Native plants · Texas

Native plants of Comanche County

113 plant species are recorded as native to Texas in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Comanche County by USDA PLANTS. 44 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

Comanche County, Texas

Native species: 113 Typical Texas county: 145 (median of 254 counties)
Garden-ready natives: 44 Typical Texas county: 61
Share by type (all 113 native species): Percent of the 113 native species in each growth type

Tree 11% (12)
Shrub <1% (1)
Wildflower (forb) 59% (67)
Grass or grass-like 23% (26)
Vine 4% (4)
Fern 3% (3)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (59%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (23%).

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 zones 8a to 8b (2023 map).

The native plant list

Garden-ready natives 44

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

Garden-ready native plants of Comanche County, Texas
Plant	Type	Height	Light	Water use	Hardy to
Atlantic camas Camassia scilloides	Wildflower (forb)	2.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4b
black willow Salix nigra	Tree	100 ft	Sun	High	Zone 1b
blackeyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta	Wildflower (forb)	1 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 5a
blackjack oak Quercus marilandica	Tree	25 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 6a
buffalograss Bouteloua dactyloides	Grass or grass-like	6 in	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
cockspur hawthorn Crataegus crus-galli	Tree	30 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 4a
composite dropseed Sporobolus compositus	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3b
dotted blazing star Liatris punctata	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3a
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
grassleaf rush Juncus marginatus	Grass or grass-like	2 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 5a
green hawthorn Crataegus viridis	Tree	30 ft	Sun	High	Zone 5a
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
little barley Hordeum pusillum	Grass or grass-like	1.2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 10b
longleaf pondweed Potamogeton nodosus	Wildflower (forb)	—	Sun	High	Zone 3b
Ohio buckeye Aesculus glabra	Tree	68 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4a
Pennsylvania smartweed Polygonum pensylvanicum	Wildflower (forb)	3.9 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 10b
pickerelweed Pontederia cordata	Wildflower (forb)	3.2 ft	Sun	High	Zone 5a
plains lovegrass Eragrostis intermedia	Grass or grass-like	2.7 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 5a
possumhaw Ilex decidua	Tree	33 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 5b
prairie cordgrass Spartina pectinata	Grass or grass-like	8 ft	Sun	High	Zone 3b
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 threeawn Aristida purpurea	Grass or grass-like	1.4 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 4a
roughleaf dogwood Cornus drummondii	Tree	20 ft	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 4b
roundhead rush Juncus validus	Grass or grass-like	3.2 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 7a
saltgrass Distichlis spicata	Grass or grass-like	1.1 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
sand dropseed Sporobolus cryptandrus	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3b
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
sugarberry Celtis laevigata	Tree	80 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 5a
sweetscent Pluchea odorata	Wildflower (forb)	4.9 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 6a
tanseyleaf tansyaster Machaeranthera tanacetifolia	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4a
Torrey's rush Juncus torreyi	Grass or grass-like	3.1 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
upright prairie coneflower Ratibida columnifera	Wildflower (forb)	3.1 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3a
vine mesquite Panicum obtusum	Grass or grass-like	2 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 5a
western wheatgrass Pascopyrum smithii	Grass or grass-like	2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3a
woolly plantain Plantago patagonica	Wildflower (forb)	6 in	Sun	Low	Zone 12b

Other native species recorded here 69

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.

annual buckwheat Eriogonum annuum
annual marsh elder Iva annua
annual phlox Phlox drummondii
Atlantic pigeonwings Clitoria mariana
biannual lettuce Lactuca ludoviciana
bigseed alfalfa dodder Cuscuta indecora
blackstem spleenwort Asplenium resiliens
buffalobur nightshade Solanum rostratum
Carolina coralbead Cocculus carolinus
Carolina puccoon Lithospermum caroliniense
Carolina woollywhite Hymenopappus scabiosaeus
catchfly prairie gentian Eustoma exaltatum
compassplant Silphium laciniatum
Cuman ragweed Ambrosia psilostachya
curlycup gumweed Grindelia squarrosa
curvepod fumewort Corydalis curvisiliqua
cutleaf evening primrose Oenothera laciniata
Dakota mock vervain Glandularia bipinnatifida
downy hawthorn Crataegus mollis
downy phlox Phlox pilosa
Engelmann's daisy Engelmannia peristenia
false boneset Brickellia eupatorioides
flatspine stickseed Lappula occidentalis
fourpoint evening primrose Oenothera rhombipetala
hairy fimbry Fimbristylis puberula
hairy waterclover Marsilea vestita
hairy woodland brome Bromus pubescens
hairyfruit chervil Chaerophyllum tainturieri
lemon beebalm Monarda citriodora
Louisiana vetch Vicia ludoviciana
Mexican plum Prunus mexicana
narrowleaf four o'clock Mirabilis linearis
narrowleaf purple coneflower Echinacea angustifolia
narrowleaf stoneseed Lithospermum incisum
Nuttall's sensitive-briar Mimosa nuttallii
pinkladies Oenothera speciosa
pitseed goosefoot Chenopodium berlandieri
poorjoe Diodia teres
poverty dropseed Sporobolus vaginiflorus
prairie spiderwort Tradescantia occidentalis
prairie threeawn Aristida oligantha
redseed plantain Plantago rhodosperma
reflexed sedge Carex retroflexa
rough barnyardgrass Echinochloa muricata
sand spikerush Eleocharis montevidensis
scarlet beeblossom Oenothera suffrutescens
sessileleaf ticktrefoil Desmodium sessilifolium
standing-cypress Ipomopsis rubra
Texas croton Croton texensis
Texas vervain Verbena halei
threeflower melicgrass Melica nitens
tiny bluet Houstonia pusilla
toothed spurge Euphorbia dentata
tufted lovegrass Eragrostis pectinacea
upright burhead Echinodorus berteroi
Vahl's fimbry Fimbristylis vahlii
velvetweed Oenothera curtiflora
Virginia dwarfdandelion Krigia virginica
Virginia groundcherry Physalis virginiana
Virginia pepperweed Lepidium virginicum
western horsenettle Solanum dimidiatum
western rough goldenrod Solidago radula
western wallflower Erysimum asperum
white crownbeard Verbesina virginica
white heath aster Symphyotrichum ericoides
whitemouth dayflower Commelina erecta
willowleaf aster Symphyotrichum praealtum
witchgrass Panicum capillare
woolly lipfern Cheilanthes tomentosa

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.

Mexican teaDysphania ambrosioides

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, Comanche County and Texas
Measure	Comanche County	Typical county	Statewide
Native species	113	145	1,683
Garden-ready natives	44	61	656
Tree	12	—	164
Shrub	1	—	90
Wildflower (forb)	67	—	877
Grass or grass-like	26	—	431
Vine	4	—	83
Fern	3	—	38

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Comanche County.

Brown County, TX 88 garden-ready
Eastland County, TX 24 garden-ready
Erath County, TX 69 garden-ready
Hamilton County, TX 20 garden-ready
Mills County, TX 27 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: Comanche County (county FIPS 48093), Texas. 113 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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