Native plants · Oklahoma

Native plants of Beckham County

124 plant species are recorded as native to Oklahoma in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Beckham County by USDA PLANTS. 44 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness.

County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

Beckham County, Oklahoma

Native species: 124 Typical Oklahoma county: 203 (median of 77 counties)
Garden-ready natives: 44 Typical Oklahoma county: 80
Share by type (all 124 native species): Percent of the 124 native species in each growth type

Tree 11% (14)
Shrub 2% (2)
Wildflower (forb) 68% (84)
Grass or grass-like 16% (20)
Vine 3% (4)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (68%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (16%).

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 7a to 7b (2023 map).

The native plant list

Garden-ready natives 44

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

Garden-ready native plants of Beckham County, Oklahoma
Plant	Type	Height	Light	Water use	Hardy to
alkali sacaton Sporobolus airoides	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3b
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 pokeweed Phytolacca americana	Wildflower (forb)	7.3 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4a
American water-willow Justicia americana	Wildflower (forb)	2.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4b
black willow Salix nigra	Tree	100 ft	Sun	High	Zone 1b
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 wildrye Elymus canadensis	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3a
Chickasaw plum Prunus angustifolia	Tree	12 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4b
chinquapin oak Quercus muehlenbergii	Tree	70 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4a
common hackberry Celtis occidentalis	Tree	60 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 2b
dotted blazing star Liatris punctata	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3a
eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides	Tree	190 ft	Sun	High	Zone 3a
golden crownbeard Verbesina encelioides	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 5a
golden tickseed Coreopsis tinctoria	Wildflower (forb)	3 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 12b
gray goldenrod Solidago nemoralis	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4a
heartleaf peppervine Ampelopsis cordata	Vine	2 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 6b
honey mesquite Prosopis glandulosa	Tree	50 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 6a
Indian blanket Gaillardia pulchella	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 10b
Indianhemp Apocynum cannabinum	Wildflower (forb)	3.3 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 3a
little barley Hordeum pusillum	Grass or grass-like	1.2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 10b
Missouri gourd Cucurbita foetidissima	Vine	1 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 5a
partridge pea Chamaecrista fasciculata	Wildflower (forb)	2.4 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 7a
post oak Quercus stellata	Tree	60 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4a
prairie fleabane Erigeron strigosus	Wildflower (forb)	3 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4b
prairie wedgescale Sphenopholis obtusata	Grass or grass-like	3.2 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 3a
purple poppymallow Callirhoe involucrata	Wildflower (forb)	1 ft	Sun	Medium	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
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
showy milkweed Asclepias speciosa	Wildflower (forb)	6 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4a
silver maple Acer saccharinum	Tree	90 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 2b
sugarberry Celtis laevigata	Tree	80 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 5a
switchgrass Panicum virgatum	Grass or grass-like	5 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3a
tenpetal blazingstar Mentzelia decapetala	Wildflower (forb)	3.5 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
vine mesquite Panicum obtusum	Grass or grass-like	2 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 5a
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
woolly locoweed Astragalus mollissimus	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 4b
woolly plantain Plantago patagonica	Wildflower (forb)	6 in	Sun	Low	Zone 12b

Other native species recorded here 80

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 star-thistle Centaurea americana
annual buckwheat Eriogonum annuum
annual marsh elder Iva annua
azure blue sage Salvia azurea
Baldwin's ironweed Vernonia baldwinii
bigseed alfalfa dodder Cuscuta indecora
bluejacket Tradescantia ohiensis
buffalobur nightshade Solanum rostratum
camphorweed Heterotheca subaxillaris
Carolina larkspur Delphinium carolinianum
Carolina woollywhite Hymenopappus scabiosaeus
catchfly prairie gentian Eustoma exaltatum
chairmaker's bulrush Schoenoplectus americanus
clasping milkweed Asclepias amplexicaulis
curvepod fumewort Corydalis curvisiliqua
cusp dodder Cuscuta cuspidata
cutleaf evening primrose Oenothera laciniata
Dakota mock vervain Glandularia bipinnatifida
diamond-flowers Stenaria nigricans
Drummond's false pennyroyal Hedeoma drummondii
dwarf chinquapin oak Quercus prinoides
dwarf hackberry Celtis pumila
Engelmann's daisy Engelmannia peristenia
flatspine stickseed Lappula occidentalis
fourpoint evening primrose Oenothera rhombipetala
foxtail barley Hordeum jubatum
great ragweed Ambrosia trifida
green comet milkweed Asclepias viridiflora
hoary verbena Verbena stricta
hogwort Croton capitatus
Hopi tea greenthread Thelesperma megapotamicum
Jersey tea Ceanothus herbaceus
lacy tansyaster Machaeranthera pinnatifida
lemon beebalm Monarda citriodora
longleaf groundcherry Physalis longifolia
mat sandbur Cenchrus longispinus
meadow garlic Allium canadense
Michaux's stitchwort Minuartia michauxii
narrowleaf stoneseed Lithospermum incisum
Nuttall's sensitive-briar Mimosa nuttallii
pale dock Rumex altissimus
plains bluegrass Poa arida
prairie broomweed Amphiachyris dracunculoides
prairie groundcherry Physalis hispida
prairie groundsel Packera plattensis
prairie sandmat Chamaesyce missurica
prairie sunflower Helianthus petiolaris
prairie threeawn Aristida oligantha
queen's-delight Stillingia sylvatica
red lovegrass Eragrostis secundiflora
ribseed sandmat Chamaesyce glyptosperma
rough barnyardgrass Echinochloa muricata
rush skeletonplant Lygodesmia juncea
sand sagebrush Artemisia filifolia
sandhill amaranth Amaranthus arenicola
scarlet beeblossom Oenothera suffrutescens
shaggy dwarf morning-glory Evolvulus nuttallianus
silverleaf nightshade Solanum elaeagnifolium
slimflower scurfpea Psoralidium tenuiflorum
slimleaf milkweed Asclepias stenophylla
snow on the mountain Euphorbia marginata
southern annual saltmarsh aster Symphyotrichum divaricatum
Spanish gold Grindelia papposa
spotted beebalm Monarda punctata
stemless evening primrose Oenothera triloba
Texas bluegrass Poa arachnifera
Texas croton Croton texensis
Texas goldentop Euthamia gymnospermoides
thin paspalum Paspalum setaceum
tumblegrass Schedonnardus paniculatus
Virginia pepperweed Lepidium virginicum
Virginia tephrosia Tephrosia virginiana
warty spurge Euphorbia spathulata
wavyleaf thistle Cirsium undulatum
western tansymustard Descurainia pinnata
white four o'clock Mirabilis albida
white prairie aster Symphyotrichum falcatum
whitemouth dayflower Commelina erecta
winged pigweed Cycloloma atriplicifolium
witchgrass Panicum capillare

Compared with Oklahoma

The typical county is the median of the 77 Oklahoma 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, Beckham County and Oklahoma
Measure	Beckham County	Typical county	Statewide
Native species	124	203	1,513
Garden-ready natives	44	80	535
Tree	14	—	130
Shrub	2	—	63
Wildflower (forb)	84	—	849
Grass or grass-like	20	—	341
Vine	4	—	85
Fern	0	—	45

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Beckham County.

Custer County, OK 93 garden-ready
Greer County, OK 82 garden-ready
Roger Mills County, OK 74 garden-ready
Washita County, OK 34 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: Beckham County (county FIPS 40009), Oklahoma. 124 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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