Native plants · Tennessee

Native plants of Hancock County

122 plant species are recorded as native to Tennessee in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Hancock County by USDA PLANTS. 39 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

Hancock County, Tennessee

Native species: 122 Typical Tennessee county: 450 (median of 95 counties)
Garden-ready natives: 39 Typical Tennessee county: 182
Share by type (all 122 native species): Percent of the 122 native species in each growth type

Tree 9% (11)
Shrub 7% (8)
Wildflower (forb) 54% (66)
Grass or grass-like 10% (12)
Vine 7% (8)
Fern 14% (17)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (54%), followed by ferns (14%).

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 7a (2023 map).

The native plant list

Garden-ready natives 39

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

Garden-ready native plants of Hancock County, Tennessee
Plant	Type	Height	Light	Water use	Hardy to
American beech Fagus grandifolia	Tree	80 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3a
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 eelgrass Vallisneria americana	Wildflower (forb)	1 ft	Sun	High	Zone 4a
American hazelnut Corylus americana	Shrub	10 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 4a
American witchhazel Hamamelis virginiana	Tree	20 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 4b
arborvitae Thuja occidentalis	Tree	50 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 4a
arrowleaf tearthumb Polygonum sagittatum	Vine	1 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 6a
big bluestem Andropogon gerardii	Grass or grass-like	6 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 2b
black maple Acer nigrum	Tree	100 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 2b
black raspberry Rubus occidentalis	Shrub	6 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 4b
blue cohosh Caulophyllum thalictroides	Wildflower (forb)	2.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4a
butternut Juglans cinerea	Tree	80 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4a
coralberry Symphoricarpos orbiculatus	Shrub	2 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 5a
cup plant Silphium perfoliatum	Wildflower (forb)	6 ft	Sun–part shade	—	Zone 2b
ditch stonecrop Penthorum sedoides	Wildflower (forb)	2.6 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 4b
false daisy Eclipta prostrata	Wildflower (forb)	3.2 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 10b
gray goldenrod Solidago nemoralis	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4a
great laurel Rhododendron maximum	Tree	25 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 6a
green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica	Tree	80 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 2b
harvestlice Agrimonia parviflora	Wildflower (forb)	6 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 4a
Jack in the pulpit Arisaema triphyllum	Wildflower (forb)	1.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 5b
late purple aster Symphyotrichum patens	Wildflower (forb)	2.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3b
limestone wild petunia Ruellia strepens	Wildflower (forb)	3.6 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 6a
longleaf pondweed Potamogeton nodosus	Wildflower (forb)	—	Sun	High	Zone 3b
northern maidenhair Adiantum pedatum	Fern	1.3 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3b
pale touch-me-not Impatiens pallida	Wildflower (forb)	8.2 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 10b
pawpaw Asimina triloba	Tree	25 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4b
purpleflowering raspberry Rubus odoratus	Shrub	5 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 3b
rattlesnake fern Botrychium virginianum	Fern	1.4 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3b
sago pondweed Stuckenia pectinata	Wildflower (forb)	—	Sun	High	Zone 3b
spotted St. Johnswort Hypericum punctatum	Wildflower (forb)	3 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4a
umbrella-tree Magnolia tripetala	Tree	30 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 7a
Virginia water horehound Lycopus virginicus	Wildflower (forb)	4 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 4a
Virginia wildrye Elymus virginicus	Grass or grass-like	2.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4b
whitegrass Leersia virginica	Grass or grass-like	3.9 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3a
wild blue phlox Phlox divaricata	Wildflower (forb)	3 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 4a
yellow flatsedge Cyperus flavescens	Grass or grass-like	2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 11b
zigzag goldenrod Solidago flexicaulis	Wildflower (forb)	3 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 5b

Other native species recorded here 83

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.

alpine violet Viola labradorica
American false pennyroyal Hedeoma pulegioides
balm-of-Gilead Populus ×jackii
beggarslice Hackelia virginiana
biennial beeblossom Oenothera gaura
black baneberry Actaea racemosa
blackstem spleenwort Asplenium resiliens
blue ash Fraxinus quadrangulata
Blue Ridge blueberry Vaccinium pallidum
blue waxweed Cuphea viscosissima
blue wild indigo Baptisia australis
bluntlobe cliff fern Woodsia obtusa
broad beechfern Phegopteris hexagonoptera
bulblet bladderfern Cystopteris bulbifera
Canadian clearweed Pilea pumila
Canadian wildginger Asarum canadense
Carolina horsenettle Solanum carolinense
carpenter's square Scrophularia marilandica
celandine poppy Stylophorum diphyllum
Christmas fern Polystichum acrostichoides
churchmouse threeawn Aristida dichotoma
common moonseed Menispermum canadense
cornel-leaf whitetop Doellingeria infirma
crinkleroot Cardamine diphylla
downy lobelia Lobelia puberula
dwarf larkspur Delphinium tricorne
early buttercup Ranunculus fascicularis
eastern prickly gooseberry Ribes cynosbati
ebony spleenwort Asplenium platyneuron
fernleaf phacelia Phacelia bipinnatifida
fluxweed Trichostema brachiatum
fragrant sumac Rhus aromatica
fringed loosestrife Lysimachia ciliata
Gattinger's panicgrass Panicum gattingeri
glade fern Diplazium pycnocarpon
Goldie's woodfern Dryopteris goldieana
grassleaf mudplantain Heteranthera dubia
green dragon Arisaema dracontium
hairy alumroot Heuchera villosa
hairy wildrye Elymus villosus
hoary skullcap Scutellaria incana
Illinois pinweed Lechea racemulosa
largeflower bellwort Uvularia grandiflora
limber honeysuckle Lonicera dioica
low spikesedge Kyllinga pumila
lowland rotala Rotala ramosior
marginal woodfern Dryopteris marginalis
meadow spikemoss Selaginella apoda
New England aster Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
nits and lice Hypericum drummondii
nodding onion Allium cernuum
oneseed bur cucumber Sicyos angulatus
Philadelphia panicgrass Panicum philadelphicum
pineland threeseed mercury Acalypha ostryifolia
pink thoroughwort Fleischmannia incarnata
pipevine Aristolochia macrophylla
purple cliffbrake Pellaea atropurpurea
richweed Collinsonia canadensis
sensitive partridge pea Chamaecrista nictitans
silver false spleenwort Deparia acrostichoides
slim amaranth Amaranthus hybridus
small skullcap Scutellaria parvula
smooth oxeye Heliopsis helianthoides
smooth rock skullcap Scutellaria saxatilis
smooth rockcress Arabis laevigata
southeastern wildrye Elymus glabriflorus
sparselobe grapefern Botrychium biternatum
striped gentian Gentiana villosa
tall rattlesnakeroot Prenanthes altissima
twinleaf Jeffersonia diphylla
vasevine Clematis viorna
Virginia pennywort Obolaria virginica
walking fern Asplenium rhizophyllum
wallrue Asplenium ruta-muraria
wavyleaf aster Symphyotrichum undulatum
white bear sedge Carex albursina
white bergamot Monarda clinopodia
whiteflower leafcup Polymnia canadensis
whitestar Ipomoea lacunosa
wideflower phlox Phlox latifolia
wild hydrangea Hydrangea arborescens
wiry panicgrass Panicum flexile
woodland lettuce Lactuca floridana

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, Hancock County and Tennessee
Measure	Hancock County	Typical county	Statewide
Native species	122	450	1,844
Garden-ready natives	39	182	606
Tree	11	—	189
Shrub	8	—	88
Wildflower (forb)	66	—	988
Grass or grass-like	12	—	420
Vine	8	—	81
Fern	17	—	78

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Hancock County.

Claiborne County, TN 155 garden-ready
Grainger County, TN 187 garden-ready
Hawkins County, TN 190 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: Hancock County (county FIPS 47067), Tennessee. 122 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

Independent reference site. No government affiliation or endorsement.