus pungens | Grass or grass-like | 4.9 ft | Sun | 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 |
| downy paintedcup Castilleja sessiliflora | Wildflower (forb) | 1.3 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 3b |
| fox sedge Carex vulpinoidea | Grass or grass-like | 3.2 ft | Sun–part shade | 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 |
| little barley Hordeum pusillum | Grass or grass-like | 1.2 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 10b |
| marsh muhly Muhlenbergia racemosa | Grass or grass-like | 3 ft | Shade-tolerant | Medium | Zone 3b |
| 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 |
| needle and thread Hesperostipa comata | Grass or grass-like | 3 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 3b |
| nodding beggartick Bidens cernua | Wildflower (forb) | 3.2 ft | Sun–part shade | High | Zone 12a |
| prairie fleabane Erigeron strigosus | Wildflower (forb) | 3 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 4b |
| 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 |
| redosier dogwood Cornus sericea | Tree | 12 ft | Sun | High | Zone 3b |
| redroot flatsedge Cyperus erythrorhizos | Grass or grass-like | 2.5 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 11a |
| roughleaf dogwood Cornus drummondii | Tree | 20 ft | Sun–part shade | Low | Zone 4b |
| 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 dropseed Sporobolus cryptandrus | Grass or grass-like | 3 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 3b |
| sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula | Grass or grass-like | 3 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3a |
| skunkbush sumac Rhus trilobata | Shrub | 4 ft | Sun–part shade | Low | Zone 2a |
| smooth sumac Rhus glabra | Tree | 12 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 4a |
| soapweed yucca Yucca glauca | Shrub | 1 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 4b |
| teal lovegrass Eragrostis hypnoides | Grass or grass-like | 4 in | Sun | High | Zone 3b |
| textile onion Allium textile | Wildflower (forb) | 1 ft | Sun–part shade | Medium | Zone 3b |
| upright prairie coneflower Ratibida columnifera | Wildflower (forb) | 3.1 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3a |
| variableleaf pondweed Potamogeton gramineus | Wildflower (forb) | — | Sun | High | Zone 3b |
| Virginia wildrye Elymus virginicus | Grass or grass-like | 2.5 ft | Shade-tolerant | Medium | Zone 4b |
| 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 |
| white prairie clover Dalea candida | Wildflower (forb) | 2 ft | Sun–part shade | Medium | Zone 3b |
| Woods' rose Rosa woodsii | Shrub | 3 ft | Sun–part shade | Medium | Zone 3a |
| 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 41
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.
- aromatic aster Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
- Aunt Lucy Ellisia nyctelea
- bald spikerush Eleocharis erythropoda
- big devils beggartick Bidens vulgata
- buffalobur nightshade Solanum rostratum
- clammy groundcherry Physalis heterophylla
- climbing false buckwheat Polygonum scandens
- common starlily Leucocrinum montanum
- diamond-flowers Stenaria nigricans
- heavy sedge Carex gravida
- lacy tansyaster Machaeranthera pinnatifida
- lanceleaf sage Salvia reflexa
- large Indian breadroot Pediomelum esculentum
- mat sandbur Cenchrus longispinus
- narrowleaf stoneseed Lithospermum incisum
- Nuttall's sensitive-briar Mimosa nuttallii
- pale dock Rumex altissimus
- Pennsylvania pellitory Parietaria pensylvanica
- pitseed goosefoot Chenopodium berlandieri
- prairie groundsel Packera plattensis
- prairie rose Rosa arkansana
- puffsheath dropseed Sporobolus neglectus
- ribseed sandmat Chamaesyce glyptosperma
- rough false pennyroyal Hedeoma hispida
- shortbeak sedge Carex brevior
- silverleaf Indian breadroot Pediomelum argophyllum
- sixweeks fescue Vulpia octoflora
- smooth oxeye Heliopsis helianthoides
- snow on the mountain Euphorbia marginata
- spinystar Escobaria vivipara
- spotted sandmat Chamaesyce maculata
- stiffstem flax Linum rigidum
- Texas croton Croton texensis
- thin paspalum Paspalum setaceum
- tumble windmill grass Chloris verticillata
- tumblegrass Schedonnardus paniculatus
- white heath aster Symphyotrichum ericoides
- white prairie aster Symphyotrichum falcatum
- whitest evening primrose Oenothera albicaulis
- witchgrass Panicum capillare
- woolly sedge Carex pellita
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 | Frontier County | Typical county | Statewide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Native species | 88 | 169 | 1,131 |
| Garden-ready natives | 47 | 81 | 452 |
| Tree | 6 | — | 68 |
| Shrub | 8 | — | 48 |
| Wildflower (forb) | 42 | — | 687 |
| Grass or grass-like | 30 | — | 253 |
| Vine | 2 | — | 46 |
| Fern | 0 | — | 29 |
Neighboring counties
Counties that share a ZIP code with Frontier County.
- Dawson County, NE 83 garden-ready
- Furnas County, NE 62 garden-ready
- Gosper County, NE 30 garden-ready
- Hayes County, NE 38 garden-ready
- Hitchcock County, NE 70 garden-ready
- Lincoln County, NE 139 garden-ready
- Red Willow County, NE 67 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
- Frontier County (county FIPS 31063), Nebraska. 88 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