Native plants · Texas

Native plants of Motley County

119 plant species are recorded as native to Texas in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Motley County by USDA PLANTS. 45 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

Motley County, Texas

Native species: 119 Typical Texas county: 145 (median of 254 counties)
Garden-ready natives: 45 Typical Texas county: 61
Share by type (all 119 native species): Percent of the 119 native species in each growth type

Tree 6% (7)
Shrub 5% (6)
Wildflower (forb) 62% (74)
Grass or grass-like 24% (28)
Vine 3% (3)
Fern <1% (1)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (62%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (24%).

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 7b (2023 map).

The native plant list

Garden-ready natives 45

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

Garden-ready native plants of Motley County, Texas
Plant	Type	Height	Light	Water use	Hardy 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
black willow Salix nigra	Tree	100 ft	Sun	High	Zone 1b
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
cane bluestem Bothriochloa barbinodis	Grass or grass-like	4 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 7b
Chickasaw plum Prunus angustifolia	Tree	12 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4b
common maidenhair Adiantum capillus-veneris	Fern	1.7 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
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 currant Ribes aureum	Shrub	10 ft	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 3b
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
knotgrass Paspalum distichum	Grass or grass-like	11 in	Sun	High	Zone 6a
Lewis flax Linum lewisii	Wildflower (forb)	2.5 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3b
lyreleaf greeneyes Berlandiera lyrata	Wildflower (forb)	4 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 5a
pecan Carya illinoinensis	Tree	120 ft	Sun	High	Zone 5a
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
roughfruit amaranth Amaranthus tuberculatus	Wildflower (forb)	6.6 ft	Sun	High	Zone 4a
saltgrass Distichlis spicata	Grass or grass-like	1.1 ft	Sun	Medium	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
sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3a
soapweed yucca Yucca glauca	Shrub	1 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 4b
sugarberry Celtis laevigata	Tree	80 ft	Shade-tolerant	High	Zone 5a
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
tanseyleaf tansyaster Machaeranthera tanacetifolia	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4a
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
white prairie clover Dalea candida	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 3b
woolly locoweed Astragalus mollissimus	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 4b
woolly plantain Plantago patagonica	Wildflower (forb)	6 in	Sun	Low	Zone 12b

Other native species recorded here 74

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
annual buckwheat Eriogonum annuum
bigbract verbena Verbena bracteata
buffalobur nightshade Solanum rostratum
bushy knotweed Polygonum ramosissimum
camphorweed Heterotheca subaxillaris
coastal sandbur Cenchrus spinifex
Cuman ragweed Ambrosia psilostachya
curvepod fumewort Corydalis curvisiliqua
cusp dodder Cuscuta cuspidata
cutleaf evening primrose Oenothera laciniata
Dakota mock vervain Glandularia bipinnatifida
diamond-flowers Stenaria nigricans
Drummond's false pennyroyal Hedeoma drummondii
Engelmann's daisy Engelmannia peristenia
fourpoint evening primrose Oenothera rhombipetala
Geyer's sandmat Chamaesyce geyeri
green carpetweed Mollugo verticillata
green comet milkweed Asclepias viridiflora
groundplum milkvetch Astragalus crassicarpus
gum bully Sideroxylon lanuginosum
Hopi tea greenthread Thelesperma megapotamicum
James' cryptantha Cryptantha cinerea
kiss me quick Portulaca pilosa
lacy tansyaster Machaeranthera pinnatifida
lemon beebalm Monarda citriodora
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
pale spikerush Eleocharis macrostachya
prairie sandmat Chamaesyce missurica
prairie spiderwort Tradescantia occidentalis
prairie sunflower Helianthus petiolaris
Pursh seepweed Suaeda calceoliformis
ram's horn Proboscidea louisianica
red lovegrass Eragrostis secundiflora
ribseed sandmat Chamaesyce glyptosperma
rough barnyardgrass Echinochloa muricata
sacred thorn-apple Datura wrightii
sand sagebrush Artemisia filifolia
sand spikerush Eleocharis montevidensis
sandhill amaranth Amaranthus arenicola
scarlet beeblossom Oenothera suffrutescens
scrambled eggs Corydalis aurea
showy evening primrose Oenothera grandis
silverleaf nightshade Solanum elaeagnifolium
sixangle spurge Euphorbia hexagona
sixweeks threeawn Aristida adscensionis
slender snakecotton Froelichia gracilis
slickseed fuzzybean Strophostyles leiosperma
slimflower scurfpea Psoralidium tenuiflorum
snow on the mountain Euphorbia marginata
sorrelvine Cissus trifoliata
Spanish gold Grindelia papposa
spotted beebalm Monarda punctata
spotted sandmat Chamaesyce maculata
stiffstem flax Linum rigidum
stretchberry Forestiera pubescens
Texas croton Croton texensis
Texas toadflax Nuttallanthus texanus
tumble windmill grass Chloris verticillata
tumblegrass Schedonnardus paniculatus
twistspine pricklypear Opuntia macrorhiza
velvetweed Oenothera curtiflora
warty caltrop Kallstroemia parviflora
wedgeleaf draba Draba cuneifolia
whitemouth dayflower Commelina erecta
winged pigweed Cycloloma atriplicifolium
witchgrass Panicum capillare
woolly tidestromia Tidestromia lanuginosa
Wright's plantain Plantago wrightiana

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.

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, Motley County and Texas
Measure	Motley County	Typical county	Statewide
Native species	119	145	1,683
Garden-ready natives	45	61	656
Tree	7	—	164
Shrub	6	—	90
Wildflower (forb)	74	—	877
Grass or grass-like	28	—	431
Vine	3	—	83
Fern	1	—	38

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Motley County.

Briscoe County, TX 63 garden-ready
Childress County, TX 53 garden-ready
Dickens County, TX 50 garden-ready
Floyd County, TX 33 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: Motley County (county FIPS 48345), Texas. 119 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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