Native plants · Texas

Native plants of Wise County

122 plant species are recorded as native to Texas in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Wise County by USDA PLANTS. 43 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness.

County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

Wise County, Texas

Native species: 122 Typical Texas county: 145 (median of 254 counties)
Garden-ready natives: 43 Typical Texas county: 61
Share by type (all 122 native species): Percent of the 122 native species in each growth type

Tree 6% (7)
Shrub <1% (1)
Wildflower (forb) 59% (72)
Grass or grass-like 29% (35)
Vine 6% (7)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (59%), 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 zones 8a to 8b (2023 map).

The native plant list

Garden-ready natives 43

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

Garden-ready native plants of Wise County, Texas
Plant	Type	Height	Light	Water use	Hardy to
big bluestem Andropogon gerardii	Grass or grass-like	6 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 2b
black willow Salix nigra	Tree	100 ft	Sun	High	Zone 1b
blackeyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta	Wildflower (forb)	1 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 5a
blue mistflower Conoclinium coelestinum	Wildflower (forb)	3.2 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 6a
boxelder Acer negundo	Tree	60 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 2b
broadleaf arrowhead Sagittaria latifolia	Wildflower (forb)	4.9 ft	Sun	High	Zone 4a
broomsedge bluestem Andropogon virginicus	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 5b
bur oak Quercus macrocarpa	Tree	100 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 3b
burningbush Euonymus atropurpureus	Tree	10 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	—
cane bluestem Bothriochloa barbinodis	Grass or grass-like	4 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 7b
common goldstar Hypoxis hirsuta	Wildflower (forb)	10 in	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 4a
common threesquare Schoenoplectus pungens	Grass or grass-like	4.9 ft	Sun	High	Zone 3b
composite dropseed Sporobolus compositus	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3b
cylinder jointtail grass Coelorachis cylindrica	Grass or grass-like	3.2 ft	Sun–part shade	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
fringeleaf wild petunia Ruellia humilis	Wildflower (forb)	2.6 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 4a
giant goldenrod Solidago gigantea	Wildflower (forb)	8.2 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 4a
gray goldenrod Solidago nemoralis	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4a
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
Indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans	Grass or grass-like	6 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3b
late purple aster Symphyotrichum patens	Wildflower (forb)	2.5 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3b
little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 3b
Missouri goldenrod Solidago missouriensis	Wildflower (forb)	3 ft	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 3b
Osage-orange Maclura pomifera	Tree	35 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 5a
partridge pea Chamaecrista fasciculata	Wildflower (forb)	2.4 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 7a
Philadelphia fleabane Erigeron philadelphicus	Wildflower (forb)	2.8 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 4b
prairie fleabane Erigeron strigosus	Wildflower (forb)	3 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 4b
pride of Ohio Dodecatheon meadia	Wildflower (forb)	2 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 3b
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 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
purpletop tridens Tridens flavus	Grass or grass-like	2.5 ft	Sun	Low	Zone 5a
roughleaf dogwood Cornus drummondii	Tree	20 ft	Sun–part shade	Low	Zone 4b
sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula	Grass or grass-like	3 ft	Sun	Medium	Zone 3a
southern waternymph Najas guadalupensis	Wildflower (forb)	1 ft	Sun	High	Zone 3b
splitbeard bluestem Andropogon ternarius	Grass or grass-like	3.9 ft	Shade-tolerant	Low	Zone 5b
stiff goldenrod Oligoneuron rigidum	Wildflower (forb)	3.6 ft	Sun–part shade	Medium	Zone 3a
trumpet honeysuckle Lonicera sempervirens	Vine	16 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4a
white avens Geum canadense	Wildflower (forb)	3.9 ft	Shade-tolerant	Medium	Zone 4a

Other native species recorded here 79

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 bird's-foot trefoil Lotus unifoliolatus
angularfruit milkvine Matelea gonocarpos
Atlantic pigeonwings Clitoria mariana
Baldwin's flatsedge Cyperus croceus
Baldwin's ironweed Vernonia baldwinii
bighead pygmycudweed Evax prolifera
bristly greenbrier Smilax tamnoides
camphorweed Heterotheca subaxillaris
Canadian blacksnakeroot Sanicula canadensis
Carolina geranium Geranium carolinianum
Cherokee sedge Carex cherokeensis
clasping Venus' looking-glass Triodanis perfoliata
compassplant Silphium laciniatum
crowpoison Nothoscordum bivalve
curlycup gumweed Grindelia squarrosa
densetuft hairsedge Bulbostylis capillaris
desert biscuitroot Lomatium foeniculaceum
diamond-flowers Stenaria nigricans
downy phlox Phlox pilosa
downy ragged goldenrod Solidago petiolaris
Drummond's false pennyroyal Hedeoma drummondii
elmleaf goldenrod Solidago ulmifolia
Engelmann's daisy Engelmannia peristenia
false boneset Brickellia eupatorioides
feather fingergrass Chloris virgata
field lovegrass Eragrostis elliottii
fiveangled dodder Cuscuta pentagona
fringed nutrush Scleria ciliata
green antelopehorn Asclepias viridis
green comet milkweed Asclepias viridiflora
hairy bedstraw Galium pilosum
hairy fimbry Fimbristylis puberula
hairy pinweed Lechea mucronata
hairy sunflower Helianthus hirsutus
hairyseed paspalum Paspalum pubiflorum
heartleaf four o'clock Mirabilis nyctaginea
heartwing sorrel Rumex hastatulus
heavy sedge Carex gravida
lanceleaf blanketflower Gaillardia aestivalis
lemon beebalm Monarda citriodora
Louisiana vetch Vicia ludoviciana
meadow garlic Allium canadense
Michaux's stitchwort Minuartia michauxii
Muhlenberg's sedge Carex muehlenbergii
narrowleaf gumweed Grindelia lanceolata
narrowleaf pinweed Lechea tenuifolia
pasture heliotrope Heliotropium tenellum
plains snakecotton Froelichia floridana
poverty dropseed Sporobolus vaginiflorus
prairie sandmat Chamaesyce missurica
prairie spiderwort Tradescantia occidentalis
prairie tea Croton monanthogynus
prairie threeawn Aristida oligantha
queen's-delight Stillingia sylvatica
red lovegrass Eragrostis secundiflora
rough dropseed Sporobolus clandestinus
shaggy dwarf morning-glory Evolvulus nuttallianus
sidebeak pencilflower Stylosanthes biflora
silvery everlasting Gamochaeta argyrinea
small Venus' looking-glass Triodanis biflora
southeastern wildrye Elymus glabriflorus
squirreltail fescue Vulpia elliotea
St. Andrew's cross Hypericum hypericoides
stiff sunflower Helianthus pauciflorus
stream orchid Epipactis gigantea
sunbright Phemeranthus parviflorus
tapered rosette grass Dichanthelium acuminatum
Texas signalgrass Urochloa texana
Texas star Sabatia campestris
thin paspalum Paspalum setaceum
tumble windmill grass Chloris verticillata
Vahl's fimbry Fimbristylis vahlii
Virginia tephrosia Tephrosia virginiana
western rough goldenrod Solidago radula
western wallflower Erysimum asperum
white four o'clock Mirabilis albida
whorled milkweed Asclepias verticillata
winged lythrum Lythrum alatum
woolly dutchman's pipe Aristolochia tomentosa

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, Wise County and Texas
Measure	Wise County	Typical county	Statewide
Native species	122	145	1,683
Garden-ready natives	43	61	656
Tree	7	—	164
Shrub	1	—	90
Wildflower (forb)	72	—	877
Grass or grass-like	35	—	431
Vine	7	—	83
Fern	0	—	38

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Wise County.

Cooke County, TX 72 garden-ready
Denton County, TX 105 garden-ready
Jack County, TX 21 garden-ready
Montague County, TX 41 garden-ready
Parker County, TX 93 garden-ready
Tarrant County, TX 167 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: Wise County (county FIPS 48497), Texas. 122 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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