Natives by ZIP

Native plants recorded in your state and county

Native plants · State

Native plants of California

1,108 species are recorded as native to California in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS and recorded in the state by USDA PLANTS, 720 of them with growing traits. County lists cover 58 of the state’s 58 counties; the typical county has 333.

State summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

California at a glance

Native species statewide
1,108 Of 5,805 species Kew’s World Checklist records as native to California (before this site’s scope)
Garden-ready natives
720 With PLANTS growing records
Typical county
333 Median native species per county; 239 garden-ready
Share by type (all 1,108 native species)
Percent of the 1,108 native species in each growth type
Tree 10% (111)
Shrub 13% (140)
Wildflower (forb) 50% (559)
Grass or grass-like 23% (253)
Vine 1% (16)
Fern 3% (29)

Wildflowers: 559 · grasses and grass-like: 253 · trees: 111 · shrubs: 140 · vines: 16 · ferns: 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.

California spans very different climates; use the county lists rather than the statewide list to plan a garden.

Native plants by county

58 California counties with PLANTS county records
CountyNative speciesGarden-readyHardiness zones
Alameda County 255 178 9b–10b
Alpine County 338 251 6b
Amador County 234 185 9a–9b
Butte County 545 366 8b–9b
Calaveras County 224 168 8b–9b
Colusa County 264 194 9a–9b
Contra Costa County 266 183 9b–10a
Del Norte County 314 239 8a–9b
El Dorado County 438 324 6b–9b
Fresno County 478 332 5b–9b
Glenn County 324 230 9a–9b
Humboldt County 487 345 9a–9b
Imperial County 111 63 9b–10a
Inyo County 490 341 7a–9a
Kern County 431 298 8a–9b
Kings County 34 21 9a–9b
Lake County 356 256 8b–9b
Lassen County 467 332 6a–7a
Los Angeles County 359 253 7b–11a
Madera County 291 214 8b–9b
Marin County 328 218 9b–10a
Mariposa County 373 278 7a–9b
Mendocino County 467 330 9a–10a
Merced County 183 109 9a–9b
Modoc County 512 356 6b–7a
Mono County 493 340 6a–7a
Monterey County 332 221 8b–10b
Napa County 268 188 9a–9b
Nevada County 527 377 6b–9b
Orange County 216 133 10a–10b
Placer County 442 331 6b–9b
Plumas County 680 463 6b–8a
Riverside County 383 258 8a–10b
Sacramento County 190 117 9b
San Benito County 155 117 9a–9b
San Bernardino County 519 340 7a–10a
San Diego County 430 271 8a–11a
San Francisco County 234 149 10a–10b
San Joaquin County 178 106 9b
San Luis Obispo County 329 217 8b–10a
San Mateo County 256 174 9b–10a
Santa Barbara County 354 239 9a–10b
Santa Clara County 275 182 9b–10a
Santa Cruz County 277 192 9a–10a
Shasta County 547 391 7a–9b
Sierra County 333 254 6b–9a
Siskiyou County 603 435 6b–8b
Solano County 235 158 9b
Sonoma County 406 279 9a–10a
Stanislaus County 177 107 9b
Sutter County 107 75 9b
Tehama County 379 270 7a–9b
Trinity County 399 297 7b–9a
Tulare County 493 353 6b–9b
Tuolumne County 461 333 6a–9b
Ventura County 276 195 7b–10b
Yolo County 156 108 9a–9b
Yuba County 100 78 9a–9b

Garden-ready natives of California

Statewide list. A species native somewhere in California may not be native in your county: use the county lists above to narrow it.

Tree 107

Shrub 129

Wildflower (forb) 283

Grass or grass-like 184

Vine 10

Fern 7

Also listed as native and introduced here 11

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
  • beach strawberryFragaria chiloensis
  • biennial wormwoodArtemisia biennis
  • bride's feathersAruncus dioicus
  • common pepperweedLepidium densiflorum
  • common reedPhragmites australis
  • floating primrose-willowLudwigia peploides
  • hedge false bindweedCalystegia sepium
  • Kentucky bluegrassPoa pratensis
  • white sagebrushArtemisia ludoviciana
  • wood bluegrassPoa nemoralis

Look up a California 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.

Territories: Puerto Rico · U.S. Virgin Islands

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
California: 1,108 native species in this site’s scope; county lists for 58 counties.
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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