Native plants · Oklahoma

Native plants of Jefferson County

75 plant species are recorded as native to Oklahoma in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Jefferson County by USDA PLANTS. 35 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness.

County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

Jefferson County, Oklahoma

Native species: 75 Typical Oklahoma county: 203 (median of 77 counties)
Garden-ready natives: 35 Typical Oklahoma county: 80
Share by type (all 75 native species): Percent of the 75 native species in each growth type

Tree 20% (15)
Shrub 1% (1)
Wildflower (forb) 61% (46)
Grass or grass-like 12% (9)
Vine 5% (4)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (61%), followed by trees (20%).

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 8a (2023 map).

The native plant list

Garden-ready natives 35

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

Garden-ready native plants of Jefferson County, Oklahoma
Plant	Type	Height	Light	Water use	Hardy 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
blackeyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta	Wildflower (forb)	1 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 5a
boxelder Acer negundo	Tree	60 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 2b
bur oak Quercus macrocarpa	Tree	100 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 3b
Canada germander Teucrium canadense	Wildflower (forb)	3.3 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 3a
Canadian horseweed Conyza canadensis	Wildflower (forb)	5 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 12b
cedar elm Ulmus crassifolia	Tree	90 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 6a
Chickasaw plum Prunus angustifolia	Tree	12 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4b
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
crested pricklypoppy Argemone polyanthemos	Wildflower (forb)	3 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 5a
eastern redbud Cercis canadensis	Tree	30 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 4b
flowering dogwood Cornus florida	Tree	30 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 4b
golden tickseed Coreopsis tinctoria	Wildflower (forb)	3 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 12b
grassleaf rush Juncus marginatus	Grass or grass-like	2 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 5a
hairy grama Bouteloua hirsuta	Grass or grass-like	6 in	Sun	Low	Zone 3b
Indian blanket Gaillardia pulchella	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 10b
Indian woodoats Chasmanthium latifolium	Grass or grass-like	4.6 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4a
leadplant Amorpha canescens	Shrub	4 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 3b
Missouri goldenrod Solidago missouriensis	Wildflower (forb)	3 ft	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 3b
Missouri gourd Cucurbita foetidissima	Vine	1 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 5a
narrowleaf blue-eyed grass Sisyrinchium angustifolium	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 7a
pecan Carya illinoinensis	Tree	120 ft	Sun	High	Zone 5a
post oak Quercus stellata	Tree	60 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4a
prairie fleabane Erigeron strigosus	Wildflower (forb)	3 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4b
saw greenbrier Smilax bona-nox	Vine	4 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 5b
sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3a
slippery elm Ulmus rubra	Tree	85 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 3a
sugarberry Celtis laevigata	Tree	80 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 5a
tapertip flatsedge Cyperus acuminatus	Grass or grass-like	1.3 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 3b
Torrey's rush Juncus torreyi	Grass or grass-like	3.1 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
turkey tangle fogfruit Phyla nodiflora	Wildflower (forb)	2 in	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 5b
white avens Geum canadense	Wildflower (forb)	3.9 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4a

Other native species recorded here 40

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
Baldwin's ironweed Vernonia baldwinii
bighead pygmycudweed Evax prolifera
camphorweed Heterotheca subaxillaris
Carolina anemone Anemone caroliniana
Carolina larkspur Delphinium carolinianum
Carolina woollywhite Hymenopappus scabiosaeus
catchfly prairie gentian Eustoma exaltatum
crowpoison Nothoscordum bivalve
curlycup gumweed Grindelia squarrosa
diamond-flowers Stenaria nigricans
dwarf chinquapin oak Quercus prinoides
Engelmann's daisy Engelmannia peristenia
fourpoint evening primrose Oenothera rhombipetala
Great Plains lady's tresses Spiranthes magnicamporum
green antelopehorn Asclepias viridis
groundplum milkvetch Astragalus crassicarpus
lanceleaf blanketflower Gaillardia aestivalis
narrowleaf purple coneflower Echinacea angustifolia
narrowleaf stoneseed Lithospermum incisum
Nuttall's sensitive-briar Mimosa nuttallii
pineland threeseed mercury Acalypha ostryifolia
prairie spiderwort Tradescantia occidentalis
rough barnyardgrass Echinochloa muricata
silverleaf nightshade Solanum elaeagnifolium
slickseed fuzzybean Strophostyles leiosperma
slimleaf milkweed Asclepias stenophylla
small Venus' looking-glass Triodanis biflora
snow on the mountain Euphorbia marginata
sorrelvine Cissus trifoliata
Spanish gold Grindelia papposa
Texas bluegrass Poa arachnifera
Texas croton Croton texensis
Texas toadflax Nuttallanthus texanus
tiny bluet Houstonia pusilla
tumblegrass Schedonnardus paniculatus
violet woodsorrel Oxalis violacea
Virginia plantain Plantago virginica
warty spurge Euphorbia spathulata
whitemouth dayflower Commelina erecta

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, Jefferson County and Oklahoma
Measure	Jefferson County	Typical county	Statewide
Native species	75	203	1,513
Garden-ready natives	35	80	535
Tree	15	—	130
Shrub	1	—	63
Wildflower (forb)	46	—	849
Grass or grass-like	9	—	341
Vine	4	—	85
Fern	0	—	45

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Jefferson County.

Carter County, OK 90 garden-ready
Cotton County, OK 39 garden-ready
Love County, OK 67 garden-ready
Stephens County, OK 41 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: Jefferson County (county FIPS 40067), Oklahoma. 75 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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