Native plants · Texas

Native plants of Wilson County

117 plant species are recorded as native to Texas in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Wilson County by USDA PLANTS. 26 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

Wilson County, Texas

PLANTS records only 26 garden-ready natives here (under 30). County records are thin in some places; the Texas list is a useful second check.

Native species: 117 Typical Texas county: 145 (median of 254 counties)
Garden-ready natives: 26 Typical Texas county: 61
Share by type (all 117 native species): Percent of the 117 native species in each growth type

Tree 7% (8)
Shrub 2% (2)
Wildflower (forb) 60% (70)
Grass or grass-like 25% (29)
Vine 3% (4)
Fern 3% (4)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (60%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (25%).

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 9a (2023 map).

The native plant list

Garden-ready natives 26

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

Garden-ready native plants of Wilson County, Texas
Plant	Type	Height	Light	Water use	Hardy to
American water-willow Justicia americana	Wildflower (forb)	2.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4b
black willow Salix nigra	Tree	100 ft	Sun	High	Zone 1b
butterfly milkweed Asclepias tuberosa	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 4a
Canadian horseweed Conyza canadensis	Wildflower (forb)	5 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 12b
Carolina foxtail Alopecurus carolinianus	Grass or grass-like	1.7 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3a
curly-mesquite Hilaria belangeri	Grass or grass-like	10 in	Sun	Low	Zone 8b
desert willow Chilopsis linearis	Tree	25 ft	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 5a
eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides	Tree	190 ft	Sun	High	Zone 3a
fragrant flatsedge Cyperus odoratus	Grass or grass-like	2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 11b
giant cutgrass Zizaniopsis miliacea	Grass or grass-like	9 ft	Sun	High	Zone 8b
honey mesquite Prosopis glandulosa	Tree	50 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 6a
Indian blanket Gaillardia pulchella	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 10b
little barley Hordeum pusillum	Grass or grass-like	1.2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 10b
longtom Paspalum denticulatum	Grass or grass-like	2 ft	Sun–part shade	High	Zone 8b
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 fleabane Erigeron strigosus	Wildflower (forb)	3 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
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
switchgrass Panicum virgatum	Grass or grass-like	5 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3a
upright prairie coneflower Ratibida columnifera	Wildflower (forb)	3.1 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3a
waterthread pondweed Potamogeton diversifolius	Wildflower (forb)	3.2 ft	Sun	High	Zone 3b
wild tantan Desmanthus virgatus	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 9a
yellow trumpetbush Tecoma stans	Tree	20 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 9a

Other native species recorded here 91

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
annual phlox Phlox drummondii
arrowhead rattlebox Crotalaria sagittalis
Atlantic pigeonwings Clitoria mariana
bluejacket Tradescantia ohiensis
bluestem pricklypoppy Argemone albiflora
branched foldwing Dicliptera brachiata
carelessweed Amaranthus palmeri
Carolina anemone Anemone caroliniana
Carolina larkspur Delphinium carolinianum
Carolina puccoon Lithospermum caroliniense
clasping milkweed Asclepias amplexicaulis
coastal sandbur Cenchrus spinifex
creeping burhead Echinodorus cordifolius
Cuman ragweed Ambrosia psilostachya
cutleaf evening primrose Oenothera laciniata
Dakota mock vervain Glandularia bipinnatifida
densetuft hairsedge Bulbostylis capillaris
downy hawthorn Crataegus mollis
dwarf sundew Drosera brevifolia
ebony spleenwort Asplenium platyneuron
Engelmann's daisy Engelmannia peristenia
fall witchgrass Digitaria cognata
fewflower nutrush Scleria pauciflora
fire on the mountain Euphorbia cyathophora
gaping grass Steinchisma hians
great ragweed Ambrosia trifida
gum bully Sideroxylon lanuginosum
hairy bedstraw Galium pilosum
hairy fimbry Fimbristylis puberula
hairy pinweed Lechea mucronata
hairyfruit chervil Chaerophyllum tainturieri
Harvey's beaksedge Rhynchospora harveyi
heartleaf nettle Urtica chamaedryoides
heartwing sorrel Rumex hastatulus
Heller's rosette grass Dichanthelium oligosanthes
herb of grace Bacopa monnieri
hogwort Croton capitatus
lanceleaf blanketflower Gaillardia aestivalis
lemon beebalm Monarda citriodora
limestone adderstongue Ophioglossum engelmannii
Louisiana vetch Vicia ludoviciana
Maximilian sunflower Helianthus maximiliani
meadow garlic Allium canadense
narrowleaf stoneseed Lithospermum incisum
Pennsylvania pellitory Parietaria pensylvanica
Pickering's dawnflower Stylisma pickeringii
pink thoroughwort Fleischmannia incarnata
pinkladies Oenothera speciosa
pitseed goosefoot Chenopodium berlandieri
plains snakecotton Froelichia floridana
prairie tea Croton monanthogynus
prairie threeawn Aristida oligantha
procession flower Polygala incarnata
purple sandgrass Triplasis purpurea
queen's-delight Stillingia sylvatica
red lovegrass Eragrostis secundiflora
redseed plantain Plantago rhodosperma
roughfruit scaleseed Spermolepis divaricata
roundseed panicgrass Dichanthelium sphaerocarpon
scarlet spiderling Boerhavia coccinea
sensitive fern Onoclea sensibilis
sessileleaf ticktrefoil Desmodium sessilifolium
showy evening primrose Oenothera grandis
sixweeks fescue Vulpia octoflora
sleepy silene Silene antirrhina
slender lespedeza Lespedeza virginica
slimspike threeawn Aristida longespica
sneezeweed Helenium amarum
southern jointweed Polygonella americana
spoonleaf purple everlasting Gamochaeta purpurea
spotted beebalm Monarda punctata
spotted sandmat Chamaesyce maculata
spurred butterfly pea Centrosema virginianum
squirreltail fescue Vulpia elliotea
St. Andrew's cross Hypericum hypericoides
tall lespedeza Lespedeza stuevei
Texas croton Croton texensis
Texas signalgrass Urochloa texana
Texas star Sabatia campestris
Texas vervain Verbena halei
thin paspalum Paspalum setaceum
trailing pearlwort Sagina decumbens
tropical flatsedge Cyperus surinamensis
Virginia tephrosia Tephrosia virginiana
Virginia winged rockcress Sibara virginica
western tansymustard Descurainia pinnata
white crownbeard Verbesina virginica
whitemouth dayflower Commelina erecta
yankeeweed Eupatorium compositifolium
yellow thistle Cirsium horridulum

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.

Mexican teaDysphania ambrosioides
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, Wilson County and Texas
Measure	Wilson County	Typical county	Statewide
Native species	117	145	1,683
Garden-ready natives	26	61	656
Tree	8	—	164
Shrub	2	—	90
Wildflower (forb)	70	—	877
Grass or grass-like	29	—	431
Vine	4	—	83
Fern	4	—	38

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Wilson County.

Atascosa County, TX 25 garden-ready
Bexar County, TX 107 garden-ready
Gonzales County, TX 164 garden-ready
Guadalupe County, TX 50 garden-ready
Karnes County, TX 78 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: Wilson County (county FIPS 48493), Texas. 117 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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