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Native plants · South Dakota

Native plants of Butte County

131 plant species are recorded as native to South Dakota in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Butte County by USDA PLANTS. 64 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness.

County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

Butte County, South Dakota

Native species
131 Typical South Dakota county: 110 (median of 65 counties)
Garden-ready natives
64 Typical South Dakota county: 59
Share by type (all 131 native species)
Percent of the 131 native species in each growth type
Tree 5% (7)
Shrub 11% (15)
Wildflower (forb) 63% (82)
Grass or grass-like 16% (21)
Vine <1% (1)
Fern 4% (5)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (63%), 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 zone 4b (2023 map).

The native plant list

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

Garden-ready natives 64

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

Garden-ready native plants of Butte County, South Dakota
PlantType HeightLight Water useHardy to
American licorice Glycyrrhiza lepidota Wildflower (forb) 4 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3b
American vetch Vicia americana Vine 1.3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
arumleaf arrowhead Sagittaria cuneata Wildflower (forb) 2.6 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
big bluestem Andropogon gerardii Grass or grass-like 6 ft Sun Low Zone 2b
big sagebrush Artemisia tridentata Tree 4 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
broadbeard beardtongue Penstemon angustifolius Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Low Zone 4b
broadleaf arrowhead Sagittaria latifolia Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Sun High Zone 4a
broom snakeweed Gutierrezia sarothrae Shrub 1.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
Canada germander Teucrium canadense Wildflower (forb) 3.3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3a
Canada goldenrod Solidago altissima Wildflower (forb) 5 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4b
chokecherry Prunus virginiana Tree 25 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
clustered field sedge Carex praegracilis Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
cosmopolitan bulrush Bolboschoenus maritimus Grass or grass-like 3.2 ft Sun Medium Zone 5a
devil's beggartick Bidens frondosa Wildflower (forb) 4 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 12a
disk waterhyssop Bacopa rotundifolia Wildflower (forb) 1 in Sun High Zone 4a
downy paintedcup Castilleja sessiliflora Wildflower (forb) 1.3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides Tree 190 ft Sun High Zone 3a
fourwing saltbush Atriplex canescens Shrub 4 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
fox sedge Carex vulpinoidea Grass or grass-like 3.2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
Gardner's saltbush Atriplex gardneri Shrub 4 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
giant goldenrod Solidago gigantea Wildflower (forb) 8.2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
greasewood Sarcobatus vermiculatus Shrub 10 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
lambstongue ragwort Senecio integerrimus Wildflower (forb) 1.1 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
largeflower hawksbeard Crepis occidentalis Wildflower (forb) 11 in Sun Low Zone 5a
leafy pondweed Potamogeton foliosus Wildflower (forb) — Sun High Zone 3b
Missouri goldenrod Solidago missouriensis Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3b
narrowleaf water plantain Alisma gramineum Wildflower (forb) 1.5 ft Sun High Zone 3a
needle spikerush Eleocharis acicularis Grass or grass-like 8 in Sun Medium Zone 5a
nodding beggartick Bidens cernua Wildflower (forb) 3.2 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 12a
Nuttall's sunflower Helianthus nuttallii Wildflower (forb) 10 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
pale agoseris Agoseris glauca Shrub 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
peachleaf willow Salix amygdaloides Tree 60 ft Sun High Zone 4a
prairie cordgrass Spartina pectinata Grass or grass-like 8 ft Sun High Zone 3b
prairie Junegrass Koeleria macrantha Grass or grass-like 1.5 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3b
prairie sagewort Artemisia frigida Shrub 2 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3a
prairie sandreed Calamovilfa longifolia Grass or grass-like 4.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
purple locoweed Oxytropis lambertii Wildflower (forb) 1.4 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
purple milkvetch Astragalus agrestis Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
quaking aspen Populus tremuloides Tree 65 ft Sun High Zone 1a
red swampfire Salicornia rubra Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 12b
rubber rabbitbrush Ericameria nauseosa Shrub 4 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
sago pondweed Stuckenia pectinata Wildflower (forb) — Sun High Zone 3b
saltgrass Distichlis spicata Grass or grass-like 1.1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
sandbar willow Salix interior Tree 30 ft Sun — Zone 1a
Sandberg bluegrass Poa secunda Grass or grass-like 1.4 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3b
sandcherry Prunus pumila Shrub 6 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 4a
scarlet globemallow Sphaeralcea coccinea Wildflower (forb) 1.5 ft Sun Low Zone 5a
showy milkweed Asclepias speciosa Wildflower (forb) 6 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
silver sagebrush Artemisia cana Shrub 5 ft Sun Low Zone 3a
skunkbush sumac Rhus trilobata Shrub 4 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 2a
softstem bulrush Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani Grass or grass-like 9 ft Sun High Zone 3b
southern waternymph Najas guadalupensis Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun High Zone 3b
textile onion Allium textile Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
threelobe beggarticks Bidens tripartita Wildflower (forb) 3.5 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 12a
tiny mousetail Myosurus minimus Wildflower (forb) 5 in Sun–part shade Medium Zone 12b
upright prairie coneflower Ratibida columnifera Wildflower (forb) 3.1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
wax currant Ribes cereum Shrub 3 ft Sun Low Zone 5a
western snowberry Symphoricarpos occidentalis Shrub 3 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3b
western wheatgrass Pascopyrum smithii Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
white panicle aster Symphyotrichum lanceolatum Wildflower (forb) 6 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3b
white sagebrush Artemisia ludoviciana Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
Woods' rose Rosa woodsii Shrub 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3a
woolly plantain Plantago patagonica Wildflower (forb) 6 in Sun Low Zone 12b
woollypod milkvetch Astragalus purshii Wildflower (forb) 7 in Sun Low Zone 4a

Other native species recorded here 67

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 sloughgrass Beckmannia syzigachne
  • aromatic aster Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
  • Aunt Lucy Ellisia nyctelea
  • bald spikerush Eleocharis erythropoda
  • ballhead ipomopsis Ipomopsis congesta
  • bastard toadflax Comandra umbellata
  • bigbract verbena Verbena bracteata
  • brittle bladderfern Cystopteris fragilis
  • buffalobur nightshade Solanum rostratum
  • bushy knotweed Polygonum ramosissimum
  • Carolina draba Draba reptans
  • Carolina geranium Geranium carolinianum
  • common starlily Leucocrinum montanum
  • curlycup gumweed Grindelia squarrosa
  • desert biscuitroot Lomatium foeniculaceum
  • desert princesplume Stanleya pinnata
  • fireberry hawthorn Crataegus chrysocarpa
  • flatspine stickseed Lappula occidentalis
  • Flodman's thistle Cirsium flodmanii
  • foothill bladderpod Lesquerella ludoviciana
  • foxtail barley Hordeum jubatum
  • hairy waterclover Marsilea vestita
  • hoary tansyaster Machaeranthera canescens
  • large beardtongue Penstemon grandiflorus
  • large Indian breadroot Pediomelum esculentum
  • Laxmann's milkvetch Astragalus laxmannii
  • lesser spikemoss Selaginella densa
  • long-stolon sedge Carex inops
  • longbract spiderwort Tradescantia bracteata
  • Macoun's barley ×Elyhordeum macounii
  • mat sandbur Cenchrus longispinus
  • matted sandmat Chamaesyce serpens
  • Maximilian sunflower Helianthus maximiliani
  • Mojave seablite Suaeda moquinii
  • narrowleaf purple coneflower Echinacea angustifolia
  • narrowleaf stoneseed Lithospermum incisum
  • neckweed Veronica peregrina
  • needleleaf sedge Carex duriuscula
  • nodding buckwheat Eriogonum cernuum
  • nodding stickseed Hackelia deflexa
  • northern water plantain Alisma triviale
  • Oregon cliff fern Woodsia oregana
  • pitseed goosefoot Chenopodium berlandieri
  • plains springparsley Cymopterus acaulis
  • povertyweed Iva axillaris
  • prairie ironweed Vernonia fasciculata
  • prairie rose Rosa arkansana
  • Pursh seepweed Suaeda calceoliformis
  • redwool plantain Plantago eriopoda
  • ribseed sandmat Chamaesyce glyptosperma
  • Richardson's pondweed Potamogeton richardsonii
  • scarlet beeblossom Oenothera suffrutescens
  • Scouler's popcornflower Plagiobothrys scouleri
  • shaggy fleabane Erigeron pumilus
  • shortbeak sedge Carex brevior
  • shortray fleabane Erigeron lonchophyllus
  • shortspike watermilfoil Myriophyllum sibiricum
  • silverleaf Indian breadroot Pediomelum argophyllum
  • silverscale saltbush Atriplex argentea
  • slender lipfern Cheilanthes feei
  • stemless four-nerve daisy Tetraneuris acaulis
  • tiny trumpet Collomia linearis
  • velvetweed Oenothera curtiflora
  • western rockjasmine Androsace occidentalis
  • white prairie aster Symphyotrichum falcatum
  • whitest evening primrose Oenothera albicaulis
  • witchgrass Panicum capillare

Compared with South Dakota

The typical county is the median of the 65 South Dakota 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, Butte County and South Dakota
MeasureButte CountyTypical countyStatewide
Native species 131 110 1,092
Garden-ready natives 64 59 473
Tree 7 — 61
Shrub 15 — 69
Wildflower (forb) 82 — 640
Grass or grass-like 21 — 243
Vine 1 — 34
Fern 5 — 45

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Butte 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
Butte County (county FIPS 46019), South Dakota. 131 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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