Native plants · Texas

Native plants of Mills County

87 plant species are recorded as native to Texas in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Mills County by USDA PLANTS. 27 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

Mills County, Texas

PLANTS records only 27 garden-ready natives here (under 30). County records are thin in some places; the Texas list is a useful second check.

Native species: 87 Typical Texas county: 145 (median of 254 counties)
Garden-ready natives: 27 Typical Texas county: 61
Share by type (all 87 native species): Percent of the 87 native species in each growth type

Tree 9% (8)
Shrub 1% (1)
Wildflower (forb) 70% (61)
Grass or grass-like 16% (14)
Vine 3% (3)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (70%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (16%).

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 27

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

Garden-ready native plants of Mills County, Texas
Plant	Type	Height	Light	Water use	Hardy to
Atlantic camas Camassia scilloides	Wildflower (forb)	2.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4b
cane bluestem Bothriochloa barbinodis	Grass or grass-like	4 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 7b
clasping coneflower Dracopis amplexicaulis	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	High	Zone 10b
common blue violet Viola sororia	Wildflower (forb)	4 in	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 4b
common buttonbush Cephalanthus occidentalis	Tree	15 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 4a
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 redbud Cercis canadensis	Tree	30 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 4b
golden crownbeard Verbesina encelioides	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 5a
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
Indian woodoats Chasmanthium latifolium	Grass or grass-like	4.6 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4a
Indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans	Grass or grass-like	6 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3b
Missouri gourd Cucurbita foetidissima	Vine	1 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 5a
pecan Carya illinoinensis	Tree	120 ft	Sun	High	Zone 5a
possumhaw Ilex decidua	Tree	33 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 5b
prairie fleabane Erigeron strigosus	Wildflower (forb)	3 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4b
purple poppymallow Callirhoe involucrata	Wildflower (forb)	1 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
purple prairie clover Dalea purpurea	Wildflower (forb)	3 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
purple threeawn Aristida purpurea	Grass or grass-like	1.4 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 4a
sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Sun	Medium	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
waterthread pondweed Potamogeton diversifolius	Wildflower (forb)	3.2 ft	Sun	High	Zone 3b

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.

American star-thistle Centaurea americana
American wild carrot Daucus pusillus
annual buckwheat Eriogonum annuum
annual phlox Phlox drummondii
aromatic aster Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
bigseed alfalfa dodder Cuscuta indecora
buffalobur nightshade Solanum rostratum
carelessweed Amaranthus palmeri
Carolina coralbead Cocculus carolinus
Carolina larkspur Delphinium carolinianum
Carolina woollywhite Hymenopappus scabiosaeus
clammy groundcherry Physalis heterophylla
Cuman ragweed Ambrosia psilostachya
curlycup gumweed Grindelia squarrosa
Dakota mock vervain Glandularia bipinnatifida
diamond-flowers Stenaria nigricans
downy hawthorn Crataegus mollis
downy ragged goldenrod Solidago petiolaris
Engelmann's daisy Engelmannia peristenia
eyebane Chamaesyce nutans
green comet milkweed Asclepias viridiflora
hairyseed paspalum Paspalum pubiflorum
Heller's rosette grass Dichanthelium oligosanthes
hyssopleaf sandmat Chamaesyce hyssopifolia
lanceleaf sage Salvia reflexa
matted sandmat Chamaesyce serpens
Maximilian sunflower Helianthus maximiliani
meadow garlic Allium canadense
Michaux's stitchwort Minuartia michauxii
narrowleaf gumweed Grindelia lanceolata
narrowleaf stoneseed Lithospermum incisum
Nuttall's prairie parsley Polytaenia nuttallii
Nuttall's sensitive-briar Mimosa nuttallii
pinkladies Oenothera speciosa
poverty dropseed Sporobolus vaginiflorus
prairie broomweed Amphiachyris dracunculoides
prairie tea Croton monanthogynus
redwhisker clammyweed Polanisia dodecandra
rusty blackhaw Viburnum rufidulum
scarlet beeblossom Oenothera suffrutescens
shaggy dwarf morning-glory Evolvulus nuttallianus
silverleaf nightshade Solanum elaeagnifolium
sixweeks fescue Vulpia octoflora
sneezeweed Helenium amarum
snow on the mountain Euphorbia marginata
spotted beebalm Monarda punctata
standing-cypress Ipomopsis rubra
stemless evening primrose Oenothera triloba
stretchberry Forestiera pubescens
Texas croton Croton texensis
tiny bluet Houstonia pusilla
tufted lovegrass Eragrostis pectinacea
tumble windmill grass Chloris verticillata
Virginia pepperweed Lepidium virginicum
wedgeleaf draba Draba cuneifolia
western horsenettle Solanum dimidiatum
western rough goldenrod Solidago radula
western tansymustard Descurainia pinnata
whitemouth dayflower Commelina erecta
witchgrass Panicum capillare

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, Mills County and Texas
Measure	Mills County	Typical county	Statewide
Native species	87	145	1,683
Garden-ready natives	27	61	656
Tree	8	—	164
Shrub	1	—	90
Wildflower (forb)	61	—	877
Grass or grass-like	14	—	431
Vine	3	—	83
Fern	0	—	38

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Mills County.

Brown County, TX 88 garden-ready
Comanche County, TX 44 garden-ready
Hamilton County, TX 20 garden-ready
Lampasas County, TX 43 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: Mills County (county FIPS 48333), Texas. 87 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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