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Native plants · Texas

Native plants of Gray County

136 plant species are recorded as native to Texas in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Gray County by USDA PLANTS. 54 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

Gray County, Texas

Native species
136 Typical Texas county: 145 (median of 254 counties)
Garden-ready natives
54 Typical Texas county: 61
Share by type (all 136 native species)
Percent of the 136 native species in each growth type
Tree 6% (8)
Shrub 6% (8)
Wildflower (forb) 63% (85)
Grass or grass-like 23% (31)
Vine 2% (3)
Fern <1% (1)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (63%), 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 zone 7a (2023 map).

The native plant list

Cold hardiness is estimated from each plant’s PLANTS minimum temperature. How we estimate it.

Garden-ready natives 54

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

Garden-ready native plants of Gray County, Texas
PlantType HeightLight Water useHardy to
alkali sacaton Sporobolus airoides Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
American licorice Glycyrrhiza lepidota Wildflower (forb) 4 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3b
American water horehound Lycopus americanus Wildflower (forb) 1.8 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3b
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
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 germander Teucrium canadense Wildflower (forb) 3.3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3a
Canada goldenrod Solidago canadensis Wildflower (forb) 3.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
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
common buttonbush Cephalanthus occidentalis Tree 15 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4a
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
green prairie coneflower Ratibida tagetes Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun Low Zone 4b
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
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
little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
longleaf pondweed Potamogeton nodosus Wildflower (forb) — Sun High Zone 3b
narrowleaf willow Salix exigua Tree 10 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3b
needle and thread Hesperostipa comata Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
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 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
sago pondweed Stuckenia pectinata Wildflower (forb) — Sun High Zone 3b
sand bluestem Andropogon hallii Grass or grass-like 6.1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
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
scratchgrass Muhlenbergia asperifolia Grass or grass-like 2 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 5b
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
sweetscent Pluchea odorata Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Sun Medium Zone 6a
tanseyleaf tansyaster Machaeranthera tanacetifolia Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
tenpetal blazingstar Mentzelia decapetala Wildflower (forb) 3.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
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
valley redstem Ammannia coccinea Wildflower (forb) 1.6 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
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
white prairie clover Dalea candida Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
woolly plantain Plantago patagonica Wildflower (forb) 6 in Sun Low Zone 12b

Other native species recorded here 82

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
  • azure blue sage Salvia azurea
  • Baldwin's ironweed Vernonia baldwinii
  • biannual lettuce Lactuca ludoviciana
  • bigbract verbena Verbena bracteata
  • blue mudplantain Heteranthera limosa
  • brook cinquefoil Potentilla rivalis
  • buffalobur nightshade Solanum rostratum
  • bushy knotweed Polygonum ramosissimum
  • camphorweed Heterotheca subaxillaris
  • Carolina larkspur Delphinium carolinianum
  • Cuman ragweed Ambrosia psilostachya
  • cusp dodder Cuscuta cuspidata
  • diamond-flowers Stenaria nigricans
  • downy ragged goldenrod Solidago petiolaris
  • Engelmann's daisy Engelmannia peristenia
  • false boneset Brickellia eupatorioides
  • feather fingergrass Chloris virgata
  • fetid marigold Dyssodia papposa
  • fineleaf hymenopappus Hymenopappus filifolius
  • flatspine stickseed Lappula occidentalis
  • hairy waterclover Marsilea vestita
  • heavy sedge Carex gravida
  • hooded arrowhead Sagittaria calycina
  • Hopi tea greenthread Thelesperma megapotamicum
  • James' cryptantha Cryptantha cinerea
  • Jersey tea Ceanothus herbaceus
  • lacy tansyaster Machaeranthera pinnatifida
  • lanceleaf sage Salvia reflexa
  • lemon beebalm Monarda citriodora
  • Louisiana vetch Vicia ludoviciana
  • marsh bristlegrass Setaria parviflora
  • mat sandbur Cenchrus longispinus
  • matted sandmat Chamaesyce serpens
  • narrowleaf four o'clock Mirabilis linearis
  • narrowleaf purple coneflower Echinacea angustifolia
  • narrowleaf stoneseed Lithospermum incisum
  • Oklahoma sedge Carex oklahomensis
  • pale dock Rumex altissimus
  • pale spikerush Eleocharis macrostachya
  • prairie broomweed Amphiachyris dracunculoides
  • prairie groundcherry Physalis hispida
  • prairie sandmat Chamaesyce missurica
  • prairie sunflower Helianthus petiolaris
  • queen's-delight Stillingia sylvatica
  • ram's horn Proboscidea louisianica
  • red lovegrass Eragrostis secundiflora
  • redseed plantain Plantago rhodosperma
  • rough barnyardgrass Echinochloa muricata
  • sand sagebrush Artemisia filifolia
  • sand spikerush Eleocharis montevidensis
  • showy evening primrose Oenothera grandis
  • silverleaf nightshade Solanum elaeagnifolium
  • sixweeks fescue Vulpia octoflora
  • slender yellow woodsorrel Oxalis dillenii
  • slimflower scurfpea Psoralidium tenuiflorum
  • snow on the mountain Euphorbia marginata
  • southern annual saltmarsh aster Symphyotrichum divaricatum
  • southern cattail Typha domingensis
  • Spanish gold Grindelia papposa
  • spotted beebalm Monarda punctata
  • spotted water hemlock Cicuta maculata
  • stemless four-nerve daisy Tetraneuris acaulis
  • stemless Townsend daisy Townsendia exscapa
  • stiffstem flax Linum rigidum
  • Texas bergia Bergia texana
  • Texas croton Croton texensis
  • tufted lovegrass Eragrostis pectinacea
  • tumble windmill grass Chloris verticillata
  • tumblegrass Schedonnardus paniculatus
  • twistspine pricklypear Opuntia macrorhiza
  • upright burhead Echinodorus berteroi
  • velvetweed Oenothera curtiflora
  • velvety goldenrod Solidago mollis
  • warty spurge Euphorbia spathulata
  • wavyleaf thistle Cirsium undulatum
  • wedgeleaf Phyla cuneifolia
  • western poison ivy Toxicodendron rydbergii
  • western wallflower Erysimum asperum
  • white heath aster Symphyotrichum ericoides
  • whitemouth dayflower Commelina erecta
  • witchgrass Panicum capillare
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 pepperweedLepidium densiflorum
  • toothed spurgeEuphorbia dentata

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, Gray County and Texas
MeasureGray CountyTypical countyStatewide
Native species 136 145 1,683
Garden-ready natives 54 61 656
Tree 8 — 164
Shrub 8 — 90
Wildflower (forb) 85 — 877
Grass or grass-like 31 — 431
Vine 3 — 83
Fern 1 — 38

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Gray County.

Look up another ZIP

Matches your ZIP to the county it mostly lies in, then lists the plants recorded as native to your state (Kew’s World Checklist and USDA PLANTS) and recorded in that county by USDA PLANTS.

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
Gray County (county FIPS 48179), Texas. 136 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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