Natives by ZIP

Native plants recorded in your state and county

Native plants · State

Native plants of Montana

1,086 species are recorded as native to Montana in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS and recorded in the state by USDA PLANTS, 606 of them with growing traits. County lists cover 56 of the state’s 56 counties; the typical county has 161.

State summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

Montana at a glance

Native species statewide
1,086 Of 2,257 species Kew’s World Checklist records as native to Montana (before this site’s scope)
Garden-ready natives
606 With PLANTS growing records
Typical county
161 Median native species per county; 104 garden-ready
Share by type (all 1,086 native species)
Percent of the 1,086 native species in each growth type
Tree 7% (71)
Shrub 9% (98)
Wildflower (forb) 56% (609)
Grass or grass-like 23% (246)
Vine 2% (18)
Fern 4% (44)

Wildflowers: 609 · grasses and grass-like: 246 · trees: 71 · shrubs: 98 · vines: 18 · ferns: 44.

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

56 Montana counties with PLANTS county records
CountyNative speciesGarden-readyHardiness zones
Beaverhead County 279 194 4b–5a
Big Horn County 216 121 4b–5a
Blaine County 131 78 3b–4b
Broadwater County 117 73 4b–5a
Carbon County 260 170 5a
Carter County 214 111 4b
Cascade County 329 191 4a–4b
Chouteau County 152 92 4a–4b
Custer County 208 107 4a–4b
Daniels County 165 90 3b–4a
Dawson County 180 100 4a–4b
Deer Lodge County 71 51 4b–5a
Fallon County 141 80 4a–4b
Fergus County 240 138 4b
Flathead County 333 214 4b–6a
Gallatin County 487 301 4b–5a
Garfield County 131 79 4a–4b
Glacier County 247 165 4a–4b
Golden Valley County 98 56 4b
Granite County 124 89 5a–5b
Hill County 126 67 3b–4a
Jefferson County 156 104 4b–5a
Judith Basin County 140 89 4b
Lake County 195 128 5b–6a
Lewis and Clark County 256 161 4b–5a
Liberty County 48 29 4a
Lincoln County 157 115 5a–6a
Madison County 275 175 4b–5a
McCone County 152 86 4a
Meagher County 162 103 4b
Mineral County 94 66 5b–6a
Missoula County 290 189 5a–6a
Musselshell County 113 75 4b
Park County 283 182 4a–5a
Petroleum County 151 90 4b
Phillips County 461 240 3b–4b
Pondera County 71 54 4a–4b
Powder River County 193 115 4b–5a
Powell County 215 154 4b–5a
Prairie County 130 79 4a
Ravalli County 163 115 5a–5b
Richland County 158 92 4a
Roosevelt County 152 87 4a
Rosebud County 221 121 4a–5a
Sanders County 178 127 6a–6b
Sheridan County 212 113 3b–4a
Silver Bow County 117 79 4b–5a
Stillwater County 304 193 4b–5a
Sweet Grass County 159 106 4b–5a
Teton County 156 101 4a–4b
Toole County 82 51 4a
Treasure County 119 76 4b
Valley County 359 185 3b–4a
Wheatland County 115 71 4b
Wibaux County 152 82 4a
Yellowstone County 188 114 4b–5a

Garden-ready natives of Montana

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

Tree 66

Shrub 83

Wildflower (forb) 271

Grass or grass-like 171

Vine 6

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.

Look up a Montana 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
Montana: 1,086 native species in this site’s scope; county lists for 56 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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