Native plants · New Mexico

Native plants of De Baca County

97 plant species are recorded as native to New Mexico in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in De Baca County by USDA PLANTS. 52 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

De Baca County, New Mexico

Native species: 97 Typical New Mexico county: 258 (median of 33 counties)
Garden-ready natives: 52 Typical New Mexico county: 160
Share by type (all 97 native species): Percent of the 97 native species in each growth type

Tree 2% (2)
Shrub 9% (9)
Wildflower (forb) 53% (51)
Grass or grass-like 33% (32)
Vine 2% (2)
Fern 1% (1)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (53%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (33%).

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 7a (2023 map).

The native plant list

Garden-ready natives 52

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

Garden-ready native plants of De Baca County, New Mexico
Plant	Type	Height	Light	Water use	Hardy to
alkali sacaton Sporobolus airoides	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3b
American licorice Glycyrrhiza lepidota	Wildflower (forb)	4 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 3b
big sacaton Sporobolus wrightii	Grass or grass-like	5.5 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 6a
black grama Bouteloua eriopoda	Grass or grass-like	2 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 5a
blue grama Bouteloua gracilis	Grass or grass-like	1 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3a
broadleaf cattail Typha latifolia	Wildflower (forb)	5 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 3b
broom snakeweed Gutierrezia sarothrae	Shrub	1.5 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
buffalograss Bouteloua dactyloides	Grass or grass-like	6 in	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
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
composite dropseed Sporobolus compositus	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3b
cosmopolitan bulrush Bolboschoenus maritimus	Grass or grass-like	3.2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 5a
dotted blazing star Liatris punctata	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3a
featherplume Dalea formosa	Shrub	3 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 6a
fourwing saltbush Atriplex canescens	Shrub	4 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3a
golden currant Ribes aureum	Shrub	10 ft	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 3b
green prairie coneflower Ratibida tagetes	Wildflower (forb)	1 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 4b
gypsum grama Bouteloua breviseta	Grass or grass-like	2.5 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 7a
hairy grama Bouteloua hirsuta	Grass or grass-like	6 in	Sun	Low	Zone 3b
honey mesquite Prosopis glandulosa	Tree	50 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 6a
Indian blanket Gaillardia pulchella	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 10b
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
James' galleta Pleuraphis jamesii	Grass or grass-like	2 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 5a
lemonscent Pectis angustifolia	Wildflower (forb)	8 in	Sun	Low	Zone 5a
little barley Hordeum pusillum	Grass or grass-like	1.2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 10b
little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3b
lyreleaf greeneyes Berlandiera lyrata	Wildflower (forb)	4 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 5a
Missouri gourd Cucurbita foetidissima	Vine	1 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 5a
narrowleaf willow Salix exigua	Tree	10 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 3b
pale evening primrose Oenothera pallida	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3b
plains pricklypear Opuntia polyacantha	Shrub	2 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 4b
purple locoweed Oxytropis lambertii	Wildflower (forb)	1.4 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3b
purple prairie clover Dalea purpurea	Wildflower (forb)	3 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
purple threeawn Aristida purpurea	Grass or grass-like	1.4 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 4a
rubber rabbitbrush Ericameria nauseosa	Shrub	4 ft	Sun	Medium	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
scarlet globemallow Sphaeralcea coccinea	Wildflower (forb)	1.5 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 5a
sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3a
skunkbush sumac Rhus trilobata	Shrub	4 ft	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 2a
squirreltail Elymus elymoides	Grass or grass-like	1.5 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3a
switchgrass Panicum virgatum	Grass or grass-like	5 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3a
tanseyleaf tansyaster Machaeranthera tanacetifolia	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4a
tobosagrass Pleuraphis mutica	Grass or grass-like	2.3 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 7b
Torrey's jointfir Ephedra torreyana	Shrub	1 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 4b
turkey tangle fogfruit Phyla nodiflora	Wildflower (forb)	2 in	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 5b
upright prairie coneflower Ratibida columnifera	Wildflower (forb)	3.1 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3a
vine mesquite Panicum obtusum	Grass or grass-like	2 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 5a
western white clematis Clematis ligusticifolia	Vine	1 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 3b
white prairie clover Dalea candida	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 3b
woolly locoweed Astragalus mollissimus	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 4b

Other native species recorded here 45

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.

bastard toadflax Comandra umbellata
bigbract verbena Verbena bracteata
camphorweed Heterotheca subaxillaris
chairmaker's bulrush Schoenoplectus americanus
coastal sandbur Cenchrus spinifex
Cuman ragweed Ambrosia psilostachya
Dakota mock vervain Glandularia bipinnatifida
Engelmann's daisy Engelmannia peristenia
false buffalograss Munroa squarrosa
feather fingergrass Chloris virgata
fetid marigold Dyssodia papposa
fineleaf hymenopappus Hymenopappus filifolius
flatspine stickseed Lappula occidentalis
Geyer's sandmat Chamaesyce geyeri
hoary tansyaster Machaeranthera canescens
Hopi tea greenthread Thelesperma megapotamicum
horned pondweed Zannichellia palustris
James' cryptantha Cryptantha cinerea
mealy goosefoot Chenopodium incanum
narrowleaf four o'clock Mirabilis linearis
New England aster Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
pale dock Rumex altissimus
prairie sandmat Chamaesyce missurica
prairie threeawn Aristida oligantha
ram's horn Proboscidea louisianica
red lovegrass Eragrostis secundiflora
redwhisker clammyweed Polanisia dodecandra
sand sagebrush Artemisia filifolia
scarlet beeblossom Oenothera suffrutescens
silverleaf nightshade Solanum elaeagnifolium
slender lipfern Cheilanthes feei
slimflower scurfpea Psoralidium tenuiflorum
snow on the mountain Euphorbia marginata
snowball sand verbena Abronia fragrans
Spanish gold Grindelia papposa
spike dropseed Sporobolus contractus
spiny milkvetch Astragalus kentrophyta
tapertip cupgrass Eriochloa acuminata
Texas croton Croton texensis
tumble windmill grass Chloris verticillata
velvetweed Oenothera curtiflora
warty caltrop Kallstroemia parviflora
whitestem blazingstar Mentzelia albicaulis
witchgrass Panicum capillare
woolly tidestromia Tidestromia lanuginosa

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.

common reedPhragmites australis

Compared with New Mexico

The typical county is the median of the 33 New Mexico 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, De Baca County and New Mexico
Measure	De Baca County	Typical county	Statewide
Native species	97	258	1,103
Garden-ready natives	52	160	570
Tree	2	—	81
Shrub	9	—	95
Wildflower (forb)	51	—	602
Grass or grass-like	32	—	275
Vine	2	—	22
Fern	1	—	28

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with De Baca County.

Lincoln County, NM 190 garden-ready
Roosevelt County, NM 87 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: De Baca County (county FIPS 35011), New Mexico. 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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