Native plants · Texas

Native plants of Kendall County

141 plant species are recorded as native to Texas in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Kendall County by USDA PLANTS. 60 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness.

County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

Kendall County, Texas

Native species: 141 Typical Texas county: 145 (median of 254 counties)
Garden-ready natives: 60 Typical Texas county: 61
Share by type (all 141 native species): Percent of the 141 native species in each growth type

Tree 14% (20)
Shrub 3% (4)
Wildflower (forb) 57% (80)
Grass or grass-like 15% (21)
Vine 6% (9)
Fern 5% (7)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (57%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (15%).

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 60

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

Garden-ready native plants of Kendall County, Texas
Plant	Type	Height	Light	Water use	Hardy to
American basswood Tilia americana	Tree	100 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 2b
American water-willow Justicia americana	Wildflower (forb)	2.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4b
bald cypress Taxodium distichum	Tree	130 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 5b
beaked spikerush Eleocharis rostellata	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Sun	High	Zone 4b
bigtooth maple Acer grandidentatum	Tree	38 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 4a
boxelder Acer negundo	Tree	60 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 2b
broom snakeweed Gutierrezia sarothrae	Shrub	1.5 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
Canada germander Teucrium canadense	Wildflower (forb)	3.3 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 3a
Carolina buckthorn Frangula caroliniana	Tree	20 ft	Shade-tolerant	—	Zone 4b
common blue violet Viola sororia	Wildflower (forb)	4 in	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 4b
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
common persimmon Diospyros virginiana	Tree	55 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 5a
curly-mesquite Hilaria belangeri	Grass or grass-like	10 in	Sun	Low	Zone 8b
deergrass Muhlenbergia rigens	Grass or grass-like	4.5 ft	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 9b
dotted blazing star Liatris punctata	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3a
dwarf palmetto Sabal minor	Tree	9 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 8a
eastern gamagrass Tripsacum dactyloides	Grass or grass-like	5 ft	Sun	High	Zone 5a
eastern redbud Cercis canadensis	Tree	30 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 4b
false daisy Eclipta prostrata	Wildflower (forb)	3.2 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 10b
false indigo bush Amorpha fruticosa	Shrub	15 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3b
fowl mannagrass Glyceria striata	Grass or grass-like	5.7 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3b
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
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
Illinois bundleflower Desmanthus illinoensis	Wildflower (forb)	3 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 5b
Indian blanket Gaillardia pulchella	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 10b
Indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans	Grass or grass-like	6 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
inland rush Juncus interior	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 3b
little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3b
little walnut Juglans microcarpa	Tree	20 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 7a
longleaf pondweed Potamogeton nodosus	Wildflower (forb)	—	Sun	High	Zone 3b
narrowleaf willow Salix exigua	Tree	10 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 3b
nodding lady's tresses Spiranthes cernua	Wildflower (forb)	1.5 ft	Sun	High	Zone 3b
northern spicebush Lindera benzoin	Tree	12 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 5a
Philadelphia fleabane Erigeron philadelphicus	Wildflower (forb)	2.8 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 4b
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 crab apple Malus ioensis	Tree	25 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4b
prairie wedgescale Sphenopholis obtusata	Grass or grass-like	3.2 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 3a
purple lovegrass Eragrostis spectabilis	Grass or grass-like	11 in	Sun	Low	Zone 3a
red buckeye Aesculus pavia	Tree	25 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 5a
red mulberry Morus rubra	Tree	70 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4a
redtop panicgrass Panicum rigidulum	Grass or grass-like	3.3 ft	Sun	High	Zone 4a
roughleaf dogwood Cornus drummondii	Tree	20 ft	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 4b
saw greenbrier Smilax bona-nox	Vine	4 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 5b
slippery elm Ulmus rubra	Tree	85 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 3a
smooth horsetail Equisetum laevigatum	Fern	5 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3b
sweetscent Pluchea odorata	Wildflower (forb)	4.9 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 6a
switchgrass Panicum virgatum	Grass or grass-like	5 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3a
turkey tangle fogfruit Phyla nodiflora	Wildflower (forb)	2 in	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 5b
twoheaded water-starwort Callitriche heterophylla	Wildflower (forb)	—	Sun	High	Zone 4a
Virginia creeper Parthenocissus quinquefolia	Vine	1 ft	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 4b
white avens Geum canadense	Wildflower (forb)	3.9 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4a
whitegrass Leersia virginica	Grass or grass-like	3.9 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3a
wild tantan Desmanthus virgatus	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 9a

Other native species recorded here 81

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
Alabama supplejack Berchemia scandens
American star-thistle Centaurea americana
American wild carrot Daucus pusillus
angularfruit milkvine Matelea gonocarpos
bighead pygmycudweed Evax prolifera
bigseed alfalfa dodder Cuscuta indecora
blackstem spleenwort Asplenium resiliens
bluntlobe cliff fern Woodsia obtusa
Brazilian watermeal Wolffia brasiliensis
Canadian blacksnakeroot Sanicula canadensis
Carolina larkspur Delphinium carolinianum
Carolina ponysfoot Dichondra carolinensis
Carolina woollywhite Hymenopappus scabiosaeus
clasping Venus' looking-glass Triodanis perfoliata
Columbian watermeal Wolffia columbiana
compassplant Silphium laciniatum
creeping primrose-willow Ludwigia repens
Cuman ragweed Ambrosia psilostachya
curvepod fumewort Corydalis curvisiliqua
diamond-flowers Stenaria nigricans
Drummond's aster Symphyotrichum drummondii
Drummond's false pennyroyal Hedeoma drummondii
Engelmann's daisy Engelmannia peristenia
eyebane Chamaesyce nutans
fire on the mountain Euphorbia cyathophora
Great Plains lady's tresses Spiranthes magnicamporum
great ragweed Ambrosia trifida
green antelopehorn Asclepias viridis
green comet milkweed Asclepias viridiflora
green dragon Arisaema dracontium
groovestem Indian plantain Arnoglossum plantagineum
groundplum milkvetch Astragalus crassicarpus
hairy sunflower Helianthus hirsutus
hairyfruit chervil Chaerophyllum tainturieri
heartleaf nettle Urtica chamaedryoides
Heller's rosette grass Dichanthelium oligosanthes
hyssopleaf sandmat Chamaesyce hyssopifolia
Jersey tea Ceanothus herbaceus
lateflowering thoroughwort Eupatorium serotinum
lax hornpod Mitreola petiolata
lemon beebalm Monarda citriodora
Louisiana vetch Vicia ludoviciana
marsh bristlegrass Setaria parviflora
Maximilian sunflower Helianthus maximiliani
meadow spikemoss Selaginella apoda
mucronate sprangletop Leptochloa panicea
narrowleaf gumweed Grindelia lanceolata
Nuttall's prairie parsley Polytaenia nuttallii
pasture heliotrope Heliotropium tenellum
Pennsylvania pellitory Parietaria pensylvanica
pinkladies Oenothera speciosa
prairie tea Croton monanthogynus
purple cliffbrake Pellaea atropurpurea
red columbine Aquilegia canadensis
redseed plantain Plantago rhodosperma
roundleaf ragwort Packera obovata
rusty blackhaw Viburnum rufidulum
sandpaper vervain Verbena scabra
shortstalk chickweed Cerastium brachypodum
sixweeks fescue Vulpia octoflora
small Venus' looking-glass Triodanis biflora
snow on the mountain Euphorbia marginata
soft-hair marbleseed Onosmodium bejariense
sorrelvine Cissus trifoliata
southern dewberry Rubus trivialis
spiked crested coralroot Hexalectris spicata
spring forget-me-not Myosotis verna
stream orchid Epipactis gigantea
stretchberry Forestiera pubescens
tapered rosette grass Dichanthelium acuminatum
Virginia pepperweed Lepidium virginicum
Virginia plantain Plantago virginica
Virginia snakeroot Aristolochia serpentaria
wedgeleaf draba Draba cuneifolia
western rough goldenrod Solidago radula
western silver aster Symphyotrichum sericeum
white crownbeard Verbesina virginica
white four o'clock Mirabilis albida
white heath aster Symphyotrichum ericoides
whitemouth dayflower Commelina erecta

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, Kendall County and Texas
Measure	Kendall County	Typical county	Statewide
Native species	141	145	1,683
Garden-ready natives	60	61	656
Tree	20	—	164
Shrub	4	—	90
Wildflower (forb)	80	—	877
Grass or grass-like	21	—	431
Vine	9	—	83
Fern	7	—	38

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Kendall County.

Bexar County, TX 107 garden-ready
Blanco County, TX 89 garden-ready
Comal County, TX 89 garden-ready
Gillespie County, TX 127 garden-ready
Kerr County, TX 117 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: Kendall County (county FIPS 48259), Texas. 141 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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