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Native plants · Tennessee

Native plants of Gibson County

164 plant species are recorded as native to Tennessee in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Gibson County by USDA PLANTS. 98 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

Gibson County, Tennessee

Native species
164 Typical Tennessee county: 450 (median of 95 counties)
Garden-ready natives
98 Typical Tennessee county: 182
Share by type (all 164 native species)
Percent of the 164 native species in each growth type
Tree 25% (41)
Shrub 4% (6)
Wildflower (forb) 39% (64)
Grass or grass-like 18% (29)
Vine 9% (15)
Fern 5% (9)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (39%), followed by trees (25%).

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 7b (2023 map).

The native plant list

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

Garden-ready natives 98

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

Garden-ready native plants of Gibson County, Tennessee
PlantType HeightLight Water useHardy to
American bittersweet Celastrus scandens Vine 15 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3b
American bur-reed Sparganium americanum Wildflower (forb) 3.2 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4a
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 plum Prunus americana Tree 24 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
American wisteria Wisteria frutescens Vine 50 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 7a
arrowleaf tearthumb Polygonum sagittatum Vine 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 6a
bald cypress Taxodium distichum Tree 130 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 5b
bitternut hickory Carya cordiformis Tree 75 ft Sun Medium Zone 2b
black cherry Prunus serotina Tree 80 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
black locust Robinia pseudoacacia Tree 60 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
black raspberry Rubus occidentalis Shrub 6 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4b
black willow Salix nigra Tree 100 ft Sun High Zone 1b
blackgum Nyssa sylvatica Tree 95 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 5b
blunt broom sedge Carex tribuloides Grass or grass-like 3 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4b
blunt spikerush Eleocharis obtusa Grass or grass-like 1.6 ft Sun Medium Zone 11a
broadleaf signalgrass Urochloa platyphylla Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 9a
bulbous bittercress Cardamine bulbosa Wildflower (forb) 1.4 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
butterweed Packera glabella Wildflower (forb) 3.2 ft Sun High Zone 10b
Carolina foxtail Alopecurus carolinianus Grass or grass-like 1.7 ft Sun Low Zone 3a
cherrybark oak Quercus pagoda Tree 120 ft Sun Medium Zone 6b
chinquapin oak Quercus muehlenbergii Tree 70 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
climbing hempvine Mikania scandens Vine 1 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3b
climbing rose Rosa setigera Vine 16 ft Sun Low Zone 6a
common buttonbush Cephalanthus occidentalis Tree 15 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4a
common persimmon Diospyros virginiana Tree 55 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 5a
common spikerush Eleocharis palustris Grass or grass-like 1.3 ft Sun High Zone 3b
coon's tail Ceratophyllum demersum Wildflower (forb) — Sun–part shade High Zone 3b
copper iris Iris fulva Wildflower (forb) 3.3 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 5a
cup plant Silphium perfoliatum Wildflower (forb) 6 ft Sun–part shade — Zone 2b
devil's darning needles Clematis virginiana Vine 15 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
eastern narrowleaf sedge Carex amphibola Grass or grass-like 2 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 7a
eastern woodland sedge Carex blanda Grass or grass-like 2 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4b
false indigo bush Amorpha fruticosa Shrub 15 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
flowering dogwood Cornus florida Tree 30 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 4b
fowl mannagrass Glyceria striata Grass or grass-like 5.7 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3b
frost grape Vitis vulpina Vine 83 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 5a
Gray's sedge Carex grayi Grass or grass-like 3 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4a
green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica Tree 80 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 2b
green hawthorn Crataegus viridis Tree 30 ft Sun High Zone 5a
hazel alder Alnus serrulata Tree 30 ft Sun High Zone 5a
hop sedge Carex lupulina Grass or grass-like 4.3 ft Sun–part shade Medium 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
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
jewelweed Impatiens capensis Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 10b
little barley Hordeum pusillum Grass or grass-like 1.2 ft Sun Medium Zone 10b
marsh seedbox Ludwigia palustris Wildflower (forb) 2 in Sun High Zone 4a
mockernut hickory Carya tomentosa Tree 85 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
muscadine Vitis rotundifolia Vine 30 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 5b
northern catalpa Catalpa speciosa Tree 60 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
northern maidenhair Adiantum pedatum Fern 1.3 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3b
northern spicebush Lindera benzoin Tree 12 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 5a
Nuttall oak Quercus texana Tree 110 ft Sun Medium Zone 5b
pawpaw Asimina triloba Tree 25 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4b
pecan Carya illinoinensis Tree 120 ft Sun High Zone 5a
Pennsylvania smartweed Polygonum pensylvanicum Wildflower (forb) 3.9 ft Sun Medium Zone 10b
Philadelphia fleabane Erigeron philadelphicus Wildflower (forb) 2.8 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4b
pignut hickory Carya glabra Tree 80 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
planertree Planera aquatica Tree 50 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 7a
post oak Quercus stellata Tree 60 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
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
pumpkin ash Fraxinus profunda Tree 120 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 5a
rattlesnake fern Botrychium virginianum Fern 1.4 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3b
ravenfoot sedge Carex crus-corvi Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4b
red buckeye Aesculus pavia Tree 25 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 5a
red mulberry Morus rubra Tree 70 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
roundleaf greenbrier Smilax rotundifolia Vine 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
sassafras Sassafras albidum Tree 75 ft Sun Low Zone 4b
shingle oak Quercus imbricaria Tree 45 ft Sun Medium Zone 5b
smooth sumac Rhus glabra Tree 12 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
southern red oak Quercus falcata Tree 75 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 6a
spotted St. Johnswort Hypericum punctatum Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
stalkless yellowcress Rorippa sessiliflora Wildflower (forb) 1.5 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 12b
stiff dogwood Cornus foemina Tree 16 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 7a
stiff marsh bedstraw Galium tinctorium Wildflower (forb) 10 in Shade-tolerant High Zone 4a
strawcolored flatsedge Cyperus strigosus Grass or grass-like 3.2 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
sugar maple Acer saccharum Tree 100 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 2b
sugarberry Celtis laevigata Tree 80 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 5a
swamp chestnut oak Quercus michauxii Tree 80 ft Sun Medium Zone 5a
swamp cottonwood Populus heterophylla Tree 100 ft Sun High Zone 5a
swamp rose Rosa palustris Shrub 8.2 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
swamp smartweed Polygonum hydropiperoides Wildflower (forb) — Sun Medium Zone 10b
thinfruit sedge Carex flaccosperma Grass or grass-like 1 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 6b
trumpet creeper Campsis radicans Vine 2 ft Sun Low Zone 6a
twoheaded water-starwort Callitriche heterophylla Wildflower (forb) — Sun High Zone 4a
upland bentgrass Agrostis perennans Grass or grass-like 3.5 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 4a
valley redstem Ammannia coccinea Wildflower (forb) 1.6 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
Virginia iris Iris virginica Wildflower (forb) 3.3 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 8b
Virginia sweetspire Itea virginica Shrub 10 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 5a
Virginia wildrye Elymus virginicus Grass or grass-like 2.5 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4b
water hickory Carya aquatica Tree 85 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 5b
water oak Quercus nigra Tree 90 ft Sun High Zone 5a
water tupelo Nyssa aquatica Tree 100 ft Sun High Zone 5a
white avens Geum canadense Wildflower (forb) 3.9 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
white panicle aster Symphyotrichum lanceolatum Wildflower (forb) 6 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3b

Other native species recorded here 66

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.

  • amberique-bean Strophostyles helvola
  • American buckwheat vine Brunnichia ovata
  • American lopseed Phryma leptostachya
  • aquatic milkweed Asclepias perennis
  • autumn coralroot Corallorhiza odontorhiza
  • beaked cornsalad Valerianella radiata
  • bluntlobe cliff fern Woodsia obtusa
  • bog yellowcress Rorippa palustris
  • broad beechfern Phegopteris hexagonoptera
  • Canadian clearweed Pilea pumila
  • Carolina geranium Geranium carolinianum
  • Carolina mosquitofern Azolla caroliniana
  • Carolina sedge Carex caroliniana
  • Christmas fern Polystichum acrostichoides
  • clammy hedgehyssop Gratiola neglecta
  • climbing dogbane Trachelospermum difforme
  • common moonseed Menispermum canadense
  • eastern fox sedge Carex triangularis
  • ebony spleenwort Asplenium platyneuron
  • fall phlox Phlox paniculata
  • floating primrose-willow Ludwigia peploides
  • fragrant bedstraw Galium triflorum
  • giant ironweed Vernonia gigantea
  • greater marsh St. Johnswort Triadenum walteri
  • hairy pinweed Lechea mucronata
  • hairy sunflower Helianthus hirsutus
  • hairyfruit chervil Chaerophyllum tainturieri
  • handsome Harry Rhexia virginica
  • herbwilliam Ptilimnium capillaceum
  • humped bladderwort Utricularia gibba
  • Indian-tobacco Lobelia inflata
  • kidneyleaf mudplantain Heteranthera reniformis
  • kidneyshape sedge Carex reniformis
  • Leavenworth's sedge Carex leavenworthii
  • licorice bedstraw Galium circaezans
  • lizard's tail Saururus cernuus
  • longsepal beardtongue Penstemon calycosus
  • Louisiana sedge Carex louisianica
  • low spearwort Ranunculus pusillus
  • marsh blue violet Viola cucullata
  • Maryland meadowbeauty Rhexia mariana
  • meadow garlic Allium canadense
  • narrowleaf pinweed Lechea tenuifolia
  • pale dock Rumex altissimus
  • paleleaf woodland sunflower Helianthus strumosus
  • rosy sedge Carex rosea
  • rough barnyardgrass Echinochloa muricata
  • roundseed panicgrass Dichanthelium sphaerocarpon
  • s-curve threeawn Aristida ramosissima
  • sand bittercress Cardamine parviflora
  • scentless mock orange Philadelphus inodorus
  • sensitive fern Onoclea sensibilis
  • sessileleaf ticktrefoil Desmodium sessilifolium
  • small woodland sunflower Helianthus microcephalus
  • southeastern wildrye Elymus glabriflorus
  • sparselobe grapefern Botrychium biternatum
  • spotted pondweed Potamogeton pulcher
  • spotted water hemlock Cicuta maculata
  • swamp dock Rumex verticillatus
  • terrestrial water-starwort Callitriche terrestris
  • violet woodsorrel Oxalis violacea
  • Virginia pepperweed Lepidium virginicum
  • Virginia snakeroot Aristolochia serpentaria
  • white vervain Verbena urticifolia
  • wholeleaf rosinweed Silphium integrifolium
  • yellowseed false pimpernel Lindernia dubia
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.

  • climbing false buckwheatPolygonum scandens

Compared with Tennessee

The typical county is the median of the 95 Tennessee 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, Gibson County and Tennessee
MeasureGibson CountyTypical countyStatewide
Native species 164 450 1,844
Garden-ready natives 98 182 606
Tree 41 — 189
Shrub 6 — 88
Wildflower (forb) 64 — 988
Grass or grass-like 29 — 420
Vine 15 — 81
Fern 9 — 78

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Gibson 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
Gibson County (county FIPS 47053), Tennessee. 164 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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