Native plants · Tennessee
Native plants of Hamblen County
143 plant species are recorded as native to Tennessee in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Hamblen County by USDA PLANTS. 53 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness. 2 more species are listed as both native and introduced and kept in a separate section.
County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP
Hamblen County, Tennessee
- Native species
- 143 Typical Tennessee county: 450 (median of 95 counties)
- Garden-ready natives
- 53 Typical Tennessee county: 182
- Share by type (all 143 native species)
-
Percent of the 143 native species in each growth type
Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (50%), followed by trees (15%).
The native plant list
Garden-ready natives 53
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 bittersweet Celastrus scandens | Vine | 15 ft | Shade-tolerant | High | Zone 3b |
| American wisteria Wisteria frutescens | Vine | 50 ft | Shade-tolerant | Medium | Zone 7a |
| beaked agrimony Agrimonia rostellata | Wildflower (forb) | 2.3 ft | Sun–part shade | Medium | Zone 4a |
| black huckleberry Gaylussacia baccata | Shrub | 4 ft | Shade-tolerant | Low | Zone 4a |
| blackgum Nyssa sylvatica | Tree | 95 ft | Shade-tolerant | Medium | Zone 5b |
| blackhaw Viburnum prunifolium | Tree | 16 ft | Shade-tolerant | Medium | Zone 4a |
| blunt broom sedge Carex tribuloides | Grass or grass-like | 3 ft | Shade-tolerant | Medium | Zone 4b |
| bristly buttercup Ranunculus hispidus | Wildflower (forb) | 2.5 ft | Shade-tolerant | Medium | Zone 4a |
| Carolina buckthorn Frangula caroliniana | Tree | 20 ft | Shade-tolerant | — | Zone 4b |
| 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 |
| common blue violet Viola sororia | Wildflower (forb) | 4 in | Sun–part shade | High | Zone 4b |
| common buttonbush Cephalanthus occidentalis | Tree | 15 ft | Shade-tolerant | High | Zone 4a |
| common ninebark Physocarpus opulifolius | Shrub | 10 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 4a |
| coralberry Symphoricarpos orbiculatus | Shrub | 2 ft | Sun–part shade | High | Zone 5a |
| cursed buttercup Ranunculus sceleratus | Wildflower (forb) | 2 ft | Shade-tolerant | High | Zone 12b |
| deerberry Vaccinium stamineum | Shrub | 16 ft | Shade-tolerant | Low | Zone 5a |
| dwarf St. Johnswort Hypericum mutilum | Wildflower (forb) | 2.6 ft | Sun–part shade | Medium | Zone 5a |
| eastern woodland sedge Carex blanda | Grass or grass-like | 2 ft | Shade-tolerant | High | Zone 4b |
| fox sedge Carex vulpinoidea | Grass or grass-like | 3.2 ft | Sun–part shade | Medium | Zone 3b |
| Frank's sedge Carex frankii | Grass or grass-like | 2 ft | Shade-tolerant | High | Zone 5a |
| frost grape Vitis vulpina | Vine | 83 ft | Sun–part shade | Medium | Zone 5a |
| green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica | Tree | 80 ft | Shade-tolerant | Medium | Zone 2b |
| green hawthorn Crataegus viridis | Tree | 30 ft | Sun | High | Zone 5a |
| hairy white oldfield aster Symphyotrichum pilosum | Wildflower (forb) | 3 ft | Shade-tolerant | Medium | Zone 4a |
| hophornbeam Ostrya virginiana | Tree | 45 ft | Shade-tolerant | Low | Zone 3b |
| Jerusalem artichoke Helianthus tuberosus | Wildflower (forb) | 9.8 ft | Sun–part shade | Low | Zone 3a |
| mapleleaf viburnum Viburnum acerifolium | Shrub | 6 ft | Shade-tolerant | Medium | Zone 4b |
| northern maidenhair Adiantum pedatum | Fern | 1.3 ft | Shade-tolerant | Medium | Zone 3b |
| Ohio buckeye Aesculus glabra | Tree | 68 ft | Shade-tolerant | Medium | Zone 4a |
| pawpaw Asimina triloba | Tree | 25 ft | Shade-tolerant | Medium | Zone 4b |
| Pennsylvania smartweed Polygonum pensylvanicum | Wildflower (forb) | 3.9 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 10b |
| peppervine Nekemias arborea | Vine | 1 in | Shade-tolerant | Medium | Zone 6a |
| Philadelphia fleabane Erigeron philadelphicus | Wildflower (forb) | 2.8 ft | Sun–part shade | Medium | Zone 4b |
| rattlesnake fern Botrychium virginianum | Fern | 1.4 ft | Shade-tolerant | Medium | Zone 3b |
| red mulberry Morus rubra | Tree | 70 ft | Shade-tolerant | Medium | Zone 4a |
| sawtooth sunflower Helianthus grosseserratus | Wildflower (forb) | 5 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3a |
| Shumard's oak Quercus shumardii | Tree | 100 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 5a |
| sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula | Grass or grass-like | 3 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 3a |
| sourwood Oxydendrum arboreum | Tree | 35 ft | Shade-tolerant | Low | Zone 6a |
| spotted St. Johnswort Hypericum punctatum | Wildflower (forb) | 3 ft | Shade-tolerant | Medium | Zone 4a |
| spring avens Geum vernum | Wildflower (forb) | 1.6 ft | Shade-tolerant | Medium | Zone 5b |
| 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 |
| swamp chestnut oak Quercus michauxii | Tree | 80 ft | Sun | Medium | Zone 5a |
| teal lovegrass Eragrostis hypnoides | Grass or grass-like | 4 in | Sun | High | Zone 3b |
| tiny mousetail Myosurus minimus | Wildflower (forb) | 5 in | Sun–part shade | Medium | Zone 12b |
| Virginia pine Pinus virginiana | Tree | 70 ft | Sun | Low | Zone 5a |
| Virginia wildrye Elymus virginicus | Grass or grass-like | 2.5 ft | Shade-tolerant | Medium | Zone 4b |
| wild blue phlox Phlox divaricata | Wildflower (forb) | 3 ft | Sun–part shade | Medium | Zone 4a |
| willow oak Quercus phellos | Tree | 100 ft | Sun | High | Zone 5a |
| wrinkleleaf goldenrod Solidago rugosa | Wildflower (forb) | 3.3 ft | Sun–part shade | Medium | Zone 4a |
No garden-ready natives match these filters. Try clearing one.
Other native species recorded here 90
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.
- American alumroot Heuchera americana
- American bladdernut Staphylea trifolia
- American cancer-root Conopholis americana
- azure bluet Houstonia caerulea
- bearded flatsedge Cyperus squarrosus
- beechdrops Epifagus virginiana
- biennial beeblossom Oenothera gaura
- black baneberry Actaea racemosa
- blackseed plantain Plantago rugelii
- blackstem spleenwort Asplenium resiliens
- bloodroot Sanguinaria canadensis
- Blue Ridge blueberry Vaccinium pallidum
- bluntlobe cliff fern Woodsia obtusa
- broad beechfern Phegopteris hexagonoptera
- browneyed Susan Rudbeckia triloba
- bulblet bladderfern Cystopteris bulbifera
- camphor pluchea Pluchea camphorata
- Carolina horsenettle Solanum carolinense
- Christmas fern Polystichum acrostichoides
- clammy groundcherry Physalis heterophylla
- climbing milkvine Matelea obliqua
- coastal plain panicgrass Dichanthelium longiligulatum
- common cinquefoil Potentilla simplex
- common milkweed Asclepias syriaca
- crinkleroot Cardamine diphylla
- curlytop knotweed Polygonum lapathifolium
- cutleaf toothwort Cardamine concatenata
- dogtooth violet Erythronium americanum
- downy rattlesnake plantain Goodyera pubescens
- dwarf larkspur Delphinium tricorne
- early meadow-rue Thalictrum dioicum
- eastern bluestar Amsonia tabernaemontana
- eastern gray beardtongue Penstemon canescens
- eastern leatherwood Dirca palustris
- ebony spleenwort Asplenium platyneuron
- feathery false lily of the valley Maianthemum racemosum
- fernleaf phacelia Phacelia bipinnatifida
- feverwort Triosteum perfoliatum
- fire pink Silene virginica
- fox grape Vitis labrusca
- fragrant sumac Rhus aromatica
- green carpetweed Mollugo verticillata
- hairy alumroot Heuchera villosa
- hairy Solomon's seal Polygonatum pubescens
- hairyjoint meadowparsnip Thaspium barbinode
- hairyseed paspalum Paspalum pubiflorum
- honeyvine Cynanchum laeve
- mat sandbur Cenchrus longispinus
- mayapple Podophyllum peltatum
- neckweed Veronica peregrina
- orange coneflower Rudbeckia fulgida
- paleleaf woodland sunflower Helianthus strumosus
- Pennsylvania pellitory Parietaria pensylvanica
- perfoliate bellwort Uvularia perfoliata
- pitcher's stitchwort Minuartia patula
- prairie tea Croton monanthogynus
- purple cliffbrake Pellaea atropurpurea
- purple passionflower Passiflora incarnata
- red columbine Aquilegia canadensis
- red hickory Carya ovalis
- rock muhly Muhlenbergia sobolifera
- roundleaf ragwort Packera obovata
- rusty blackhaw Viburnum rufidulum
- shortstalk chickweed Cerastium brachypodum
- slender fimbry Fimbristylis autumnalis
- smallflower halfchaff sedge Lipocarpha micrantha
- smooth cliffbrake Pellaea glabella
- soft agrimony Agrimonia pubescens
- soft fox sedge Carex conjuncta
- southern mountainmint Pycnanthemum pycnanthemoides
- spiked crested coralroot Hexalectris spicata
- St. Andrew's cross Hypericum hypericoides
- striped cream violet Viola striata
- striped prince's pine Chimaphila maculata
- tall thoroughwort Eupatorium altissimum
- tinted woodland spurge Euphorbia commutata
- vasevine Clematis viorna
- Virginia buttonweed Diodia virginiana
- Virginia groundcherry Physalis virginiana
- Virginia plantain Plantago virginica
- Virginia springbeauty Claytonia virginica
- Virginia strawberry Fragaria virginiana
- walking fern Asplenium rhizophyllum
- wallrue Asplenium ruta-muraria
- white vervain Verbena urticifolia
- wild hydrangea Hydrangea arborescens
- wild yam Dioscorea villosa
- wood anemone Anemone quinquefolia
- yellow crownbeard Verbesina occidentalis
- yellow pimpernel Taenidia integerrima
Also listed as native and introduced here 2
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.
- hedge false bindweedCalystegia sepium
- Kentucky bluegrassPoa pratensis
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.
| Measure | Hamblen County | Typical county | Statewide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Native species | 143 | 450 | 1,844 |
| Garden-ready natives | 53 | 182 | 606 |
| Tree | 21 | — | 189 |
| Shrub | 11 | — | 88 |
| Wildflower (forb) | 72 | — | 988 |
| Grass or grass-like | 17 | — | 420 |
| Vine | 10 | — | 81 |
| Fern | 12 | — | 78 |
Neighboring counties
Counties that share a ZIP code with Hamblen County.
- Hawkins County, TN 190 garden-ready
- Jefferson County, TN 95 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
- Hamblen County (county FIPS 47063), Tennessee. 143 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