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Native plants recorded in your state and county

Native plants · South Dakota

Native plants of Minnehaha County

245 plant species are recorded as native to South Dakota in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Minnehaha County by USDA PLANTS. 116 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness.

County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

Minnehaha County, South Dakota

Native species
245 Typical South Dakota county: 110 (median of 65 counties)
Garden-ready natives
116 Typical South Dakota county: 59
Share by type (all 245 native species)
Percent of the 245 native species in each growth type
Tree 5% (13)
Shrub 5% (13)
Wildflower (forb) 60% (147)
Grass or grass-like 22% (55)
Vine 4% (11)
Fern 2% (6)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (60%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (22%).

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 zones 4b to 5a (2023 map).

The native plant list

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

Garden-ready natives 116

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

Garden-ready native plants of Minnehaha County, South Dakota
PlantType HeightLight Water useHardy to
American basswood Tilia americana Tree 100 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 2b
American bittersweet Celastrus scandens Vine 15 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3b
American black currant Ribes americanum Shrub 3 ft — — Zone 2b
American elm Ulmus americana Tree 120 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 2b
American hazelnut Corylus americana Shrub 10 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
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
American water horehound Lycopus americanus Wildflower (forb) 1.8 ft Shade-tolerant High 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
black raspberry Rubus occidentalis Shrub 6 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4b
blackeyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 5a
blue grama Bouteloua gracilis Grass or grass-like 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
bluejoint Calamagrostis canadensis Grass or grass-like 4.9 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
bog willowherb Epilobium leptophyllum Wildflower (forb) 3.6 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4a
broadfruit bur-reed Sparganium eurycarpum Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4a
broadleaf arrowhead Sagittaria latifolia Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Sun High Zone 4a
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
burningbush Euonymus atropurpureus Tree 10 ft Shade-tolerant Low —
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
Canadian milkvetch Astragalus canadensis Wildflower (forb) 6 in Sun Medium Zone 3b
Carolina foxtail Alopecurus carolinianus Grass or grass-like 1.7 ft Sun Low Zone 3a
chokecherry Prunus virginiana Tree 25 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
cloaked bulrush Scirpus pallidus Grass or grass-like 5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
clustered field sedge Carex praegracilis Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
common blue violet Viola sororia Wildflower (forb) 4 in Sun–part shade High Zone 4b
common cowparsnip Heracleum maximum Wildflower (forb) 8 ft Sun High Zone 3b
common goldstar Hypoxis hirsuta Wildflower (forb) 10 in Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
common rivergrass Scolochloa festucacea Grass or grass-like 4.9 ft Sun High Zone 3b
common spikerush Eleocharis palustris Grass or grass-like 1.3 ft Sun High Zone 3b
crested sedge Carex cristatella Grass or grass-like 3 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4a
cursed buttercup Ranunculus sceleratus Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 12b
cutleaf coneflower Rudbeckia laciniata Wildflower (forb) 8.2 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 3b
devil's beggartick Bidens frondosa Wildflower (forb) 4 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 12a
devil's darning needles Clematis virginiana Vine 15 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
ditch stonecrop Penthorum sedoides Wildflower (forb) 2.6 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4b
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
eastern woodland sedge Carex blanda Grass or grass-like 2 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4b
field horsetail Equisetum arvense Fern 11 in Sun–part shade High Zone 3a
flatstem spikerush Eleocharis compressa Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun High Zone 4a
fowl mannagrass Glyceria striata Grass or grass-like 5.7 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3b
fox sedge Carex vulpinoidea Grass or grass-like 3.2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
giant goldenrod Solidago gigantea Wildflower (forb) 8.2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica Tree 80 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 2b
hairy false goldenaster Heterotheca villosa Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
hairy grama Bouteloua hirsuta Grass or grass-like 6 in Sun Low Zone 3b
hardstem bulrush Schoenoplectus acutus Grass or grass-like 9.8 ft Sun High Zone 3b
Indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans Grass or grass-like 6 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
Indianhemp Apocynum cannabinum Wildflower (forb) 3.3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3a
inland rush Juncus interior Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
Jack in the pulpit Arisaema triphyllum Wildflower (forb) 1.5 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 5b
Jerusalem artichoke Helianthus tuberosus Wildflower (forb) 9.8 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3a
jewelweed Impatiens capensis Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 10b
lambstongue ragwort Senecio integerrimus Wildflower (forb) 1.1 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
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
marsh muhly Muhlenbergia racemosa Grass or grass-like 3 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3b
Missouri River willow Salix eriocephala Tree 52 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3b
nannyberry Viburnum lentago Tree 28 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
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
northern bedstraw Galium boreale Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
pale touch-me-not Impatiens pallida Wildflower (forb) 8.2 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 10b
partridge pea Chamaecrista fasciculata Wildflower (forb) 2.4 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 7a
peachleaf willow Salix amygdaloides Tree 60 ft Sun High Zone 4a
Pennsylvania buttercup Ranunculus pensylvanicus Wildflower (forb) 3.9 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4b
Pennsylvania smartweed Polygonum pensylvanicum Wildflower (forb) 3.9 ft Sun Medium Zone 10b
pinnate prairie coneflower Ratibida pinnata Wildflower (forb) 4 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
prairie fleabane Erigeron strigosus Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 4b
prairie wedgescale Sphenopholis obtusata Grass or grass-like 3.2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3a
prairie willow Salix humilis Shrub 10 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3a
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
reed canarygrass Phalaris arundinacea Grass or grass-like 5 ft Sun High Zone 3b
river bulrush Bolboschoenus fluviatilis Grass or grass-like 6.6 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
riverbank grape Vitis riparia Vine 45 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
roadside agrimony Agrimonia striata Wildflower (forb) 6 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3a
rough bentgrass Agrostis scabra Grass or grass-like 2.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
rough bugleweed Lycopus asper Wildflower (forb) 2.1 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3b
sago pondweed Stuckenia pectinata Wildflower (forb) — Sun High Zone 3b
sand dropseed Sporobolus cryptandrus Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
sandbar willow Salix interior Tree 30 ft Sun — Zone 1a
sandcherry Prunus pumila Shrub 6 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 4a
scratchgrass Muhlenbergia asperifolia Grass or grass-like 2 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 5b
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
slender wheatgrass Elymus trachycaulus Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
slimstem reedgrass Calamagrostis stricta Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3a
smooth blue aster Symphyotrichum laeve Wildflower (forb) 4 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
smooth sumac Rhus glabra Tree 12 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
softstem bulrush Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani Grass or grass-like 9 ft Sun High Zone 3b
spotted joe pye weed Eutrochium maculatum Wildflower (forb) 6 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4b
star duckweed Lemna trisulca Wildflower (forb) 4 in Sun High Zone 3b
stiff goldenrod Oligoneuron rigidum Wildflower (forb) 3.6 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3a
swamp milkweed Asclepias incarnata Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Sun High Zone 3b
switchgrass Panicum virgatum Grass or grass-like 5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
tall cinquefoil Potentilla arguta Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium 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
upland bentgrass Agrostis perennans Grass or grass-like 3.5 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4a
upright prairie coneflower Ratibida columnifera Wildflower (forb) 3.1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
water knotweed Polygonum amphibium Wildflower (forb) 1 in Sun High 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
wheat sedge Carex atherodes Grass or grass-like 5 ft Sun High Zone 3b
white avens Geum canadense Wildflower (forb) 3.9 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
white meadowsweet Spiraea alba Shrub 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
white prairie clover Dalea candida Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
wild bergamot Monarda fistulosa Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4a
wild blue phlox Phlox divaricata Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
wild sarsaparilla Aralia nudicaulis Wildflower (forb) 1.5 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3b
wirestem muhly Muhlenbergia frondosa Grass or grass-like 2 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3b
woolly plantain Plantago patagonica Wildflower (forb) 6 in Sun Low Zone 12b

Other native species recorded here 129

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.

  • Allegheny monkeyflower Mimulus ringens
  • American lopseed Phryma leptostachya
  • American mannagrass Glyceria grandis
  • American sloughgrass Beckmannia syzigachne
  • American spikenard Aralia racemosa
  • aromatic aster Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
  • autumn onion Allium stellatum
  • bastard toadflax Comandra umbellata
  • bearded flatsedge Cyperus squarrosus
  • beggarslice Hackelia virginiana
  • biannual lettuce Lactuca ludoviciana
  • big devils beggartick Bidens vulgata
  • bigbract verbena Verbena bracteata
  • blue giant hyssop Agastache foeniculum
  • blue skullcap Scutellaria lateriflora
  • bog yellowcress Rorippa palustris
  • bristly greenbrier Smilax tamnoides
  • brittle bladderfern Cystopteris fragilis
  • brittle pricklypear Opuntia fragilis
  • brook cinquefoil Potentilla rivalis
  • Canadian honewort Cryptotaenia canadensis
  • Canadian woodnettle Laportea canadensis
  • candle anemone Anemone cylindrica
  • Carolina anemone Anemone caroliniana
  • Carolina draba Draba reptans
  • Carolina larkspur Delphinium carolinianum
  • churchmouse threeawn Aristida dichotoma
  • common bladderwort Utricularia macrorhiza
  • common milkweed Asclepias syriaca
  • common moonseed Menispermum canadense
  • common threeseed mercury Acalypha rhomboidea
  • common yellow oxalis Oxalis stricta
  • Culver's root Veronicastrum virginicum
  • curlycup gumweed Grindelia squarrosa
  • curlytop knotweed Polygonum lapathifolium
  • downy phlox Phlox pilosa
  • eastern prickly gooseberry Ribes cynosbati
  • eastern waterleaf Hydrophyllum virginianum
  • fetid marigold Dyssodia papposa
  • fire on the mountain Euphorbia cyathophora
  • fiveangled dodder Cuscuta pentagona
  • Flodman's thistle Cirsium flodmanii
  • fluxweed Trichostema brachiatum
  • fragrant bedstraw Galium triflorum
  • fringed loosestrife Lysimachia ciliata
  • golden zizia Zizia aurea
  • grooved flax Linum sulcatum
  • groundplum milkvetch Astragalus crassicarpus
  • hairy hedgenettle Stachys pilosa
  • hairy wildrye Elymus villosus
  • hairy woodland brome Bromus pubescens
  • heartleaf four o'clock Mirabilis nyctaginea
  • heavy sedge Carex gravida
  • hoary puccoon Lithospermum canescens
  • lanceleaf figwort Scrophularia lanceolata
  • lanceleaf fogfruit Phyla lanceolata
  • leathery knotweed Polygonum achoreum
  • lilac penstemon Penstemon gracilis
  • limber honeysuckle Lonicera dioica
  • longbract spiderwort Tradescantia bracteata
  • longstyle sweetroot Osmorhiza longistylis
  • low serviceberry Amelanchier humilis
  • Macoun's barley ×Elyhordeum macounii
  • mapleleaf goosefoot Chenopodium simplex
  • mat sandbur Cenchrus longispinus
  • Mead's sedge Carex meadii
  • meadow garlic Allium canadense
  • Missouri gooseberry Ribes missouriense
  • narrowleaf purple coneflower Echinacea angustifolia
  • narrowleaf stoneseed Lithospermum incisum
  • needleleaf sedge Carex duriuscula
  • nodding chickweed Cerastium nutans
  • nodding stickseed Hackelia deflexa
  • Northern Idaho biscuitroot Lomatium orientale
  • northern selaginella Selaginella rupestris
  • northern water plantain Alisma triviale
  • Norwegian cinquefoil Potentilla norvegica
  • Oregon cliff fern Woodsia oregana
  • palespike lobelia Lobelia spicata
  • Pennsylvania pellitory Parietaria pensylvanica
  • pleatleaf knotweed Polygonum tenue
  • prairie blue-eyed grass Sisyrinchium campestre
  • prairie false dandelion Nothocalais cuspidata
  • prairie goldenrod Oligoneuron album
  • prairie groundsel Packera plattensis
  • prairie rose Rosa arkansana
  • prairie threeawn Aristida oligantha
  • prairie violet Viola pedatifida
  • purple meadow-rue Thalictrum dasycarpum
  • red columbine Aquilegia canadensis
  • ribseed sandmat Chamaesyce glyptosperma
  • Richardson's alumroot Heuchera richardsonii
  • rock polypody Polypodium virginianum
  • Rocky Mountain sedge Carex saximontana
  • rosy sedge Carex rosea
  • rough barnyardgrass Echinochloa muricata
  • rough false pennyroyal Hedeoma hispida
  • scarlet beeblossom Oenothera suffrutescens
  • sensitive fern Onoclea sensibilis
  • shortbeak sedge Carex brevior
  • shy wallflower Erysimum inconspicuum
  • sleepy silene Silene antirrhina
  • slender fimbry Fimbristylis autumnalis
  • small skullcap Scutellaria parvula
  • smooth Solomon's seal Polygonatum biflorum
  • soft-hair marbleseed Onosmodium bejariense
  • spotted sandmat Chamaesyce maculata
  • spotted water hemlock Cicuta maculata
  • Sprengel's sedge Carex sprengelii
  • stiff sunflower Helianthus pauciflorus
  • tall blazing star Liatris aspera
  • tall thistle Cirsium altissimum
  • violet woodsorrel Oxalis violacea
  • Virginia groundcherry Physalis virginiana
  • Virginia strawberry Fragaria virginiana
  • warty spurge Euphorbia spathulata
  • western poison ivy Toxicodendron rydbergii
  • western rockjasmine Androsace occidentalis
  • western silver aster Symphyotrichum sericeum
  • white heath aster Symphyotrichum ericoides
  • white lady's slipper Cypripedium candidum
  • white snakeroot Ageratina altissima
  • white vervain Verbena urticifolia
  • whorled milkweed Asclepias verticillata
  • widowsfrill Silene stellata
  • wild cucumber Echinocystis lobata
  • witchgrass Panicum capillare
  • woodbine Parthenocissus vitacea
  • woodland strawberry Fragaria vesca

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, Minnehaha County and South Dakota
MeasureMinnehaha CountyTypical countyStatewide
Native species 245 110 1,092
Garden-ready natives 116 59 473
Tree 13 — 61
Shrub 13 — 69
Wildflower (forb) 147 — 640
Grass or grass-like 55 — 243
Vine 11 — 34
Fern 6 — 45

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Minnehaha 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
Minnehaha County (county FIPS 46099), South Dakota. 245 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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