Native plants · Nebraska

Native plants of Wayne County

35 plant species are recorded as native to Nebraska in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Wayne County by USDA PLANTS. 12 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

Wayne County, Nebraska

PLANTS records only 12 garden-ready natives here (under 30). County records are thin in some places; the Nebraska list is a useful second check.

Native species: 35 Typical Nebraska county: 169 (median of 93 counties)
Garden-ready natives: 12 Typical Nebraska county: 81
Share by type (all 35 native species): Percent of the 35 native species in each growth type

Tree 6% (2)
Wildflower (forb) 77% (27)
Grass or grass-like 11% (4)
Vine 6% (2)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (77%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (11%).

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

Garden-ready natives 12

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

Garden-ready native plants of Wayne County, Nebraska
Plant	Type	Height	Light	Water use	Hardy to
Canada goldenrod Solidago altissima	Wildflower (forb)	5 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 4b
Canadian horseweed Conyza canadensis	Wildflower (forb)	5 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 12b
chokecherry Prunus virginiana	Tree	25 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3a
cutleaf coneflower Rudbeckia laciniata	Wildflower (forb)	8.2 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 3b
devil's beggartick Bidens frondosa	Wildflower (forb)	4 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 12a
Jerusalem artichoke Helianthus tuberosus	Wildflower (forb)	9.8 ft	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 3a
nodding beggartick Bidens cernua	Wildflower (forb)	3.2 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 12a
Pennsylvania smartweed Polygonum pensylvanicum	Wildflower (forb)	3.9 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 10b
roughfruit amaranth Amaranthus tuberculatus	Wildflower (forb)	6.6 ft	Sun	High	Zone 4a
sandbar willow Salix interior	Tree	30 ft	Sun	—	Zone 1a
stiff goldenrod Oligoneuron rigidum	Wildflower (forb)	3.6 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 3a
white panicle aster Symphyotrichum lanceolatum	Wildflower (forb)	6 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 3b

Other native species recorded here 23

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
big devils beggartick Bidens vulgata
climbing false buckwheat Polygonum scandens
curlytop knotweed Polygonum lapathifolium
dwarf horseweed Conyza ramosissima
eyebane Chamaesyce nutans
fetid marigold Dyssodia papposa
great ragweed Ambrosia trifida
hedge false bindweed Calystegia sepium
hoary puccoon Lithospermum canescens
lanceleaf sage Salvia reflexa
leathery knotweed Polygonum achoreum
mat sandbur Cenchrus longispinus
Missouri violet Viola missouriensis
pale dock Rumex altissimus
prairie groundsel Packera plattensis
prairie sunflower Helianthus petiolaris
rough barnyardgrass Echinochloa muricata
shortbeak sedge Carex brevior
snow on the mountain Euphorbia marginata
western tansymustard Descurainia pinnata
white heath aster Symphyotrichum ericoides
witchgrass Panicum capillare

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.

annual ragweedAmbrosia artemisiifolia
Kentucky bluegrassPoa pratensis

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, Wayne County and Nebraska
Measure	Wayne County	Typical county	Statewide
Native species	35	169	1,131
Garden-ready natives	12	81	452
Tree	2	—	68
Shrub	0	—	48
Wildflower (forb)	27	—	687
Grass or grass-like	4	—	253
Vine	2	—	46
Fern	0	—	29

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Wayne County.

Cedar County, NE 77 garden-ready
Cuming County, NE 165 garden-ready
Dixon County, NE 82 garden-ready
Pierce County, NE 24 garden-ready
Stanton County, NE 71 garden-ready
Thurston County, NE 37 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: Wayne County (county FIPS 31179), Nebraska. 35 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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