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Native plants · South Dakota

Native plants of Yankton County

170 plant species are recorded as native to South Dakota in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Yankton County by USDA PLANTS. 82 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness.

County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

Yankton County, South Dakota

Native species
170 Typical South Dakota county: 110 (median of 65 counties)
Garden-ready natives
82 Typical South Dakota county: 59
Share by type (all 170 native species)
Percent of the 170 native species in each growth type
Tree 7% (12)
Shrub 6% (10)
Wildflower (forb) 58% (98)
Grass or grass-like 24% (40)
Vine 5% (8)
Fern 1% (2)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (58%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (24%).

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 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 82

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

Garden-ready native plants of Yankton County, South Dakota
PlantType HeightLight Water useHardy to
American bellflower Campanulastrum americanum Wildflower (forb) 6 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 12b
American bittersweet Celastrus scandens Vine 15 ft Shade-tolerant 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
black raspberry Rubus occidentalis Shrub 6 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4b
black walnut Juglans nigra Tree 100 ft Sun High Zone 4b
blue grama Bouteloua gracilis Grass or grass-like 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
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
Canada goldenrod Solidago altissima Wildflower (forb) 5 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4b
Canada goldenrod Solidago canadensis Wildflower (forb) 3.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
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
cloaked bulrush Scirpus pallidus Grass or grass-like 5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
common duckweed Lemna minor Wildflower (forb) — Sun High Zone 3b
common evening primrose Oenothera biennis Wildflower (forb) 5 ft Sun Medium Zone 4b
common hackberry Celtis occidentalis Tree 60 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 2b
common ninebark Physocarpus opulifolius Shrub 10 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
common rivergrass Scolochloa festucacea Grass or grass-like 4.9 ft Sun High 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
devil's darning needles Clematis virginiana Vine 15 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
dotted blazing star Liatris punctata Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
downy arrowwood Viburnum rafinesqueanum Shrub 6 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 3a
downy paintedcup Castilleja sessiliflora Wildflower (forb) 1.3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
eastern redcedar Juniperus virginiana Tree 50 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3a
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
field pussytoes Antennaria neglecta Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
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
golden crownbeard Verbesina encelioides Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 5a
green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica Tree 80 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 2b
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
hophornbeam Ostrya virginiana Tree 45 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 3b
Indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans Grass or grass-like 6 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
leadplant Amorpha canescens Shrub 4 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 3b
little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
littleleaf buttercup Ranunculus abortivus Wildflower (forb) 2.8 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3a
longleaf pondweed Potamogeton nodosus Wildflower (forb) — Sun High 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
Missouri River willow Salix eriocephala Tree 52 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3b
needle and thread Hesperostipa comata Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
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
peachleaf willow Salix amygdaloides Tree 60 ft Sun High Zone 4a
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 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
prairie Junegrass Koeleria macrantha Grass or grass-like 1.5 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3b
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 lovegrass Eragrostis spectabilis Grass or grass-like 11 in Sun Low Zone 3a
redroot flatsedge Cyperus erythrorhizos Grass or grass-like 2.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 11a
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
roughfruit amaranth Amaranthus tuberculatus Wildflower (forb) 6.6 ft Sun High Zone 4a
roughleaf dogwood Cornus drummondii Tree 20 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 4b
sand dropseed Sporobolus cryptandrus Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
sandbar willow Salix interior Tree 30 ft Sun — Zone 1a
shortawn foxtail Alopecurus aequalis Grass or grass-like 2.5 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3b
sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
smooth horsetail Equisetum laevigatum Fern 5 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
soapweed yucca Yucca glauca Shrub 1 ft Sun Low Zone 4b
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
stiff goldenrod Oligoneuron rigidum Wildflower (forb) 3.6 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3a
tenpetal blazingstar Mentzelia decapetala Wildflower (forb) 3.5 ft Sun Medium 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
Virginia creeper Parthenocissus quinquefolia Vine 1 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 4b
Virginia wildrye Elymus virginicus Grass or grass-like 2.5 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4b
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 avens Geum canadense Wildflower (forb) 3.9 ft Shade-tolerant Medium 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

Other native species recorded here 88

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 burnweed Erechtites hieraciifolius
  • American lopseed Phryma leptostachya
  • American sloughgrass Beckmannia syzigachne
  • big devils beggartick Bidens vulgata
  • bigbract verbena Verbena bracteata
  • blue skullcap Scutellaria lateriflora
  • bottomland aster Symphyotrichum ontarionis
  • bristly greenbrier Smilax tamnoides
  • Canadian anemone Anemone canadensis
  • candle anemone Anemone cylindrica
  • Carolina draba Draba reptans
  • Carolina larkspur Delphinium carolinianum
  • clammy groundcherry Physalis heterophylla
  • Clayton's sweetroot Osmorhiza claytonii
  • climbing false buckwheat Polygonum scandens
  • common pricklyash Zanthoxylum americanum
  • common yellow oxalis Oxalis stricta
  • curlytop knotweed Polygonum lapathifolium
  • eastern waterleaf Hydrophyllum virginianum
  • eyebane Chamaesyce nutans
  • fetid marigold Dyssodia papposa
  • fire on the mountain Euphorbia cyathophora
  • flatspine stickseed Lappula occidentalis
  • fringed willowherb Epilobium ciliatum
  • great blue lobelia Lobelia siphilitica
  • great ragweed Ambrosia trifida
  • green comet milkweed Asclepias viridiflora
  • groundplum milkvetch Astragalus crassicarpus
  • heartleaf four o'clock Mirabilis nyctaginea
  • heavy sedge Carex gravida
  • hoary puccoon Lithospermum canescens
  • hoary verbena Verbena stricta
  • hooded arrowhead Sagittaria calycina
  • horned pondweed Zannichellia palustris
  • inflated narrow-leaf sedge Carex grisea
  • large Indian breadroot Pediomelum esculentum
  • large St. Johnswort Hypericum majus
  • Leiberg's panicum Dichanthelium leibergii
  • lilac penstemon Penstemon gracilis
  • limber honeysuckle Lonicera dioica
  • longbract spiderwort Tradescantia bracteata
  • mat sandbur Cenchrus longispinus
  • Maximilian sunflower Helianthus maximiliani
  • Missouri gooseberry Ribes missouriense
  • narrowleaf purple coneflower Echinacea angustifolia
  • narrowleaf stoneseed Lithospermum incisum
  • northern bog violet Viola nephrophylla
  • northern water plantain Alisma triviale
  • Paradox cinquefoil Potentilla paradoxa
  • Pennsylvania pellitory Parietaria pensylvanica
  • prairie blue-eyed grass Sisyrinchium campestre
  • prairie false dandelion Nothocalais cuspidata
  • prairie groundsel Packera plattensis
  • prairie rose Rosa arkansana
  • prairie sandmat Chamaesyce missurica
  • prairie violet Viola pedatifida
  • prostrate sandmat Chamaesyce prostrata
  • purple sandgrass Triplasis purpurea
  • red columbine Aquilegia canadensis
  • ribseed sandmat Chamaesyce glyptosperma
  • Rocky Mountain sedge Carex saximontana
  • rough barnyardgrass Echinochloa muricata
  • rough false pennyroyal Hedeoma hispida
  • scarlet beeblossom Oenothera suffrutescens
  • Schweinitz's flatsedge Cyperus schweinitzii
  • silky dogwood Cornus obliqua
  • sixangle spurge Euphorbia hexagona
  • snow on the mountain Euphorbia marginata
  • soft-hair marbleseed Onosmodium bejariense
  • spotted sandmat Chamaesyce maculata
  • spotted water hemlock Cicuta maculata
  • starry false lily of the valley Maianthemum stellatum
  • stiffstem flax Linum rigidum
  • tall blazing star Liatris aspera
  • tall thistle Cirsium altissimum
  • Texas goldentop Euthamia gymnospermoides
  • tufted lovegrass Eragrostis pectinacea
  • tumble windmill grass Chloris verticillata
  • upright burhead Echinodorus berteroi
  • Virginia groundcherry Physalis virginiana
  • western tansymustard Descurainia pinnata
  • white snakeroot Ageratina altissima
  • winged lythrum Lythrum alatum
  • winged pigweed Cycloloma atriplicifolium
  • witchgrass Panicum capillare
  • woodland strawberry Fragaria vesca
  • woolly sedge Carex pellita
  • yellow giant hyssop Agastache nepetoides

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, Yankton County and South Dakota
MeasureYankton CountyTypical countyStatewide
Native species 170 110 1,092
Garden-ready natives 82 59 473
Tree 12 — 61
Shrub 10 — 69
Wildflower (forb) 98 — 640
Grass or grass-like 40 — 243
Vine 8 — 34
Fern 2 — 45

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Yankton 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
Yankton County (county FIPS 46135), South Dakota. 170 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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