Native plants · South Dakota
Native plants of Hamlin County
56 plant species are recorded as native to South Dakota in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Hamlin County by USDA PLANTS. 30 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
Hamlin County, South Dakota
- Native species
- 56 Typical South Dakota county: 110 (median of 65 counties)
- Garden-ready natives
- 30 Typical South Dakota county: 59
- Share by type (all 56 native species)
-
Percent of the 56 native species in each growth type
Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (63%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (21%).
The native plant list
Garden-ready natives 30
Native species with PLANTS growing records (height, light, moisture, minimum temperature). “—” means PLANTS has no value.
| Plant | Type | Height | Light | Water use | Hardy to |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American vetch Vicia americana | Vine | 1.3 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 3b |
| blackeyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta | Wildflower (forb) | 1 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 5a |
| blanketflower Gaillardia aristata | Wildflower (forb) | 2 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 4a |
| broadfruit bur-reed Sparganium eurycarpum | Wildflower (forb) | 4.9 ft | Sun–part shade | High | Zone 4a |
| chokecherry Prunus virginiana | Tree | 25 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3a |
| 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 |
| fineleaf pondweed Stuckenia filiformis | Wildflower (forb) | — | Sun | High | Zone 3b |
| hairy false goldenaster Heterotheca villosa | Wildflower (forb) | 3 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 4a |
| hardstem bulrush Schoenoplectus acutus | Grass or grass-like | 9.8 ft | Sun | High | Zone 3b |
| little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium | Grass or grass-like | 3 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 3b |
| littleleaf pussytoes Antennaria microphylla | Wildflower (forb) | 1 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 3b |
| nodding beggartick Bidens cernua | Wildflower (forb) | 3.2 ft | Sun–part shade | High | Zone 12a |
| old man's whiskers Geum triflorum | Wildflower (forb) | 1.5 ft | Sun–part shade | Medium | Zone 3b |
| prairie fleabane Erigeron strigosus | Wildflower (forb) | 3 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 4b |
| prairie Junegrass Koeleria macrantha | Grass or grass-like | 1.5 ft | Shade-tolerant | High | Zone 3b |
| reed canarygrass Phalaris arundinacea | Grass or grass-like | 5 ft | Sun | High | Zone 3b |
| riverbank grape Vitis riparia | Vine | 45 ft | Sun–part shade | Medium | Zone 4a |
| rough bugleweed Lycopus asper | Wildflower (forb) | 2.1 ft | Shade-tolerant | High | Zone 3b |
| sandbar willow Salix interior | Tree | 30 ft | Sun | — | Zone 1a |
| sawtooth sunflower Helianthus grosseserratus | Wildflower (forb) | 5 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3a |
| scratchgrass Muhlenbergia asperifolia | Grass or grass-like | 2 ft | Shade-tolerant | High | Zone 5b |
| silverweed cinquefoil Argentina anserina | Wildflower (forb) | 6 in | Shade-tolerant | High | Zone 5a |
| smooth horsetail Equisetum laevigatum | Fern | 5 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 3b |
| switchgrass Panicum virgatum | Grass or grass-like | 5 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3a |
| Torrey's rush Juncus torreyi | Grass or grass-like | 3.1 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3b |
| upright prairie coneflower Ratibida columnifera | Wildflower (forb) | 3.1 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3a |
| western snowberry Symphoricarpos occidentalis | Shrub | 3 ft | Sun–part shade | Low | Zone 3b |
| white panicle aster Symphyotrichum lanceolatum | Wildflower (forb) | 6 ft | Sun–part shade | High | Zone 3b |
| white prairie clover Dalea candida | Wildflower (forb) | 2 ft | Sun–part shade | Medium | Zone 3b |
No garden-ready natives match these filters. Try clearing one.
Other native species recorded here 26
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.
Hidden while “Garden-ready only” is on.
- bald spikerush Eleocharis erythropoda
- curlytop knotweed Polygonum lapathifolium
- Dudley's rush Juncus dudleyi
- Great Plains lady's tresses Spiranthes magnicamporum
- great ragweed Ambrosia trifida
- hoary puccoon Lithospermum canescens
- hoary verbena Verbena stricta
- leathery knotweed Polygonum achoreum
- longbract spiderwort Tradescantia bracteata
- Maximilian sunflower Helianthus maximiliani
- narrowleaf purple coneflower Echinacea angustifolia
- palespike lobelia Lobelia spicata
- pitseed goosefoot Chenopodium berlandieri
- prairie rose Rosa arkansana
- Richardson's pondweed Potamogeton richardsonii
- Sartwell's sedge Carex sartwellii
- scarlet beeblossom Oenothera suffrutescens
- silverleaf Indian breadroot Pediomelum argophyllum
- spiral ditchgrass Ruppia cirrhosa
- tall blazing star Liatris aspera
- white heath aster Symphyotrichum ericoides
- wild cucumber Echinocystis lobata
- winged lythrum Lythrum alatum
- wood lily Lilium philadelphicum
- woodbine Parthenocissus vitacea
- woolly sedge Carex pellita
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 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.
| Measure | Hamlin County | Typical county | Statewide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Native species | 56 | 110 | 1,092 |
| Garden-ready natives | 30 | 59 | 473 |
| Tree | 2 | — | 61 |
| Shrub | 2 | — | 69 |
| Wildflower (forb) | 35 | — | 640 |
| Grass or grass-like | 12 | — | 243 |
| Vine | 4 | — | 34 |
| Fern | 1 | — | 45 |
Neighboring counties
Counties that share a ZIP code with Hamlin County.
- Clark County, SD 25 garden-ready
- Codington County, SD 142 garden-ready
- Deuel County, SD 42 garden-ready
- Kingsbury County, SD 52 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
- Hamlin County (county FIPS 46057), South Dakota. 56 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