Native plants · Texas

Native plants of Edwards County

148 plant species are recorded as native to Texas in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Edwards County by USDA PLANTS. 55 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

Edwards County, Texas

Native species: 148 Typical Texas county: 145 (median of 254 counties)
Garden-ready natives: 55 Typical Texas county: 61
Share by type (all 148 native species): Percent of the 148 native species in each growth type

Tree 11% (17)
Shrub 5% (8)
Wildflower (forb) 52% (77)
Grass or grass-like 21% (31)
Vine 5% (7)
Fern 5% (8)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (52%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (21%).

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 8b (2023 map).

The native plant list

Garden-ready natives 55

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

Garden-ready native plants of Edwards County, Texas
Plant	Type	Height	Light	Water use	Hardy to
alderleaf mountain mahogany Cercocarpus montanus	Tree	15 ft	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 3a
American water-willow Justicia americana	Wildflower (forb)	2.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4b
Apache plume Fallugia paradoxa	Shrub	6 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 5a
Arizona cottontop Digitaria californica	Grass or grass-like	4 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 6a
black cherry Prunus serotina	Tree	80 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4a
black willow Salix nigra	Tree	100 ft	Sun	High	Zone 1b
blackjack oak Quercus marilandica	Tree	25 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 6a
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
buffalograss Bouteloua dactyloides	Grass or grass-like	6 in	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
Canada wildrye Elymus canadensis	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3a
cane bluestem Bothriochloa barbinodis	Grass or grass-like	4 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 7b
Carolina buckthorn Frangula caroliniana	Tree	20 ft	Shade-tolerant	—	Zone 4b
chinquapin oak Quercus muehlenbergii	Tree	70 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4a
coastal plain willow Salix caroliniana	Tree	33 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 7b
common hoptree Ptelea trifoliata	Tree	25 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 4a
common maidenhair Adiantum capillus-veneris	Fern	1.7 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 4a
coralberry Symphoricarpos orbiculatus	Shrub	2 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 5a
curly-mesquite Hilaria belangeri	Grass or grass-like	10 in	Sun	Low	Zone 8b
desert willow Chilopsis linearis	Tree	25 ft	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 5a
eastern redbud Cercis canadensis	Tree	30 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 4b
false indigo bush Amorpha fruticosa	Shrub	15 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3b
featherplume Dalea formosa	Shrub	3 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 6a
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
graybark grape Vitis cinerea	Vine	50 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 6b
green sprangletop Leptochloa dubia	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 6a
hairy grama Bouteloua hirsuta	Grass or grass-like	6 in	Sun	Low	Zone 3b
honey mesquite Prosopis glandulosa	Tree	50 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 6a
honeylocust Gleditsia triacanthos	Tree	70 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
Indian blanket Gaillardia pulchella	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 10b
inland rush Juncus interior	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 3b
lemonscent Pectis angustifolia	Wildflower (forb)	8 in	Sun	Low	Zone 5a
little barley Hordeum pusillum	Grass or grass-like	1.2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 10b
little walnut Juglans microcarpa	Tree	20 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 7a
littleleaf leadtree Leucaena retusa	Tree	25 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 8b
mescal bean Sophora secundiflora	Tree	15 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 8a
pecan Carya illinoinensis	Tree	120 ft	Sun	High	Zone 5a
plains lovegrass Eragrostis intermedia	Grass or grass-like	2.7 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 5a
prairie wedgescale Sphenopholis obtusata	Grass or grass-like	3.2 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 3a
purple threeawn Aristida purpurea	Grass or grass-like	1.4 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 4a
roving sailor Maurandella antirrhiniflora	Vine	10 in	Sun	Medium	Zone 6b
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
smooth horsetail Equisetum laevigatum	Fern	5 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3b
squirreltail Elymus elymoides	Grass or grass-like	1.5 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3a
swamp sawgrass Cladium mariscus	Grass or grass-like	8.2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 8b
switchgrass Panicum virgatum	Grass or grass-like	5 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3a
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
vine mesquite Panicum obtusum	Grass or grass-like	2 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 5a
Virginia wildrye Elymus virginicus	Grass or grass-like	2.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4b

Other native species recorded here 93

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.

Alabama lipfern Cheilanthes alabamensis
American wild carrot Daucus pusillus
bighead pygmycudweed Evax prolifera
bigseed alfalfa dodder Cuscuta indecora
blackstem spleenwort Asplenium resiliens
buffalobur nightshade Solanum rostratum
Canada spikesedge Eleocharis geniculata
carelessweed Amaranthus palmeri
Carolina coralbead Cocculus carolinus
Carolina larkspur Delphinium carolinianum
Carolina woollywhite Hymenopappus scabiosaeus
chickenthief Mentzelia oligosperma
crowpoison Nothoscordum bivalve
curvepod fumewort Corydalis curvisiliqua
Dakota mock vervain Glandularia bipinnatifida
diamond-flowers Stenaria nigricans
downy phlox Phlox pilosa
Drummond's false pennyroyal Hedeoma drummondii
Dudley's rush Juncus dudleyi
dwarf horseweed Conyza ramosissima
Engelmann's daisy Engelmannia peristenia
eyebane Chamaesyce nutans
false boneset Brickellia eupatorioides
feather fingergrass Chloris virgata
fire on the mountain Euphorbia cyathophora
fiveangled dodder Cuscuta pentagona
flatspine stickseed Lappula occidentalis
fluxweed Trichostema brachiatum
green comet milkweed Asclepias viridiflora
gum bully Sideroxylon lanuginosum
hairy waterclover Marsilea vestita
hairyfruit chervil Chaerophyllum tainturieri
heartleaf nettle Urtica chamaedryoides
herb of grace Bacopa monnieri
horned pondweed Zannichellia palustris
humped bladderwort Utricularia gibba
hyssopleaf sandmat Chamaesyce hyssopifolia
Illinois pondweed Potamogeton illinoensis
ivyleaf groundcherry Physalis hederifolia
Jersey tea Ceanothus herbaceus
kiss me quick Portulaca pilosa
lacy tansyaster Machaeranthera pinnatifida
lateflowering thoroughwort Eupatorium serotinum
lemon beebalm Monarda citriodora
Louisiana vetch Vicia ludoviciana
matted sandmat Chamaesyce serpens
Maximilian sunflower Helianthus maximiliani
narrowleaf goosefoot Chenopodium leptophyllum
pasture heliotrope Heliotropium tenellum
Pennsylvania pellitory Parietaria pensylvanica
prairie broomweed Amphiachyris dracunculoides
prairie spiderwort Tradescantia occidentalis
prairie tea Croton monanthogynus
prostrate sandmat Chamaesyce prostrata
purple cliffbrake Pellaea atropurpurea
ram's horn Proboscidea louisianica
Red River scaleseed Spermolepis inermis
redseed plantain Plantago rhodosperma
sand spikerush Eleocharis montevidensis
shaggy dwarf morning-glory Evolvulus nuttallianus
silverleaf nightshade Solanum elaeagnifolium
sixweeks fescue Vulpia octoflora
sixweeks threeawn Aristida adscensionis
sleepy silene Silene antirrhina
slender lipfern Cheilanthes feei
slimpod Venus' looking-glass Triodanis leptocarpa
small Venus' looking-glass Triodanis biflora
sneezeweed Helenium amarum
sorrelvine Cissus trifoliata
standing-cypress Ipomopsis rubra
stemless evening primrose Oenothera triloba
stream orchid Epipactis gigantea
stretchberry Forestiera pubescens
tapered rosette grass Dichanthelium acuminatum
threeflower melicgrass Melica nitens
toothed spurge Euphorbia dentata
trailing fleabane Erigeron flagellaris
upright burhead Echinodorus berteroi
velvetweed Oenothera curtiflora
Virginia snakeroot Aristolochia serpentaria
warty caltrop Kallstroemia parviflora
warty spurge Euphorbia spathulata
wavyleaf thistle Cirsium undulatum
wedgeleaf draba Draba cuneifolia
western horsenettle Solanum dimidiatum
western tansymustard Descurainia pinnata
white crownbeard Verbesina virginica
white four o'clock Mirabilis albida
white heath aster Symphyotrichum ericoides
whitemouth dayflower Commelina erecta
whorled marshpennywort Hydrocotyle verticillata
woolly lipfern Cheilanthes tomentosa
yellow spikerush Eleocharis flavescens

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.

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, Edwards County and Texas
Measure	Edwards County	Typical county	Statewide
Native species	148	145	1,683
Garden-ready natives	55	61	656
Tree	17	—	164
Shrub	8	—	90
Wildflower (forb)	77	—	877
Grass or grass-like	31	—	431
Vine	7	—	83
Fern	8	—	38

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Edwards County.

Real County, TX 54 garden-ready
Sutton County, TX 37 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: Edwards County (county FIPS 48137), Texas. 148 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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