Wildflower (forb) · Apocynaceae
Indianhemp
Apocynum cannabinum
Indianhemp is recorded as native to 49 states and territories in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in 1,847 counties of those states by USDA PLANTS.
Key facts · USDA PLANTS
Indianhemp at a glance
- Native in
- 1,847 counties, across 49 states and territories
- Estimated cold hardiness
- Zone 3a PLANTS minimum temperature −43°F
- Mature height
- 3.3 ft PLANTS mature height
- Light and water
- Sun to part shade High water use
Estimated cold hardiness: zone 3a. PLANTS gives a minimum temperature of −43°F; zone 3a winters bottom out at −40°F, the coldest half-zone that stays within that limit.
Indianhemp is recorded as native to 49 states and territories in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in 1,847 counties of those states by USDA PLANTS.
Counties where it is native
The 15 counties with the most ZIP codes among the 1,847 where it is listed.
Native counties by state
- Alabama 21 counties
- Arizona 10 counties
- Arkansas 43 counties
- California 44 counties
- Colorado 29 counties
- Connecticut statewide record
- Delaware 2 counties
- District of Columbia 1 county
- Florida 19 counties
- Georgia 16 counties
- Idaho 25 counties
- Illinois 102 counties
- Indiana 85 counties
- Iowa 21 counties
- Kansas 98 counties
- Kentucky 78 counties
- Louisiana 34 counties
- Maine 13 counties
- Maryland 2 counties
- Massachusetts 13 counties
- Michigan 52 counties
- Minnesota 66 counties
- Mississippi 27 counties
- Missouri 88 counties
- Montana 20 counties
- Nebraska 60 counties
- Nevada 12 counties
- New Hampshire 9 counties
- New Jersey 21 counties
- New Mexico 15 counties
- New York 46 counties
- North Carolina 75 counties
- North Dakota 43 counties
- Ohio 85 counties
- Oklahoma 37 counties
- Oregon 23 counties
- Pennsylvania 66 counties
- Rhode Island 3 counties
- South Carolina 34 counties
- South Dakota 38 counties
- Tennessee 44 counties
- Texas 63 counties
- Utah 26 counties
- Vermont 13 counties
- Virginia 99 counties
- Washington 12 counties
- West Virginia 51 counties
- Wisconsin 47 counties
- Wyoming 16 counties
Growing traits
Values from the PLANTS characteristics record. “Not recorded” means PLANTS has no value; nothing here is estimated except the zone.
Growth
- Growth habit
- Forb/herb
- Duration
- Perennial
- Mature height
- 3.3 ft
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Growth form
- Single Stem
- Shape
- Erect
- Lifespan
- Moderate
- Active growth period
- Spring and Summer
Light and water
- Shade tolerance
- Intermediate (sun to part shade)
- Moisture use
- High water use
- Drought tolerance
- Medium
- Tolerance of waterlogged soil
- Medium
- Precipitation range
- 15 to 60 in per year
Soil
- Soil textures
- Coarse, medium and fine
- pH range
- 4.5 to 7
- Lime (CaCO₃) tolerance
- Medium
- Salinity tolerance
- None
- Fertility requirement
- Medium
- Minimum root depth
- 12 in
Climate
- Minimum temperature
- −43°F
- Estimated cold hardiness
- Zone 3a and warmer
- Minimum frost-free days
- 100
- Fire tolerance
- None
Flowers, leaves and fruit
- Flower color
- White
- Showy flowers
- No
- Bloom period
- Summer
- Foliage color
- Green
- Showy in fall
- No
- Keeps leaves
- No
- Fruit color
- White
Other
- Toxicity
- Severe
- Nitrogen fixation
- None
- Nursery availability
- No Known Source
- Family
- Apocynaceae
- PLANTS symbol
- APCA
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.
- Scope
- Apocynum cannabinum (PLANTS symbol APCA).
- 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