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Native plants · Nebraska

Native plants of Rock County

198 plant species are recorded as native to Nebraska in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Rock County by USDA PLANTS. 94 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness. 2 more species are listed as both native and introduced and kept in a separate section.

County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

Rock County, Nebraska

Native species
198 Typical Nebraska county: 169 (median of 93 counties)
Garden-ready natives
94 Typical Nebraska county: 81
Share by type (all 198 native species)
Percent of the 198 native species in each growth type
Tree 6% (11)
Shrub 6% (11)
Wildflower (forb) 59% (117)
Grass or grass-like 27% (54)
Vine <1% (1)
Fern 2% (4)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (59%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (27%).

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 5a (2023 map).

The native plant list

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

Garden-ready natives 94

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

Garden-ready native plants of Rock County, Nebraska
PlantType HeightLight Water useHardy to
American water horehound Lycopus americanus Wildflower (forb) 1.8 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3b
American water plantain Alisma subcordatum Wildflower (forb) 6 in Sun High Zone 4a
blunt broom sedge Carex tribuloides Grass or grass-like 3 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4b
bluntleaf bedstraw Galium obtusum Wildflower (forb) 1.5 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4a
broadbeard beardtongue Penstemon angustifolius Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Low Zone 4b
broadfruit bur-reed Sparganium eurycarpum Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4a
broadleaf arrowhead Sagittaria latifolia Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Sun High Zone 4a
broadleaf cattail Typha latifolia Wildflower (forb) 5 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3b
broom sedge Carex scoparia Grass or grass-like 2.5 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3b
bur oak Quercus macrocarpa Tree 100 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
burningbush Euonymus atropurpureus Tree 10 ft Shade-tolerant Low —
Canada germander Teucrium canadense Wildflower (forb) 3.3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3a
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
common duckweed Lemna minor Wildflower (forb) — Sun High Zone 3b
common goldstar Hypoxis hirsuta Wildflower (forb) 10 in Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
common ninebark Physocarpus opulifolius Shrub 10 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
coon's tail Ceratophyllum demersum Wildflower (forb) — Sun–part shade High Zone 3b
devil's beggartick Bidens frondosa Wildflower (forb) 4 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 12a
eastern redcedar Juniperus virginiana Tree 50 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3a
field pussytoes Antennaria neglecta Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
flatstem pondweed Potamogeton zosteriformis Wildflower (forb) — Sun High Zone 3b
fox sedge Carex vulpinoidea Grass or grass-like 3.2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
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
grassleaf rush Juncus marginatus Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 5a
gray goldenrod Solidago nemoralis Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica Tree 80 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 2b
hairy false goldenaster Heterotheca villosa Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
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
hophornbeam Ostrya virginiana Tree 45 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 3b
Indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans Grass or grass-like 6 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
inland sedge Carex interior Grass or grass-like 1.5 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3b
Jack in the pulpit Arisaema triphyllum Wildflower (forb) 1.5 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 5b
Jerusalem artichoke Helianthus tuberosus Wildflower (forb) 9.8 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3a
jewelweed Impatiens capensis Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 10b
lambstongue ragwort Senecio integerrimus Wildflower (forb) 1.1 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
leadplant Amorpha canescens Shrub 4 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 3b
leafy pondweed Potamogeton foliosus Wildflower (forb) — Sun High Zone 3b
lesser bladderwort Utricularia minor Wildflower (forb) 2 in Sun High Zone 3a
lesser panicled sedge Carex diandra Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4a
little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
littleseed ricegrass Piptatheropsis micrantha Grass or grass-like 2.5 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
Missouri goldenrod Solidago missouriensis Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3b
needle spikerush Eleocharis acicularis Grass or grass-like 8 in Sun Medium Zone 5a
needlepod rush Juncus scirpoides Grass or grass-like 3 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 7a
nodding fescue Festuca subverticillata Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3a
northern maidenhair Adiantum pedatum Fern 1.3 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3b
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 dropseed Sporobolus heterolepis Grass or grass-like 2.3 ft Sun–part shade Low 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 sandreed Calamovilfa longifolia Grass or grass-like 4.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
prairie willow Salix humilis Shrub 10 ft Sun–part shade High 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
purpleleaf willowherb Epilobium coloratum Wildflower (forb) 3.3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4a
redosier dogwood Cornus sericea Tree 12 ft Sun High Zone 3b
reed canarygrass Phalaris arundinacea Grass or grass-like 5 ft Sun High Zone 3b
riverbank grape Vitis riparia Vine 45 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
Rocky Mountain beeplant Cleome serrulata Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 12b
rough bugleweed Lycopus asper Wildflower (forb) 2.1 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3b
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 lovegrass Eragrostis trichodes Grass or grass-like 3.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 5a
sandbar willow Salix interior Tree 30 ft Sun — Zone 1a
Sandberg bluegrass Poa secunda Grass or grass-like 1.4 ft Sun–part shade Low 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
slender spikerush Eleocharis tenuis Grass or grass-like 2.9 ft Sun Low Zone 5a
slender wheatgrass Elymus trachycaulus Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
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
spotted joe pye weed Eutrochium maculatum Wildflower (forb) 6 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4b
star duckweed Lemna trisulca Wildflower (forb) 4 in Sun High Zone 3b
strawcolored flatsedge Cyperus strigosus Grass or grass-like 3.2 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
swamp milkweed Asclepias incarnata Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Sun High Zone 3b
tapertip flatsedge Cyperus acuminatus Grass or grass-like 1.3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3b
three-way sedge Dulichium arundinaceum Grass or grass-like 2.6 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3b
Torrey's rush Juncus torreyi Grass or grass-like 3.1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
tufted loosestrife Lysimachia thyrsiflora Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4a
variableleaf pondweed Potamogeton gramineus Wildflower (forb) — Sun High Zone 3b
Virginia water horehound Lycopus virginicus Wildflower (forb) 4 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4a
water knotweed Polygonum amphibium Wildflower (forb) 1 in Sun High Zone 5a
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 doll's daisy Boltonia asteroides Wildflower (forb) 8 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
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
wild bergamot Monarda fistulosa Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4a
woolly plantain Plantago patagonica Wildflower (forb) 6 in Sun Low Zone 12b

Other native species recorded here 104

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 lopseed Phryma leptostachya
  • annual buckwheat Eriogonum annuum
  • aromatic aster Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
  • bald spikerush Eleocharis erythropoda
  • bearded flatsedge Cyperus squarrosus
  • biannual lettuce Lactuca ludoviciana
  • bigbract verbena Verbena bracteata
  • blowout grass Redfieldia flexuosa
  • bluntleaf sandwort Moehringia lateriflora
  • bog yellowcress Rorippa palustris
  • bristleleaf sedge Carex eburnea
  • brittle bladderfern Cystopteris fragilis
  • bushy knotweed Polygonum ramosissimum
  • Buxbaum's sedge Carex buxbaumii
  • Canadian blacksnakeroot Sanicula canadensis
  • Carolina puccoon Lithospermum caroliniense
  • carpenter's square Scrophularia marilandica
  • Columbian watermeal Wolffia columbiana
  • common bladderwort Utricularia macrorhiza
  • common pricklyash Zanthoxylum americanum
  • common yellow oxalis Oxalis stricta
  • Crawe's sedge Carex crawei
  • Dakota mock vervain Glandularia bipinnatifida
  • densetuft hairsedge Bulbostylis capillaris
  • Dudley's rush Juncus dudleyi
  • Engelmann's spikerush Eleocharis engelmannii
  • fall rosette grass Dichanthelium wilcoxianum
  • fineleaf hymenopappus Hymenopappus filifolius
  • Flodman's thistle Cirsium flodmanii
  • foothill bladderpod Lesquerella ludoviciana
  • foxtail barley Hordeum jubatum
  • fragrant sumac Rhus aromatica
  • green carpetweed Mollugo verticillata
  • grooved flax Linum sulcatum
  • hairy four o'clock Mirabilis hirsuta
  • hairy wildrye Elymus villosus
  • Heller's rosette grass Dichanthelium oligosanthes
  • Illinois pondweed Potamogeton illinoensis
  • Jersey tea Ceanothus herbaceus
  • lacy tansyaster Machaeranthera pinnatifida
  • lanceleaf buckthorn Rhamnus lanceolata
  • large beardtongue Penstemon grandiflorus
  • large St. Johnswort Hypericum majus
  • lemon scurfpea Psoralidium lanceolatum
  • lilac penstemon Penstemon gracilis
  • long-stolon sedge Carex inops
  • longbract spiderwort Tradescantia bracteata
  • lowland yellow loosestrife Lysimachia hybrida
  • marsh skullcap Scutellaria galericulata
  • matted sandmat Chamaesyce serpens
  • Maximilian sunflower Helianthus maximiliani
  • Missouri gooseberry Ribes missouriense
  • narrowleaf stoneseed Lithospermum incisum
  • northern wildrice Zizania palustris
  • Oregon cliff fern Woodsia oregana
  • pale spikerush Eleocharis macrostachya
  • palespike lobelia Lobelia spicata
  • plains bluegrass Poa arida
  • plains snakecotton Froelichia floridana
  • prairie blue-eyed grass Sisyrinchium campestre
  • prairie groundcherry Physalis hispida
  • prairie groundsel Packera plattensis
  • prairie rose Rosa arkansana
  • prairie sandmat Chamaesyce missurica
  • prairie spiderwort Tradescantia occidentalis
  • prairie sunflower Helianthus petiolaris
  • purple false foxglove Agalinis purpurea
  • purple milkwort Polygala sanguinea
  • purple sandgrass Triplasis purpurea
  • ribseed sandmat Chamaesyce glyptosperma
  • Richardson's alumroot Heuchera richardsonii
  • Richardson's pondweed Potamogeton richardsonii
  • rough false pennyroyal Hedeoma hispida
  • rough rattlesnakeroot Prenanthes aspera
  • Sartwell's sedge Carex sartwellii
  • seaside arrowgrass Triglochin maritima
  • shortspike watermilfoil Myriophyllum sibiricum
  • sixweeks threeawn Aristida adscensionis
  • slenderleaf false foxglove Agalinis tenuifolia
  • slimleaf milkweed Asclepias stenophylla
  • small pondweed Potamogeton pusillus
  • small skullcap Scutellaria parvula
  • small-leaf pussytoes Antennaria parvifolia
  • smooth oxeye Heliopsis helianthoides
  • smooth rose Rosa blanda
  • spotted sandmat Chamaesyce maculata
  • spotted water hemlock Cicuta maculata
  • Standley's goosefoot Chenopodium standleyanum
  • stiff sunflower Helianthus pauciflorus
  • stiffstem flax Linum rigidum
  • sunbright Phemeranthus parviflorus
  • tall blazing star Liatris aspera
  • Texas goldentop Euthamia gymnospermoides
  • thin paspalum Paspalum setaceum
  • veiny dock Rumex venosus
  • violet woodsorrel Oxalis violacea
  • western waterweed Elodea nuttallii
  • white heath aster Symphyotrichum ericoides
  • white lady's slipper Cypripedium candidum
  • white snakeroot Ageratina altissima
  • white vervain Verbena urticifolia
  • winged lythrum Lythrum alatum
  • winged pigweed Cycloloma atriplicifolium
  • woolly sedge Carex pellita
Also listed as native and introduced here 2

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.

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, Rock County and Nebraska
MeasureRock CountyTypical countyStatewide
Native species 198 169 1,131
Garden-ready natives 94 81 452
Tree 11 — 68
Shrub 11 — 48
Wildflower (forb) 117 — 687
Grass or grass-like 54 — 253
Vine 1 — 46
Fern 4 — 29

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Rock 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
Rock County (county FIPS 31149), Nebraska. 198 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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