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Native plants · Nebraska

Native plants of Nuckolls County

122 plant species are recorded as native to Nebraska in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Nuckolls County by USDA PLANTS. 54 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness.

County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

Nuckolls County, Nebraska

Native species
122 Typical Nebraska county: 169 (median of 93 counties)
Garden-ready natives
54 Typical Nebraska county: 81
Share by type (all 122 native species)
Percent of the 122 native species in each growth type
Tree 6% (7)
Wildflower (forb) 55% (67)
Grass or grass-like 37% (45)
Vine <1% (1)
Fern 2% (2)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (55%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (37%).

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 5b to 6a (2023 map).

The native plant list

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

Garden-ready natives 54

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

Garden-ready native plants of Nuckolls County, Nebraska
PlantType HeightLight Water useHardy to
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
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
broadleaf cattail Typha latifolia Wildflower (forb) 5 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3b
butterfly milkweed Asclepias tuberosa Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
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
Carolina foxtail Alopecurus carolinianus Grass or grass-like 1.7 ft Sun Low Zone 3a
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
eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides Tree 190 ft Sun High Zone 3a
eastern woodland sedge Carex blanda Grass or grass-like 2 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4b
green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica Tree 80 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 2b
Indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans Grass or grass-like 6 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
inland rush Juncus interior Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
Jerusalem artichoke Helianthus tuberosus Wildflower (forb) 9.8 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3a
little barley Hordeum pusillum Grass or grass-like 1.2 ft Sun Medium Zone 10b
little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
Malabar sprangletop Leptochloa fusca Grass or grass-like 3.3 ft Sun High Zone 3a
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 River willow Salix eriocephala Tree 52 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3b
nodding beggartick Bidens cernua Wildflower (forb) 3.2 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 12a
nodding fescue Festuca subverticillata Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3a
Nuttall's povertyweed Monolepis nuttalliana Wildflower (forb) 10 in Sun Medium Zone 12a
peachleaf willow Salix amygdaloides Tree 60 ft Sun High Zone 4a
Pennsylvania smartweed Polygonum pensylvanicum Wildflower (forb) 3.9 ft Sun Medium Zone 10b
porcupinegrass Hesperostipa spartea Grass or grass-like 4 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
prairie Junegrass Koeleria macrantha Grass or grass-like 1.5 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3b
prairie sandreed Calamovilfa longifolia Grass or grass-like 4.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
purple locoweed Oxytropis lambertii Wildflower (forb) 1.4 ft Sun Low 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
purplestem beggarticks Bidens connata Wildflower (forb) 3.2 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 12a
redroot flatsedge Cyperus erythrorhizos Grass or grass-like 2.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 11a
roughfruit amaranth Amaranthus tuberculatus Wildflower (forb) 6.6 ft Sun High Zone 4a
saltgrass Distichlis spicata Grass or grass-like 1.1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
sandbar willow Salix interior Tree 30 ft Sun — Zone 1a
sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
slippery elm Ulmus rubra Tree 85 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3a
smooth horsetail Equisetum laevigatum Fern 5 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
stalkless yellowcress Rorippa sessiliflora Wildflower (forb) 1.5 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 12b
strawcolored flatsedge Cyperus strigosus Grass or grass-like 3.2 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
switchgrass Panicum virgatum Grass or grass-like 5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
teal lovegrass Eragrostis hypnoides Grass or grass-like 4 in Sun High Zone 3b
threelobe beggarticks Bidens tripartita Wildflower (forb) 3.5 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 12a
troublesome sedge Carex molesta Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
upright prairie coneflower Ratibida columnifera Wildflower (forb) 3.1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
valley redstem Ammannia coccinea Wildflower (forb) 1.6 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
western wheatgrass Pascopyrum smithii Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
white ash Fraxinus americana Tree 90 ft Sun High Zone 4a
winter bentgrass Agrostis hyemalis Grass or grass-like 3.5 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4a
woolly plantain Plantago patagonica Wildflower (forb) 6 in Sun Low Zone 12b

Other native species recorded here 68

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.

  • Aunt Lucy Ellisia nyctelea
  • Baldwin's ironweed Vernonia baldwinii
  • bearded flatsedge Cyperus squarrosus
  • biannual lettuce Lactuca ludoviciana
  • big devils beggartick Bidens vulgata
  • bog yellowcress Rorippa palustris
  • buffalobur nightshade Solanum rostratum
  • carelessweed Cyclachaena xanthiifolia
  • clasping Venus' looking-glass Triodanis perfoliata
  • common boneset Eupatorium perfoliatum
  • curlycup gumweed Grindelia squarrosa
  • curlytop knotweed Polygonum lapathifolium
  • cutleaf evening primrose Oenothera laciniata
  • Engelmann's spikerush Eleocharis engelmannii
  • fetid marigold Dyssodia papposa
  • fire on the mountain Euphorbia cyathophora
  • foxtail prairie clover Dalea leporina
  • Great Plains flatsedge Cyperus lupulinus
  • green antelopehorn Asclepias viridis
  • green comet milkweed Asclepias viridiflora
  • hairy waterclover Marsilea vestita
  • heartleaf four o'clock Mirabilis nyctaginea
  • heavy sedge Carex gravida
  • Heller's rosette grass Dichanthelium oligosanthes
  • Hopi tea greenthread Thelesperma megapotamicum
  • lacy tansyaster Machaeranthera pinnatifida
  • large Indian breadroot Pediomelum esculentum
  • light poppymallow Callirhoe alcaeoides
  • long-stolon sedge Carex inops
  • mat sandbur Cenchrus longispinus
  • Maximilian sunflower Helianthus maximiliani
  • needleleaf sedge Carex duriuscula
  • Northern Idaho biscuitroot Lomatium orientale
  • pale dock Rumex altissimus
  • pale spikerush Eleocharis macrostachya
  • pinkladies Oenothera speciosa
  • plains bluegrass Poa arida
  • poverty dropseed Sporobolus vaginiflorus
  • prairie groundsel Packera plattensis
  • prairie spiderwort Tradescantia occidentalis
  • prairie threeawn Aristida oligantha
  • purple milkwort Polygala sanguinea
  • rough false pennyroyal Hedeoma hispida
  • scarlet beeblossom Oenothera suffrutescens
  • shortbeak sedge Carex brevior
  • silverleaf Indian breadroot Pediomelum argophyllum
  • sixangle spurge Euphorbia hexagona
  • sixweeks fescue Vulpia octoflora
  • sleepy silene Silene antirrhina
  • slimleaf milkweed Asclepias stenophylla
  • slimpod Venus' looking-glass Triodanis leptocarpa
  • small skullcap Scutellaria parvula
  • smallflower fumewort Corydalis micrantha
  • smallflower halfchaff sedge Lipocarpha micrantha
  • snow on the mountain Euphorbia marginata
  • soft-hair marbleseed Onosmodium bejariense
  • spotted sandmat Chamaesyce maculata
  • tufted lovegrass Eragrostis pectinacea
  • tumble windmill grass Chloris verticillata
  • tumblegrass Schedonnardus paniculatus
  • velvetweed Oenothera curtiflora
  • velvety goldenrod Solidago mollis
  • western tansymustard Descurainia pinnata
  • white heath aster Symphyotrichum ericoides
  • whorled milkweed Asclepias verticillata
  • whorled milkwort Polygala verticillata
  • witchgrass Panicum capillare
  • yellowseed false pimpernel Lindernia dubia

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.

Native species counts, Nuckolls County and Nebraska
MeasureNuckolls CountyTypical countyStatewide
Native species 122 169 1,131
Garden-ready natives 54 81 452
Tree 7 — 68
Shrub 0 — 48
Wildflower (forb) 67 — 687
Grass or grass-like 45 — 253
Vine 1 — 46
Fern 2 — 29

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Nuckolls 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
Nuckolls County (county FIPS 31129), Nebraska. 122 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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