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Native plants · Texas

Native plants of Menard County

108 plant species are recorded as native to Texas in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Menard County by USDA PLANTS. 48 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

Menard County, Texas

Native species
108 Typical Texas county: 145 (median of 254 counties)
Garden-ready natives
48 Typical Texas county: 61
Share by type (all 108 native species)
Percent of the 108 native species in each growth type
Tree 6% (7)
Shrub <1% (1)
Wildflower (forb) 54% (58)
Grass or grass-like 29% (31)
Vine 6% (7)
Fern 4% (4)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (54%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (29%).

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 8a (2023 map).

The native plant list

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

Garden-ready natives 48

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

Garden-ready native plants of Menard County, Texas
PlantType HeightLight Water useHardy to
American water-willow Justicia americana Wildflower (forb) 2.5 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4b
blue grama Bouteloua gracilis Grass or grass-like 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
broadleaf cattail Typha latifolia Wildflower (forb) 5 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3b
buffalograss Bouteloua dactyloides Grass or grass-like 6 in Sun Medium Zone 3b
bur oak Quercus macrocarpa Tree 100 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
Canada germander Teucrium canadense Wildflower (forb) 3.3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3a
Canada wildrye Elymus canadensis Grass or grass-like 3 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3a
Carolina fanwort Cabomba caroliniana Wildflower (forb) — Sun–part shade High Zone 5a
cockspur hawthorn Crataegus crus-galli Tree 30 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
common buttonbush Cephalanthus occidentalis Tree 15 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4a
composite dropseed Sporobolus compositus Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
coon's tail Ceratophyllum demersum Wildflower (forb) — Sun–part shade High Zone 3b
curly-mesquite Hilaria belangeri Grass or grass-like 10 in Sun Low Zone 8b
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
fragrant flatsedge Cyperus odoratus Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 11b
giant goldenrod Solidago gigantea Wildflower (forb) 8.2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
groundnut Apios americana Vine 1 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 5a
hairy grama Bouteloua hirsuta Grass or grass-like 6 in Sun Low Zone 3b
Illinois bundleflower Desmanthus illinoensis Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 5b
Indian blanket Gaillardia pulchella Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 10b
Indianhemp Apocynum cannabinum Wildflower (forb) 3.3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3a
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
littleleaf sumac Rhus microphylla Tree 10 ft Sun Low Zone 6a
longleaf pondweed Potamogeton nodosus Wildflower (forb) — Sun High Zone 3b
lyreleaf greeneyes Berlandiera lyrata Wildflower (forb) 4 ft Sun Low Zone 5a
Malabar sprangletop Leptochloa fusca Grass or grass-like 3.3 ft Sun High Zone 3a
Missouri gourd Cucurbita foetidissima Vine 1 ft Sun Low Zone 5a
panicledleaf ticktrefoil Desmodium paniculatum Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 6a
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 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 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
smooth beggartick Bidens laevis Wildflower (forb) 3.3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 12b
southern waternymph Najas guadalupensis Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun High Zone 3b
squarestem spikerush Eleocharis quadrangulata Grass or grass-like 4 ft Sun High Zone 4b
swamp milkweed Asclepias incarnata Wildflower (forb) 4.9 ft Sun High Zone 3b
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
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
yellow flatsedge Cyperus flavescens Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 11b

Other native species recorded here 60

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
  • amberique-bean Strophostyles helvola
  • American wild carrot Daucus pusillus
  • azure blue sage Salvia azurea
  • Baldwin's ironweed Vernonia baldwinii
  • bighead pygmycudweed Evax prolifera
  • bigseed alfalfa dodder Cuscuta indecora
  • buffalobur nightshade Solanum rostratum
  • carelessweed Amaranthus palmeri
  • Carolina woollywhite Hymenopappus scabiosaeus
  • curvepod fumewort Corydalis curvisiliqua
  • Dakota mock vervain Glandularia bipinnatifida
  • diamond-flowers Stenaria nigricans
  • downy phlox Phlox pilosa
  • Emory's sedge Carex emoryi
  • Engelmann's daisy Engelmannia peristenia
  • eyebane Chamaesyce nutans
  • fiveangled dodder Cuscuta pentagona
  • flatspine stickseed Lappula occidentalis
  • hairy waterclover Marsilea vestita
  • hairyfruit chervil Chaerophyllum tainturieri
  • heartleaf nettle Urtica chamaedryoides
  • horned pondweed Zannichellia palustris
  • hyssopleaf sandmat Chamaesyce hyssopifolia
  • Illinois pondweed Potamogeton illinoensis
  • ivyleaf groundcherry Physalis hederifolia
  • Jersey tea Ceanothus herbaceus
  • lacy tansyaster Machaeranthera pinnatifida
  • lateflowering thoroughwort Eupatorium serotinum
  • lemon beebalm Monarda citriodora
  • little duckweed Lemna obscura
  • Louisiana vetch Vicia ludoviciana
  • mapleleaf goosefoot Chenopodium simplex
  • marsh bristlegrass Setaria parviflora
  • Mexican plum Prunus mexicana
  • mucronate sprangletop Leptochloa panicea
  • narrowleaf stoneseed Lithospermum incisum
  • neckweed Veronica peregrina
  • pale spikerush Eleocharis macrostachya
  • Pennsylvania everlasting Gamochaeta pensylvanica
  • Pennsylvania pellitory Parietaria pensylvanica
  • prairie tea Croton monanthogynus
  • purple cliffbrake Pellaea atropurpurea
  • rabbit-tobacco Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium
  • rough dropseed Sporobolus clandestinus
  • sand spikerush Eleocharis montevidensis
  • scarlet beeblossom Oenothera suffrutescens
  • slender lipfern Cheilanthes feei
  • slickseed fuzzybean Strophostyles leiosperma
  • slimspike threeawn Aristida longespica
  • soft-hair marbleseed Onosmodium bejariense
  • spotted sandmat Chamaesyce maculata
  • spotted water hemlock Cicuta maculata
  • Texas croton Croton texensis
  • tumble windmill grass Chloris verticillata
  • tumblegrass Schedonnardus paniculatus
  • western horsenettle Solanum dimidiatum
  • western tansymustard Descurainia pinnata
  • white four o'clock Mirabilis albida
  • willowleaf aster Symphyotrichum praealtum
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.

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, Menard County and Texas
MeasureMenard CountyTypical countyStatewide
Native species 108 145 1,683
Garden-ready natives 48 61 656
Tree 7 — 164
Shrub 1 — 90
Wildflower (forb) 58 — 877
Grass or grass-like 31 — 431
Vine 7 — 83
Fern 4 — 38

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Menard 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
Menard County (county FIPS 48327), Texas. 108 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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