Native plants · Texas

Native plants of Childress County

139 plant species are recorded as native to Texas in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Childress 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

Childress County, Texas

Native species: 139 Typical Texas county: 145 (median of 254 counties)
Garden-ready natives: 53 Typical Texas county: 61
Share by type (all 139 native species): Percent of the 139 native species in each growth type

Tree 4% (5)
Shrub 5% (7)
Wildflower (forb) 73% (101)
Grass or grass-like 17% (23)
Vine 2% (3)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (73%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (17%).

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

Garden-ready natives 53

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

Garden-ready native plants of Childress County, Texas
Plant	Type	Height	Light	Water use	Hardy to
American licorice Glycyrrhiza lepidota	Wildflower (forb)	4 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 3b
Arizona cottontop Digitaria californica	Grass or grass-like	4 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 6a
big bluestem Andropogon gerardii	Grass or grass-like	6 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 2b
black grama Bouteloua eriopoda	Grass or grass-like	2 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 5a
black willow Salix nigra	Tree	100 ft	Sun	High	Zone 1b
blue grama Bouteloua gracilis	Grass or grass-like	1 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3a
broom snakeweed Gutierrezia sarothrae	Shrub	1.5 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
butterfly milkweed Asclepias tuberosa	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 4a
Canada wildrye Elymus canadensis	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3a
Canadian horseweed Conyza canadensis	Wildflower (forb)	5 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 12b
Chickasaw plum Prunus angustifolia	Tree	12 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4b
clasping coneflower Dracopis amplexicaulis	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	High	Zone 10b
common threesquare Schoenoplectus pungens	Grass or grass-like	4.9 ft	Sun	High	Zone 3b
crested pricklypoppy Argemone polyanthemos	Wildflower (forb)	3 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 5a
dotted blazing star Liatris punctata	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3a
eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides	Tree	190 ft	Sun	High	Zone 3a
false indigo bush Amorpha fruticosa	Shrub	15 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3b
featherplume Dalea formosa	Shrub	3 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 6a
fourwing saltbush Atriplex canescens	Shrub	4 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3a
fragrant flatsedge Cyperus odoratus	Grass or grass-like	2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 11b
golden crownbeard Verbesina encelioides	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 5a
golden tickseed Coreopsis tinctoria	Wildflower (forb)	3 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 12b
gray goldenrod Solidago nemoralis	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4a
honey mesquite Prosopis glandulosa	Tree	50 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 6a
Illinois bundleflower Desmanthus illinoensis	Wildflower (forb)	3 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 5b
Indian blanket Gaillardia pulchella	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 10b
knotgrass Paspalum distichum	Grass or grass-like	11 in	Sun	High	Zone 6a
Lewis flax Linum lewisii	Wildflower (forb)	2.5 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
little barley Hordeum pusillum	Grass or grass-like	1.2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 10b
lyreleaf greeneyes Berlandiera lyrata	Wildflower (forb)	4 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 5a
Nuttall's povertyweed Monolepis nuttalliana	Wildflower (forb)	10 in	Sun	Medium	Zone 12a
Pennsylvania smartweed Polygonum pensylvanicum	Wildflower (forb)	3.9 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 10b
purple locoweed Oxytropis lambertii	Wildflower (forb)	1.4 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3b
purple poppymallow Callirhoe involucrata	Wildflower (forb)	1 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
purple prairie clover Dalea purpurea	Wildflower (forb)	3 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
purple threeawn Aristida purpurea	Grass or grass-like	1.4 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 4a
roughfruit amaranth Amaranthus tuberculatus	Wildflower (forb)	6.6 ft	Sun	High	Zone 4a
sand dropseed Sporobolus cryptandrus	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3b
scarlet globemallow Sphaeralcea coccinea	Wildflower (forb)	1.5 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 5a
sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3a
skunkbush sumac Rhus trilobata	Shrub	4 ft	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 2a
soapweed yucca Yucca glauca	Shrub	1 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 4b
spreading yellowcress Rorippa sinuata	Wildflower (forb)	1 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
squirreltail Elymus elymoides	Grass or grass-like	1.5 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3a
sugarberry Celtis laevigata	Tree	80 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 5a
tanseyleaf tansyaster Machaeranthera tanacetifolia	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4a
tobosagrass Pleuraphis mutica	Grass or grass-like	2.3 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 7b
Torrey's rush Juncus torreyi	Grass or grass-like	3.1 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
turkey tangle fogfruit Phyla nodiflora	Wildflower (forb)	2 in	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 5b
upright prairie coneflower Ratibida columnifera	Wildflower (forb)	3.1 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3a
white prairie clover Dalea candida	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 3b
woolly locoweed Astragalus mollissimus	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 4b
woolly plantain Plantago patagonica	Wildflower (forb)	6 in	Sun	Low	Zone 12b

Other native species recorded here 86

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 star-thistle Centaurea americana
American wild carrot Daucus pusillus
annual buckwheat Eriogonum annuum
azure blue sage Salvia azurea
bigbract verbena Verbena bracteata
blue wild indigo Baptisia australis
buffalobur nightshade Solanum rostratum
camphorweed Heterotheca subaxillaris
Carolina anemone Anemone caroliniana
Carolina canarygrass Phalaris caroliniana
coastal sandbur Cenchrus spinifex
crowpoison Nothoscordum bivalve
Cuman ragweed Ambrosia psilostachya
curvepod fumewort Corydalis curvisiliqua
cusp dodder Cuscuta cuspidata
cutleaf evening primrose Oenothera laciniata
Dakota mock vervain Glandularia bipinnatifida
diamond-flowers Stenaria nigricans
Drummond's false pennyroyal Hedeoma drummondii
Engelmann's daisy Engelmannia peristenia
false boneset Brickellia eupatorioides
feather fingergrass Chloris virgata
flatspine stickseed Lappula occidentalis
fourpoint evening primrose Oenothera rhombipetala
Geyer's sandmat Chamaesyce geyeri
green carpetweed Mollugo verticillata
Hopi tea greenthread Thelesperma megapotamicum
lacy tansyaster Machaeranthera pinnatifida
lemon beebalm Monarda citriodora
marsh bristlegrass Setaria parviflora
meadow garlic Allium canadense
narrowleaf goosefoot Chenopodium leptophyllum
narrowleaf purple coneflower Echinacea angustifolia
narrowleaf stoneseed Lithospermum incisum
neckweed Veronica peregrina
Nuttall's sensitive-briar Mimosa nuttallii
pale dock Rumex altissimus
pineland threeseed mercury Acalypha ostryifolia
pinkladies Oenothera speciosa
pony beebalm Monarda pectinata
prairie broomweed Amphiachyris dracunculoides
prairie sandmat Chamaesyce missurica
prairie spiderwort Tradescantia occidentalis
prairie sunflower Helianthus petiolaris
purple sandgrass Triplasis purpurea
queen's-delight Stillingia sylvatica
ram's horn Proboscidea louisianica
redwhisker clammyweed Polanisia dodecandra
ribseed sandmat Chamaesyce glyptosperma
sand sagebrush Artemisia filifolia
sandhill amaranth Amaranthus arenicola
scarlet beeblossom Oenothera suffrutescens
shaggy dwarf morning-glory Evolvulus nuttallianus
showy evening primrose Oenothera grandis
silky prairie clover Dalea villosa
silverleaf nightshade Solanum elaeagnifolium
silverscale saltbush Atriplex argentea
sixangle spurge Euphorbia hexagona
sixweeks fescue Vulpia octoflora
slimflower scurfpea Psoralidium tenuiflorum
small Venus' looking-glass Triodanis biflora
smartweed dodder Cuscuta polygonorum
sneezeweed Helenium amarum
snow on the mountain Euphorbia marginata
snowball sand verbena Abronia fragrans
sorrelvine Cissus trifoliata
southern cattail Typha domingensis
spotted beebalm Monarda punctata
stemless Townsend daisy Townsendia exscapa
stiffstem flax Linum rigidum
Texas bluegrass Poa arachnifera
Texas croton Croton texensis
Texas star Sabatia campestris
tumblegrass Schedonnardus paniculatus
velvetweed Oenothera curtiflora
velvety goldenrod Solidago mollis
Virginia pepperweed Lepidium virginicum
warty spurge Euphorbia spathulata
wedgeleaf draba Draba cuneifolia
western tansymustard Descurainia pinnata
white heath aster Symphyotrichum ericoides
white prairie aster Symphyotrichum falcatum
whitemouth dayflower Commelina erecta
whitest evening primrose Oenothera albicaulis
winged pigweed Cycloloma atriplicifolium
woolly tidestromia Tidestromia lanuginosa

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.

common reedPhragmites australis
white sagebrushArtemisia ludoviciana

Compared with Texas

The typical county is the median of the 254 Texas 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, Childress County and Texas
Measure	Childress County	Typical county	Statewide
Native species	139	145	1,683
Garden-ready natives	53	61	656
Tree	5	—	164
Shrub	7	—	90
Wildflower (forb)	101	—	877
Grass or grass-like	23	—	431
Vine	3	—	83
Fern	0	—	38

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Childress County.

Collingsworth County, TX 37 garden-ready
Cottle County, TX 30 garden-ready
Hall County, TX 37 garden-ready
Motley County, TX 45 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: Childress County (county FIPS 48075), Texas. 139 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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