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Native plants · Nebraska

Native plants of Valley County

112 plant species are recorded as native to Nebraska in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Valley County by USDA PLANTS. 64 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness.

County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

Valley County, Nebraska

Native species
112 Typical Nebraska county: 169 (median of 93 counties)
Garden-ready natives
64 Typical Nebraska county: 81
Share by type (all 112 native species)
Percent of the 112 native species in each growth type
Tree 7% (8)
Shrub 5% (6)
Wildflower (forb) 55% (62)
Grass or grass-like 28% (31)
Vine 3% (3)
Fern 2% (2)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (55%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (28%).

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 5a to 5b (2023 map).

The native plant list

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

Garden-ready natives 64

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

Garden-ready native plants of Valley County, Nebraska
PlantType HeightLight Water useHardy to
American black currant Ribes americanum Shrub 3 ft — — 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 speedwell Veronica americana Wildflower (forb) 10 in Shade-tolerant High Zone 3b
arumleaf arrowhead Sagittaria cuneata Wildflower (forb) 2.6 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
black raspberry Rubus occidentalis Shrub 6 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4b
blackeyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 5a
bluejoint Calamagrostis canadensis Grass or grass-like 4.9 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
broadleaf arrowhead Sagittaria latifolia Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Sun High Zone 4a
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 duckweed Lemna minor Wildflower (forb) — Sun High Zone 3b
common threesquare Schoenoplectus pungens Grass or grass-like 4.9 ft Sun High Zone 3b
cutleaf coneflower Rudbeckia laciniata Wildflower (forb) 8.2 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 3b
devil's darning needles Clematis virginiana Vine 15 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides Tree 190 ft Sun High Zone 3a
eastern redcedar Juniperus virginiana Tree 50 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3a
fringed brome Bromus ciliatus Grass or grass-like 4 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 7a
frost grape Vitis vulpina Vine 83 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 5a
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
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
Illinois bundleflower Desmanthus illinoensis Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 5b
Indianhemp Apocynum cannabinum Wildflower (forb) 3.3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3a
jewelweed Impatiens capensis Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 10b
leadplant Amorpha canescens Shrub 4 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 3b
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
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
partridge pea Chamaecrista fasciculata Wildflower (forb) 2.4 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 7a
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
prairie sandreed Calamovilfa longifolia Grass or grass-like 4.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
redosier dogwood Cornus sericea Tree 12 ft Sun High Zone 3b
rough bugleweed Lycopus asper Wildflower (forb) 2.1 ft Shade-tolerant 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
sandbar willow Salix interior Tree 30 ft Sun — Zone 1a
sawtooth sunflower Helianthus grosseserratus Wildflower (forb) 5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
slimstem reedgrass Calamagrostis stricta Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3a
smallspike false nettle Boehmeria cylindrica Wildflower (forb) 3.9 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
smooth horsetail Equisetum laevigatum Fern 5 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
smooth sumac Rhus glabra Tree 12 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
swamp milkweed Asclepias incarnata Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Sun High Zone 3b
switchgrass Panicum virgatum Grass or grass-like 5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
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
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 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
wild bergamot Monarda fistulosa Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4a
winter bentgrass Agrostis hyemalis Grass or grass-like 3.5 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4a
wirestem muhly Muhlenbergia frondosa Grass or grass-like 2 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3b
woolly plantain Plantago patagonica Wildflower (forb) 6 in Sun Low Zone 12b

Other native species recorded here 48

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.

  • bald spikerush Eleocharis erythropoda
  • Baldwin's ironweed Vernonia baldwinii
  • bigbract verbena Verbena bracteata
  • common milkweed Asclepias syriaca
  • Cuman ragweed Ambrosia psilostachya
  • Dudley's rush Juncus dudleyi
  • earlyleaf brome Bromus latiglumis
  • Equisetum ×ferrissii Equisetum ×ferrissii
  • fall rosette grass Dichanthelium wilcoxianum
  • Flodman's thistle Cirsium flodmanii
  • foxtail barley Hordeum jubatum
  • great ragweed Ambrosia trifida
  • green comet milkweed Asclepias viridiflora
  • hairy hedgenettle Stachys pilosa
  • heartleaf four o'clock Mirabilis nyctaginea
  • hedge false bindweed Calystegia sepium
  • Heller's rosette grass Dichanthelium oligosanthes
  • hoary verbena Verbena stricta
  • lacy tansyaster Machaeranthera pinnatifida
  • large Indian breadroot Pediomelum esculentum
  • longleaf groundcherry Physalis longifolia
  • Missouri gooseberry Ribes missouriense
  • narrowleaf purple coneflower Echinacea angustifolia
  • northern water plantain Alisma triviale
  • Nuttall's sensitive-briar Mimosa nuttallii
  • pale dock Rumex altissimus
  • Pennsylvania pellitory Parietaria pensylvanica
  • pitseed goosefoot Chenopodium berlandieri
  • plains bluegrass Poa arida
  • prairie rose Rosa arkansana
  • prairie sunflower Helianthus petiolaris
  • ribseed sandmat Chamaesyce glyptosperma
  • rough false pennyroyal Hedeoma hispida
  • rush skeletonplant Lygodesmia juncea
  • showy ticktrefoil Desmodium canadense
  • silverleaf Indian breadroot Pediomelum argophyllum
  • sixweeks fescue Vulpia octoflora
  • slimleaf milkweed Asclepias stenophylla
  • smooth oxeye Heliopsis helianthoides
  • snow on the mountain Euphorbia marginata
  • spotted water hemlock Cicuta maculata
  • stiff sunflower Helianthus pauciflorus
  • swamp verbena Verbena hastata
  • tumblegrass Schedonnardus paniculatus
  • wavyleaf thistle Cirsium undulatum
  • western tansymustard Descurainia pinnata
  • winged lythrum Lythrum alatum
  • witchgrass Panicum capillare

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, Valley County and Nebraska
MeasureValley CountyTypical countyStatewide
Native species 112 169 1,131
Garden-ready natives 64 81 452
Tree 8 — 68
Shrub 6 — 48
Wildflower (forb) 62 — 687
Grass or grass-like 31 — 253
Vine 3 — 46
Fern 2 — 29

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Valley 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
Valley County (county FIPS 31175), Nebraska. 112 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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