Natives by ZIP

Native plants recorded in your state and county

Native plants · Texas

Native plants of Real County

121 plant species are recorded as native to Texas in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Real 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

Real County, Texas

Native species
121 Typical Texas county: 145 (median of 254 counties)
Garden-ready natives
54 Typical Texas county: 61
Share by type (all 121 native species)
Percent of the 121 native species in each growth type
Tree 17% (20)
Wildflower (forb) 47% (57)
Grass or grass-like 24% (29)
Vine 7% (8)
Fern 6% (7)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (47%), 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 8b (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 Real County, Texas
PlantType HeightLight Water useHardy to
alderleaf mountain mahogany Cercocarpus montanus Tree 15 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3a
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
Arizona walnut Juglans major Tree 50 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
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
big bluestem Andropogon gerardii Grass or grass-like 6 ft Sun Low Zone 2b
bigtooth maple Acer grandidentatum Tree 38 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4a
black cherry Prunus serotina Tree 80 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
black willow Salix nigra Tree 100 ft Sun High Zone 1b
blackeyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 5a
broadleaf cattail Typha latifolia Wildflower (forb) 5 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3b
broomsedge bluestem Andropogon virginicus Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 5b
cane bluestem Bothriochloa barbinodis Grass or grass-like 4 ft Sun Medium Zone 7b
cardinalflower Lobelia cardinalis Wildflower (forb) 5.9 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 4a
Carolina buckthorn Frangula caroliniana Tree 20 ft Shade-tolerant — Zone 4b
chinquapin oak Quercus muehlenbergii Tree 70 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
coastal plain willow Salix caroliniana Tree 33 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 7b
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
curly-mesquite Hilaria belangeri Grass or grass-like 10 in Sun Low Zone 8b
devil's beggartick Bidens frondosa Wildflower (forb) 4 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 12a
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
fringeleaf wild petunia Ruellia humilis Wildflower (forb) 2.6 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 4a
golden tickseed Coreopsis tinctoria Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 12b
graybark grape Vitis cinerea Vine 50 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 6b
Gulf Coast spikerush Eleocharis cellulosa Grass or grass-like 2.6 ft Sun High Zone 8b
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 bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
littleleaf leadtree Leucaena retusa Tree 25 ft Sun Low Zone 8b
mescal bean Sophora secundiflora Tree 15 ft Sun Medium Zone 8a
Missouri gourd Cucurbita foetidissima Vine 1 ft Sun Low Zone 5a
needle spikerush Eleocharis acicularis Grass or grass-like 8 in Sun Medium Zone 5a
nimblewill Muhlenbergia schreberi Grass or grass-like 3.2 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 4a
northern spicebush Lindera benzoin Tree 12 ft Sun–part shade Medium 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
possumhaw Ilex decidua Tree 33 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 5b
purple threeawn Aristida purpurea Grass or grass-like 1.4 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
red buckeye Aesculus pavia Tree 25 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 5a
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
smallspike false nettle Boehmeria cylindrica Wildflower (forb) 3.9 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
smooth horsetail Equisetum laevigatum Fern 5 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
southern waternymph Najas guadalupensis Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun High Zone 3b
swamp sawgrass Cladium mariscus Grass or grass-like 8.2 ft Sun Medium Zone 8b
Torrey's rush Juncus torreyi Grass or grass-like 3.1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
vine mesquite Panicum obtusum Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 5a
white avens Geum canadense Wildflower (forb) 3.9 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
whitethorn acacia Vachellia constricta Tree 9 ft Sun Low Zone 6a
yellow flatsedge Cyperus flavescens Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 11b

Other native species recorded here 67

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
  • American wild carrot Daucus pusillus
  • angularfruit milkvine Matelea gonocarpos
  • annual fimbry Fimbristylis annua
  • bearded flatsedge Cyperus squarrosus
  • bent sedge Carex styloflexa
  • blackstem spleenwort Asplenium resiliens
  • bluejacket Tradescantia ohiensis
  • Canada spikesedge Eleocharis geniculata
  • Carolina coralbead Cocculus carolinus
  • Carolina woollywhite Hymenopappus scabiosaeus
  • common moonseed Menispermum canadense
  • curlytop knotweed Polygonum lapathifolium
  • Dakota mock vervain Glandularia bipinnatifida
  • diamond-flowers Stenaria nigricans
  • downy milkpea Galactia volubilis
  • downy phlox Phlox pilosa
  • dwarf horseweed Conyza ramosissima
  • eastern poison ivy Toxicodendron radicans
  • Engelmann's daisy Engelmannia peristenia
  • fire on the mountain Euphorbia cyathophora
  • gum bully Sideroxylon lanuginosum
  • hairyseed paspalum Paspalum pubiflorum
  • Heller's rosette grass Dichanthelium oligosanthes
  • herb of grace Bacopa monnieri
  • horned pondweed Zannichellia palustris
  • Illinois pondweed Potamogeton illinoensis
  • ivyleaf groundcherry Physalis hederifolia
  • lateflowering thoroughwort Eupatorium serotinum
  • lax hornpod Mitreola petiolata
  • lemon beebalm Monarda citriodora
  • Louisiana vetch Vicia ludoviciana
  • low nutrush Scleria verticillata
  • narrowleaf stoneseed Lithospermum incisum
  • Nuttall's prairie parsley Polytaenia nuttallii
  • pasture heliotrope Heliotropium tenellum
  • Pennsylvania pellitory Parietaria pensylvanica
  • pinkladies Oenothera speciosa
  • prairie groundsel Packera plattensis
  • prairie tea Croton monanthogynus
  • purple cliffbrake Pellaea atropurpurea
  • ram's horn Proboscidea louisianica
  • red columbine Aquilegia canadensis
  • Red River scaleseed Spermolepis inermis
  • redseed plantain Plantago rhodosperma
  • roundseed panicgrass Dichanthelium sphaerocarpon
  • sand spikerush Eleocharis montevidensis
  • sandpaper vervain Verbena scabra
  • silverleaf nightshade Solanum elaeagnifolium
  • slender lipfern Cheilanthes feei
  • slimpod Venus' looking-glass Triodanis leptocarpa
  • small pondweed Potamogeton pusillus
  • small Venus' looking-glass Triodanis biflora
  • spotted water hemlock Cicuta maculata
  • stemless evening primrose Oenothera triloba
  • stream orchid Epipactis gigantea
  • tapered rosette grass Dichanthelium acuminatum
  • Texas vervain Verbena halei
  • toothed spurge Euphorbia dentata
  • turion duckweed Lemna turionifera
  • Virginia snakeroot Aristolochia serpentaria
  • warty spurge Euphorbia spathulata
  • wedgeleaf draba Draba cuneifolia
  • white crownbeard Verbesina virginica
  • white four o'clock Mirabilis albida
  • willowleaf aster Symphyotrichum praealtum
  • woolly lipfern Cheilanthes tomentosa
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.

  • annual ragweedAmbrosia artemisiifolia
  • Mexican teaDysphania ambrosioides

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, Real County and Texas
MeasureReal CountyTypical countyStatewide
Native species 121 145 1,683
Garden-ready natives 54 61 656
Tree 20 — 164
Shrub 0 — 90
Wildflower (forb) 57 — 877
Grass or grass-like 29 — 431
Vine 8 — 83
Fern 7 — 38

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Real 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
Real County (county FIPS 48385), Texas. 121 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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