Natives by ZIP

Native plants recorded in your state and county

Native plants · Nebraska

Native plants of Saline County

109 plant species are recorded as native to Nebraska in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Saline County by USDA PLANTS. 58 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness.

County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

Saline County, Nebraska

Native species
109 Typical Nebraska county: 169 (median of 93 counties)
Garden-ready natives
58 Typical Nebraska county: 81
Share by type (all 109 native species)
Percent of the 109 native species in each growth type
Tree 13% (14)
Shrub 4% (4)
Wildflower (forb) 57% (62)
Grass or grass-like 26% (28)
Vine <1% (1)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (57%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (26%).

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 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 58

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

Garden-ready native plants of Saline County, Nebraska
PlantType HeightLight Water useHardy to
American elm Ulmus americana Tree 120 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 2b
American licorice Glycyrrhiza lepidota Wildflower (forb) 4 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3b
American plum Prunus americana Tree 24 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
American vetch Vicia americana Vine 1.3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
awlfruit sedge Carex stipata Grass or grass-like 3.5 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3b
bitternut hickory Carya cordiformis Tree 75 ft Sun Medium Zone 2b
black raspberry Rubus occidentalis Shrub 6 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4b
boxelder Acer negundo Tree 60 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 2b
bur oak Quercus macrocarpa Tree 100 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
butterfly milkweed Asclepias tuberosa Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
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
chokecherry Prunus virginiana Tree 25 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
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 spikerush Eleocharis palustris Grass or grass-like 1.3 ft Sun High Zone 3b
composite dropseed Sporobolus compositus Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
crested sedge Carex cristatella Grass or grass-like 3 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4a
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
fall panicgrass Panicum dichotomiflorum Grass or grass-like 3.3 ft Sun High Zone 3a
flatstem spikerush Eleocharis compressa Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun High Zone 4a
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
giant goldenrod Solidago gigantea Wildflower (forb) 8.2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
golden tickseed Coreopsis tinctoria Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 12b
green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica Tree 80 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 2b
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
Jerusalem artichoke Helianthus tuberosus Wildflower (forb) 9.8 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3a
leadplant Amorpha canescens Shrub 4 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 3b
little barley Hordeum pusillum Grass or grass-like 1.2 ft Sun Medium Zone 10b
littleleaf buttercup Ranunculus abortivus Wildflower (forb) 2.8 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3a
Missouri goldenrod Solidago missouriensis Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3b
nodding beggartick Bidens cernua Wildflower (forb) 3.2 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 12a
partridge pea Chamaecrista fasciculata Wildflower (forb) 2.4 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 7a
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 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
reed canarygrass Phalaris arundinacea Grass or grass-like 5 ft Sun High Zone 3b
roughleaf dogwood Cornus drummondii Tree 20 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 4b
sawtooth sunflower Helianthus grosseserratus Wildflower (forb) 5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
silver maple Acer saccharinum Tree 90 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 2b
slippery elm Ulmus rubra Tree 85 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3a
smooth sumac Rhus glabra Tree 12 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
spreading yellowcress Rorippa sinuata Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
stalkless yellowcress Rorippa sessiliflora Wildflower (forb) 1.5 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 12b
switchgrass Panicum virgatum Grass or grass-like 5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
tapertip flatsedge Cyperus acuminatus Grass or grass-like 1.3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3b
valley redstem Ammannia coccinea Wildflower (forb) 1.6 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
Virginia wildrye Elymus virginicus Grass or grass-like 2.5 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4b
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

Other native species recorded here 51

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
  • Aunt Lucy Ellisia nyctelea
  • Baldwin's ironweed Vernonia baldwinii
  • big devils beggartick Bidens vulgata
  • blue skullcap Scutellaria lateriflora
  • Carolina anemone Anemone caroliniana
  • common milkweed Asclepias syriaca
  • desert biscuitroot Lomatium foeniculaceum
  • Engelmann's spikerush Eleocharis engelmannii
  • eyebane Chamaesyce nutans
  • fringed loosestrife Lysimachia ciliata
  • heavy sedge Carex gravida
  • hoary ticktrefoil Desmodium canescens
  • hoary verbena Verbena stricta
  • hooded arrowhead Sagittaria calycina
  • large Indian breadroot Pediomelum esculentum
  • long-stolon sedge Carex inops
  • longflower beeblossom Oenothera filiformis
  • longleaf groundcherry Physalis longifolia
  • Mead's sedge Carex meadii
  • meadow garlic Allium canadense
  • Missouri gooseberry Ribes missouriense
  • narrowleaf purple coneflower Echinacea angustifolia
  • narrowleaf stoneseed Lithospermum incisum
  • neckweed Veronica peregrina
  • pale dock Rumex altissimus
  • Pennsylvania pellitory Parietaria pensylvanica
  • prairie blue-eyed grass Sisyrinchium campestre
  • prairie groundsel Packera plattensis
  • prairie rose Rosa arkansana
  • prairie threeawn Aristida oligantha
  • redwhisker clammyweed Polanisia dodecandra
  • sandhill amaranth Amaranthus arenicola
  • shortbeak arrowhead Sagittaria brevirostra
  • shortbeak sedge Carex brevior
  • silverleaf Indian breadroot Pediomelum argophyllum
  • slimflower scurfpea Psoralidium tenuiflorum
  • slimleaf milkweed Asclepias stenophylla
  • snow on the mountain Euphorbia marginata
  • soft fox sedge Carex conjuncta
  • spotted sandmat Chamaesyce maculata
  • stiff sunflower Helianthus pauciflorus
  • swamp verbena Verbena hastata
  • tall thistle Cirsium altissimum
  • tumblegrass Schedonnardus paniculatus
  • velvety goldenrod Solidago mollis
  • Virginia strawberry Fragaria virginiana
  • western tansymustard Descurainia pinnata
  • white heath aster Symphyotrichum ericoides
  • wholeleaf rosinweed Silphium integrifolium
  • whorled milkweed Asclepias verticillata

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, Saline County and Nebraska
MeasureSaline CountyTypical countyStatewide
Native species 109 169 1,131
Garden-ready natives 58 81 452
Tree 14 — 68
Shrub 4 — 48
Wildflower (forb) 62 — 687
Grass or grass-like 28 — 253
Vine 1 — 46
Fern 0 — 29

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Saline 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
Saline County (county FIPS 31151), Nebraska. 109 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

Independent reference site. No government affiliation or endorsement.