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Native plants · Nebraska

Native plants of York County

97 plant species are recorded as native to Nebraska in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in York County by USDA PLANTS. 45 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness. 1 more species is listed as both native and introduced and kept in a separate section.

County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

York County, Nebraska

Native species
97 Typical Nebraska county: 169 (median of 93 counties)
Garden-ready natives
45 Typical Nebraska county: 81
Share by type (all 97 native species)
Percent of the 97 native species in each growth type
Tree 6% (6)
Shrub 2% (2)
Wildflower (forb) 66% (64)
Grass or grass-like 21% (20)
Vine 4% (4)
Fern 1% (1)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (66%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (21%).

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 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 45

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

Garden-ready native plants of York County, Nebraska
PlantType HeightLight Water useHardy to
American bittersweet Celastrus scandens Vine 15 ft Shade-tolerant 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
bur oak Quercus macrocarpa Tree 100 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
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
Canadian horseweed Conyza canadensis Wildflower (forb) 5 ft Sun Medium Zone 12b
chokecherry Prunus virginiana Tree 25 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
common blue violet Viola sororia Wildflower (forb) 4 in Sun–part shade High Zone 4b
composite dropseed Sporobolus compositus Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
dotted blazing star Liatris punctata Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
dotted smartweed Polygonum punctatum Wildflower (forb) 3.2 ft Sun Medium Zone 10b
eastern redbud Cercis canadensis Tree 30 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 4b
fall panicgrass Panicum dichotomiflorum Grass or grass-like 3.3 ft Sun High Zone 3a
field pussytoes Antennaria neglecta Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
foxglove beardtongue Penstemon digitalis Wildflower (forb) 4 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 3b
golden tickseed Coreopsis tinctoria Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 12b
Indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans Grass or grass-like 6 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
Indianhemp Apocynum cannabinum Wildflower (forb) 3.3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3a
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
littleleaf buttercup Ranunculus abortivus Wildflower (forb) 2.8 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3a
littleleaf pussytoes Antennaria microphylla Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
marsh muhly Muhlenbergia racemosa Grass or grass-like 3 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3b
needle spikerush Eleocharis acicularis Grass or grass-like 8 in Sun Medium Zone 5a
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
prairie cordgrass Spartina pectinata Grass or grass-like 8 ft Sun High Zone 3b
purple locoweed Oxytropis lambertii Wildflower (forb) 1.4 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
purplestem beggarticks Bidens connata Wildflower (forb) 3.2 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 12a
roughfruit amaranth Amaranthus tuberculatus Wildflower (forb) 6.6 ft Sun High Zone 4a
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
sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
stiff goldenrod Oligoneuron rigidum Wildflower (forb) 3.6 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3a
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
upright prairie coneflower Ratibida columnifera Wildflower (forb) 3.1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
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
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
whitegrass Leersia virginica Grass or grass-like 3.9 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3a
wild blue phlox Phlox divaricata Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a

Other native species recorded here 52

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
  • bearded flatsedge Cyperus squarrosus
  • big devils beggartick Bidens vulgata
  • bristly greenbrier Smilax tamnoides
  • Carolina anemone Anemone caroliniana
  • clasping Venus' looking-glass Triodanis perfoliata
  • climbing false buckwheat Polygonum scandens
  • common yellow oxalis Oxalis stricta
  • curlytop knotweed Polygonum lapathifolium
  • dutchman's breeches Dicentra cucullaria
  • Engelmann's spikerush Eleocharis engelmannii
  • great ragweed Ambrosia trifida
  • green carpetweed Mollugo verticillata
  • groundplum milkvetch Astragalus crassicarpus
  • hairy waterclover Marsilea vestita
  • Hall's bulrush Schoenoplectiella hallii
  • Heller's rosette grass Dichanthelium oligosanthes
  • hoary verbena Verbena stricta
  • hooded arrowhead Sagittaria calycina
  • light poppymallow Callirhoe alcaeoides
  • long-stolon sedge Carex inops
  • longbract spiderwort Tradescantia bracteata
  • longleaf groundcherry Physalis longifolia
  • lowland rotala Rotala ramosior
  • mapleleaf goosefoot Chenopodium simplex
  • Missouri gooseberry Ribes missouriense
  • narrowleaf stoneseed Lithospermum incisum
  • neckweed Veronica peregrina
  • needleleaf sedge Carex duriuscula
  • northern bog violet Viola nephrophylla
  • pale dock Rumex altissimus
  • prairie blue-eyed grass Sisyrinchium campestre
  • prairie false dandelion Nothocalais cuspidata
  • prairie groundsel Packera plattensis
  • prairie rose Rosa arkansana
  • prairie violet Viola pedatifida
  • red columbine Aquilegia canadensis
  • rough barnyardgrass Echinochloa muricata
  • sandhill amaranth Amaranthus arenicola
  • showy ticktrefoil Desmodium canadense
  • slender yellow woodsorrel Oxalis dillenii
  • slimpod Venus' looking-glass Triodanis leptocarpa
  • smooth Solomon's seal Polygonatum biflorum
  • starry false lily of the valley Maianthemum stellatum
  • swamp lousewort Pedicularis lanceolata
  • tall thistle Cirsium altissimum
  • violet woodsorrel Oxalis violacea
  • western rockjasmine Androsace occidentalis
  • western tansymustard Descurainia pinnata
  • white heath aster Symphyotrichum ericoides
  • witchgrass Panicum capillare
  • woodland strawberry Fragaria vesca
Also listed as native and introduced here 1

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

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, York County and Nebraska
MeasureYork CountyTypical countyStatewide
Native species 97 169 1,131
Garden-ready natives 45 81 452
Tree 6 — 68
Shrub 2 — 48
Wildflower (forb) 64 — 687
Grass or grass-like 20 — 253
Vine 4 — 46
Fern 1 — 29

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with York 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
York County (county FIPS 31185), Nebraska. 97 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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