Natives by ZIP

Native plants recorded in your state and county

Native plants · State

Native plants of Massachusetts

1,556 species are recorded as native to Massachusetts in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS and recorded in the state by USDA PLANTS, 564 of them with growing traits. County lists cover 14 of the state’s 14 counties; the typical county has 1,068.

State summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

Massachusetts at a glance

Native species statewide
1,556 Of 1,873 species Kew’s World Checklist records as native to Massachusetts (before this site’s scope)
Garden-ready natives
564 With PLANTS growing records
Typical county
1,068 Median native species per county; 413 garden-ready
Share by type (all 1,556 native species)
Percent of the 1,556 native species in each growth type
Tree 9% (138)
Shrub 6% (101)
Wildflower (forb) 52% (803)
Grass or grass-like 25% (390)
Vine 3% (41)
Fern 5% (83)

Wildflowers: 803 · grasses and grass-like: 390 · trees: 138 · shrubs: 101 · vines: 41 · ferns: 83.

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

14 Massachusetts counties with PLANTS county records
CountyNative speciesGarden-readyHardiness zones
Barnstable County 882 361 7a–7b
Berkshire County 1,145 447 5b–6a
Bristol County 967 398 6b–7a
Dukes County 693 291 7a–7b
Essex County 1,110 456 6a–7a
Franklin County 1,082 412 5b–6a
Hampden County 1,074 413 6a–6b
Hampshire County 1,113 432 5b–6a
Middlesex County 1,198 463 6a–7a
Nantucket County 695 294 7b
Norfolk County 1,061 435 6b–7a
Plymouth County 968 395 6b–7a
Suffolk County 862 367 6b–7a
Worcester County 1,089 422 5b–6b

Garden-ready natives of Massachusetts

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

Tree 109

Shrub 64

Wildflower (forb) 191

Grass or grass-like 176

Vine 14

Fern 10

Also listed as native and introduced here 7

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
  • climbing false buckwheatPolygonum scandens
  • common pepperweedLepidium densiflorum
  • common reedPhragmites australis
  • Kentucky bluegrassPoa pratensis
  • Robert geraniumGeranium robertianum
  • wood bluegrassPoa nemoralis

Look up a Massachusetts 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
Massachusetts: 1,556 native species in this site’s scope; county lists for 14 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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