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Native plants · Oklahoma

Native plants of Ellis County

96 plant species are recorded as native to Oklahoma in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Ellis County by USDA PLANTS. 44 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

Ellis County, Oklahoma

Native species
96 Typical Oklahoma county: 203 (median of 77 counties)
Garden-ready natives
44 Typical Oklahoma county: 80
Share by type (all 96 native species)
Percent of the 96 native species in each growth type
Tree 16% (15)
Shrub 3% (3)
Wildflower (forb) 64% (61)
Grass or grass-like 16% (15)
Vine 1% (1)
Fern 1% (1)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (64%), followed by trees (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 zone 7a (2023 map).

The native plant list

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

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 Ellis County, Oklahoma
PlantType HeightLight Water useHardy to
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
buffalograss Bouteloua dactyloides Grass or grass-like 6 in Sun Medium Zone 3b
bur oak Quercus macrocarpa Tree 100 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
chinquapin oak Quercus muehlenbergii Tree 70 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
common buttonbush Cephalanthus occidentalis Tree 15 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4a
common hackberry Celtis occidentalis Tree 60 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 2b
common hoptree Ptelea trifoliata Tree 25 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4a
common persimmon Diospyros virginiana Tree 55 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 5a
common sneezeweed Helenium autumnale Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
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
downy paintedcup Castilleja sessiliflora Wildflower (forb) 1.3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
golden tickseed Coreopsis tinctoria Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 12b
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
Jerusalem artichoke Helianthus tuberosus Wildflower (forb) 9.8 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3a
Kentucky coffeetree Gymnocladus dioicus Tree 100 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
leadplant Amorpha canescens Shrub 4 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 3b
little barley Hordeum pusillum Grass or grass-like 1.2 ft Sun Medium Zone 10b
little walnut Juglans microcarpa Tree 20 ft Sun Medium Zone 7a
marsh muhly Muhlenbergia racemosa Grass or grass-like 3 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3b
narrowleaf blue-eyed grass Sisyrinchium angustifolium Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 7a
nodding beggartick Bidens cernua Wildflower (forb) 3.2 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 12a
nodding lady's tresses Spiranthes cernua Wildflower (forb) 1.5 ft Sun High Zone 3b
post oak Quercus stellata Tree 60 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
purple locoweed Oxytropis lambertii Wildflower (forb) 1.4 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
purple poppymallow Callirhoe involucrata Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
purple threeawn Aristida purpurea Grass or grass-like 1.4 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
sand bluestem Andropogon hallii Grass or grass-like 6.1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
sand lovegrass Eragrostis trichodes Grass or grass-like 3.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 5a
sandbar willow Salix interior Tree 30 ft Sun — Zone 1a
scarlet globemallow Sphaeralcea coccinea Wildflower (forb) 1.5 ft Sun Low Zone 5a
scratchgrass Muhlenbergia asperifolia Grass or grass-like 2 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 5b
slippery elm Ulmus rubra Tree 85 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3a
spreading yellowcress Rorippa sinuata Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
sugarberry Celtis laevigata Tree 80 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 5a
swamp milkweed Asclepias incarnata Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Sun High Zone 3b
tanseyleaf tansyaster Machaeranthera tanacetifolia Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
upright prairie coneflower Ratibida columnifera Wildflower (forb) 3.1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
Utah sweetvetch Hedysarum boreale Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
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 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.

  • bastard toadflax Comandra umbellata
  • bigbract verbena Verbena bracteata
  • blue skullcap Scutellaria lateriflora
  • blue wild indigo Baptisia australis
  • bristly scaleseed Spermolepis echinata
  • camphorweed Heterotheca subaxillaris
  • carelessweed Cyclachaena xanthiifolia
  • Carolina puccoon Lithospermum caroliniense
  • Carolina woollywhite Hymenopappus scabiosaeus
  • common boneset Eupatorium perfoliatum
  • curlytop knotweed Polygonum lapathifolium
  • Dakota mock vervain Glandularia bipinnatifida
  • desert biscuitroot Lomatium foeniculaceum
  • diamond-flowers Stenaria nigricans
  • Drummond's false pennyroyal Hedeoma drummondii
  • dwarf chinquapin oak Quercus prinoides
  • Engelmann's daisy Engelmannia peristenia
  • fall witchgrass Digitaria cognata
  • false buffalograss Munroa squarrosa
  • flatspine stickseed Lappula occidentalis
  • fragrant sumac Rhus aromatica
  • hoary verbena Verbena stricta
  • Hopi tea greenthread Thelesperma megapotamicum
  • James' cryptantha Cryptantha cinerea
  • Jersey tea Ceanothus herbaceus
  • meadow garlic Allium canadense
  • Michaux's stitchwort Minuartia michauxii
  • narrowleaf purple coneflower Echinacea angustifolia
  • narrowleaf stoneseed Lithospermum incisum
  • Nuttall's sensitive-briar Mimosa nuttallii
  • prairie groundcherry Physalis hispida
  • prairie groundsel Packera plattensis
  • prairie sandmat Chamaesyce missurica
  • prairie spiderwort Tradescantia occidentalis
  • queen's-delight Stillingia sylvatica
  • redseed plantain Plantago rhodosperma
  • rough false pennyroyal Hedeoma hispida
  • rush skeletonplant Lygodesmia juncea
  • sand spikerush Eleocharis montevidensis
  • shaggy dwarf morning-glory Evolvulus nuttallianus
  • showy evening primrose Oenothera grandis
  • sixweeks fescue Vulpia octoflora
  • slender lipfern Cheilanthes feei
  • slimflower scurfpea Psoralidium tenuiflorum
  • snow on the mountain Euphorbia marginata
  • Spanish gold Grindelia papposa
  • stemless four-nerve daisy Tetraneuris acaulis
  • swamp verbena Verbena hastata
  • thin paspalum Paspalum setaceum
  • tumblegrass Schedonnardus paniculatus
  • warty spurge Euphorbia spathulata
  • witchgrass Panicum capillare
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.

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, Ellis County and Oklahoma
MeasureEllis CountyTypical countyStatewide
Native species 96 203 1,513
Garden-ready natives 44 80 535
Tree 15 — 130
Shrub 3 — 63
Wildflower (forb) 61 — 849
Grass or grass-like 15 — 341
Vine 1 — 85
Fern 1 — 45

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Ellis 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
Ellis County (county FIPS 40045), Oklahoma. 96 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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