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Native plants · South Dakota

Native plants of Hughes County

113 plant species are recorded as native to South Dakota in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Hughes County by USDA PLANTS. 60 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness.

County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

Hughes County, South Dakota

Native species
113 Typical South Dakota county: 110 (median of 65 counties)
Garden-ready natives
60 Typical South Dakota county: 59
Share by type (all 113 native species)
Percent of the 113 native species in each growth type
Tree 4% (5)
Shrub 10% (11)
Wildflower (forb) 64% (72)
Grass or grass-like 19% (22)
Vine 2% (2)
Fern <1% (1)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (64%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (19%).

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 60

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

Garden-ready native plants of Hughes County, South Dakota
PlantType HeightLight Water useHardy to
American licorice Glycyrrhiza lepidota Wildflower (forb) 4 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3b
American plum Prunus americana Tree 24 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
big bluestem Andropogon gerardii Grass or grass-like 6 ft Sun Low Zone 2b
blue grama Bouteloua gracilis Grass or grass-like 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
broadleaf cattail Typha latifolia Wildflower (forb) 5 ft Sun–part shade High 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
Canada wildrye Elymus canadensis Grass or grass-like 3 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3a
chokecherry Prunus virginiana Tree 25 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
common duckweed Lemna minor Wildflower (forb) — Sun High Zone 3b
common reed Phragmites australis Shrub 13 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
composite dropseed Sporobolus compositus Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
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
dotted blazing star Liatris punctata Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
fourwing saltbush Atriplex canescens Shrub 4 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
golden currant Ribes aureum Shrub 10 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3b
green needlegrass Nassella viridula Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
hardstem bulrush Schoenoplectus acutus Grass or grass-like 9.8 ft Sun High Zone 3b
Indianhemp Apocynum cannabinum Wildflower (forb) 3.3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3a
Jerusalem artichoke Helianthus tuberosus Wildflower (forb) 9.8 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3a
leadplant Amorpha canescens Shrub 4 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 3b
littleleaf buttercup Ranunculus abortivus Wildflower (forb) 2.8 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3a
littleseed ricegrass Piptatheropsis micrantha Grass or grass-like 2.5 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
marsh muhly Muhlenbergia racemosa Grass or grass-like 3 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3b
Missouri goldenrod Solidago missouriensis Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3b
needle spikerush Eleocharis acicularis Grass or grass-like 8 in Sun Medium Zone 5a
peachleaf willow Salix amygdaloides Tree 60 ft Sun High Zone 4a
Pennsylvania smartweed Polygonum pensylvanicum Wildflower (forb) 3.9 ft Sun Medium Zone 10b
prairie cordgrass Spartina pectinata Grass or grass-like 8 ft Sun High Zone 3b
prairie fleabane Erigeron strigosus Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 4b
purple locoweed Oxytropis lambertii Wildflower (forb) 1.4 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
red goosefoot Chenopodium rubrum Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun High Zone 12b
redosier dogwood Cornus sericea Tree 12 ft Sun High Zone 3b
rice cutgrass Leersia oryzoides Grass or grass-like 4.9 ft Sun High Zone 4a
riverbank grape Vitis riparia Vine 45 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
Rocky Mountain beeplant Cleome serrulata Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 12b
roughfruit amaranth Amaranthus tuberculatus Wildflower (forb) 6.6 ft Sun High Zone 4a
rubber rabbitbrush Ericameria nauseosa Shrub 4 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
sago pondweed Stuckenia pectinata Wildflower (forb) — Sun High Zone 3b
sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
silver maple Acer saccharinum Tree 90 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 2b
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
spreading yellowcress Rorippa sinuata Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
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
threadleaf sedge Carex filifolia Grass or grass-like 1.2 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
threelobe beggarticks Bidens tripartita Wildflower (forb) 3.5 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 12a
upright prairie coneflower Ratibida columnifera Wildflower (forb) 3.1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
valley redstem Ammannia coccinea Wildflower (forb) 1.6 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
waterthread pondweed Potamogeton diversifolius Wildflower (forb) 3.2 ft Sun High Zone 3b
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
white sagebrush Artemisia ludoviciana Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
winterfat Krascheninnikovia lanata Shrub 2 ft Sun Low Zone 2a
Woods' rose Rosa woodsii Shrub 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3a

Other native species recorded here 53

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
  • aridland goosefoot Chenopodium desiccatum
  • bigbract verbena Verbena bracteata
  • bog yellowcress Rorippa palustris
  • bushy knotweed Polygonum ramosissimum
  • carelessweed Cyclachaena xanthiifolia
  • clammy groundcherry Physalis heterophylla
  • Cuman ragweed Ambrosia psilostachya
  • Dakota mock vervain Glandularia bipinnatifida
  • flatspine stickseed Lappula occidentalis
  • Flodman's thistle Cirsium flodmanii
  • foxtail barley Hordeum jubatum
  • great ragweed Ambrosia trifida
  • groundplum milkvetch Astragalus crassicarpus
  • hairy four o'clock Mirabilis hirsuta
  • hairy waterclover Marsilea vestita
  • heartleaf four o'clock Mirabilis nyctaginea
  • hoary tansyaster Machaeranthera canescens
  • horned pondweed Zannichellia palustris
  • lanceleaf sage Salvia reflexa
  • leathery knotweed Polygonum achoreum
  • lemon scurfpea Psoralidium lanceolatum
  • lilac penstemon Penstemon gracilis
  • longleaf groundcherry Physalis longifolia
  • narrowleaf four o'clock Mirabilis linearis
  • narrowleaf purple coneflower Echinacea angustifolia
  • northern water plantain Alisma triviale
  • Nuttall's sensitive-briar Mimosa nuttallii
  • Paradox cinquefoil Potentilla paradoxa
  • Pennsylvania cinquefoil Potentilla pensylvanica
  • Pennsylvania pellitory Parietaria pensylvanica
  • pitseed goosefoot Chenopodium berlandieri
  • prairie ironweed Vernonia fasciculata
  • prairie rose Rosa arkansana
  • puffsheath dropseed Sporobolus neglectus
  • Pursh seepweed Suaeda calceoliformis
  • redwhisker clammyweed Polanisia dodecandra
  • ribseed sandmat Chamaesyce glyptosperma
  • rough barnyardgrass Echinochloa muricata
  • rush skeletonplant Lygodesmia juncea
  • scarlet beeblossom Oenothera suffrutescens
  • shortbeak sedge Carex brevior
  • silverleaf Indian breadroot Pediomelum argophyllum
  • silverscale saltbush Atriplex argentea
  • small pondweed Potamogeton pusillus
  • soft-hair marbleseed Onosmodium bejariense
  • tumblegrass Schedonnardus paniculatus
  • velvetweed Oenothera curtiflora
  • velvety goldenrod Solidago mollis
  • white heath aster Symphyotrichum ericoides
  • whorled milkweed Asclepias verticillata
  • wild cucumber Echinocystis lobata
  • 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, Hughes County and South Dakota
MeasureHughes CountyTypical countyStatewide
Native species 113 110 1,092
Garden-ready natives 60 59 473
Tree 5 — 61
Shrub 11 — 69
Wildflower (forb) 72 — 640
Grass or grass-like 22 — 243
Vine 2 — 34
Fern 1 — 45

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Hughes 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
Hughes County (county FIPS 46065), South Dakota. 113 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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