Natives by ZIP

Native plants recorded in your state and county

Native plants · State

Native plants of Kentucky

1,719 species are recorded as native to Kentucky in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS and recorded in the state by USDA PLANTS, 568 of them with growing traits. County lists cover 120 of the state’s 120 counties; the typical county has 426.

State summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

Kentucky at a glance

Native species statewide
1,719 Of 2,137 species Kew’s World Checklist records as native to Kentucky (before this site’s scope)
Garden-ready natives
568 With PLANTS growing records
Typical county
426 Median native species per county; 190 garden-ready
Share by type (all 1,719 native species)
Percent of the 1,719 native species in each growth type
Tree 11% (181)
Shrub 4% (73)
Wildflower (forb) 54% (931)
Grass or grass-like 22% (376)
Vine 5% (85)
Fern 4% (73)

Wildflowers: 931 · grasses and grass-like: 376 · trees: 181 · shrubs: 73 · vines: 85 · ferns: 73.

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.

Native plants by county

120 Kentucky counties with PLANTS county records
CountyNative speciesGarden-readyHardiness zones
Adair County 413 211 7a
Allen County 241 112 7a
Anderson County 444 168 6b
Ballard County 464 244 7a
Barren County 573 212 7a
Bath County 663 279 6b
Bell County 750 285 7a–7b
Boone County 411 193 6b
Bourbon County 235 114 6b
Boyd County 204 121 6b–7a
Boyle County 306 139 7a
Bracken County 320 186 6b
Breathitt County 367 148 7a
Breckinridge County 411 152 6b–7a
Bullitt County 683 268 7a
Butler County 239 127 7a
Caldwell County 453 186 7a
Calloway County 862 344 7b
Campbell County 595 249 6b
Carlisle County 472 212 7a
Carroll County 218 120 6b
Carter County 681 259 6b
Casey County 528 246 7a
Christian County 433 172 7a
Clark County 601 245 6b
Clay County 347 148 6b–7a
Clinton County 393 203 7a
Crittenden County 467 182 7a
Cumberland County 233 127 6b–7a
Daviess County 228 136 7a
Edmonson County 817 292 7a
Elliott County 365 152 6b
Estill County 672 267 6b–7a
Fayette County 669 261 7a
Fleming County 570 243 6b
Floyd County 380 171 7a
Franklin County 578 250 6b
Fulton County 467 236 7b
Gallatin County 266 156 6b
Garrard County 514 210 7a
Grant County 198 90 6b
Graves County 428 210 7a–7b
Grayson County 384 150 7a
Green County 208 114 7a
Greenup County 423 189 6b–7a
Hancock County 149 77 7a
Hardin County 861 327 7a
Harlan County 620 237 6b–7a
Harrison County 209 115 6b
Hart County 546 209 7a
Henderson County 380 200 7a
Henry County 440 188 6b
Hickman County 625 281 7a–7b
Hopkins County 340 185 7a
Jackson County 586 260 6b–7a
Jefferson County 888 349 7a
Jessamine County 598 230 7a
Johnson County 307 145 6b–7a
Kenton County 503 225 6b
Knott County 186 107 7a
Knox County 301 139 7a
Larue County 336 135 7a
Laurel County 776 304 7a
Lawrence County 230 122 6b–7a
Lee County 451 194 6b–7a
Leslie County 280 134 7a
Letcher County 629 243 6b–7a
Lewis County 704 287 6b
Lincoln County 502 220 7a
Livingston County 418 172 7a
Logan County 370 153 7a
Lyon County 572 245 7a
Madison County 891 341 6b–7a
Magoffin County 201 111 7a
Marion County 344 154 7a
Marshall County 557 243 7a–7b
Martin County 155 77 7a
Mason County 240 130 6b
McCracken County 544 239 7a
McCreary County 952 338 7a
McLean County 531 236 7a
Meade County 573 227 7a
Menifee County 608 253 7a
Mercer County 381 151 7a
Metcalfe County 341 151 7a
Monroe County 219 123 7a
Montgomery County 545 235 6b
Morgan County 291 143 6b–7a
Muhlenberg County 349 194 7a
Nelson County 497 200 6b–7a
Nicholas County 234 113 6b
Ohio County 339 174 7a
Oldham County 616 259 6b–7a
Owen County 384 163 6b
Owsley County 202 115 6b–7a
Pendleton County 350 175 6b
Perry County 307 148 7a
Pike County 475 212 7a
Powell County 826 319 6b–7a
Pulaski County 828 306 7a
Robertson County 273 129 6b
Rockcastle County 744 301 7a
Rowan County 966 358 6b
Russell County 254 120 7a
Scott County 200 108 6b
Shelby County 167 94 6b
Simpson County 162 86 7a
Spencer County 260 129 6b–7a
Taylor County 212 111 7a
Todd County 495 198 7a
Trigg County 611 273 7a
Trimble County 214 104 6b
Union County 411 188 7a
Warren County 742 290 7a
Washington County 124 66 7a
Wayne County 460 192 7a
Webster County 170 92 7a
Whitley County 688 265 7a
Wolfe County 515 208 7a
Woodford County 438 191 6b–7a

Garden-ready natives of Kentucky

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

Tree 144

Shrub 43

Wildflower (forb) 187

Grass or grass-like 162

Vine 23

Fern 9

Also listed as native and introduced here 8

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
  • bride's feathersAruncus dioicus
  • common pepperweedLepidium densiflorum
  • common reedPhragmites australis
  • hedge false bindweedCalystegia sepium
  • Kentucky bluegrassPoa pratensis
  • toothed spurgeEuphorbia dentata
  • white sagebrushArtemisia ludoviciana

Look up a Kentucky 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
Kentucky: 1,719 native species in this site’s scope; county lists for 120 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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