Natives by ZIP

Native plants recorded in your state and county

Native plants · State

Native plants of North Carolina

1,920 species are recorded as native to North Carolina in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS and recorded in the state by USDA PLANTS, 654 of them with growing traits. County lists cover 100 of the state’s 100 counties; the typical county has 498.

State summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

North Carolina at a glance

Native species statewide
1,920 Of 2,990 species Kew’s World Checklist records as native to North Carolina (before this site’s scope)
Garden-ready natives
654 With PLANTS growing records
Typical county
498 Median native species per county; 208 garden-ready
Share by type (all 1,920 native species)
Percent of the 1,920 native species in each growth type
Tree 10% (198)
Shrub 6% (107)
Wildflower (forb) 52% (996)
Grass or grass-like 24% (453)
Vine 4% (80)
Fern 4% (86)

Wildflowers: 996 · grasses and grass-like: 453 · trees: 198 · shrubs: 107 · vines: 80 · ferns: 86.

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

100 North Carolina counties with PLANTS county records
CountyNative speciesGarden-readyHardiness zones
Alamance County 504 203 8a
Alexander County 421 170 8a
Alleghany County 496 197 7a
Anson County 481 212 8a
Ashe County 580 223 7a
Avery County 555 228 6b–7a
Beaufort County 529 234 8a–8b
Bertie County 471 218 8a
Bladen County 593 252 8a–8b
Brunswick County 669 303 8b
Buncombe County 665 248 7a–7b
Burke County 504 189 6b–8a
Cabarrus County 424 177 8a
Caldwell County 454 170 7b–8a
Camden County 130 66 8a–8b
Carteret County 443 198 8b–9a
Caswell County 423 180 7b
Catawba County 432 180 8a
Chatham County 652 278 7b–8a
Cherokee County 499 195 7a–7b
Chowan County 475 218 8a
Clay County 499 186 7b
Cleveland County 362 138 8a
Columbus County 461 209 8b
Craven County 573 261 8b
Cumberland County 606 262 8a–8b
Currituck County 302 152 8a–9a
Dare County 467 216 8b–9a
Davidson County 500 204 7b–8a
Davie County 380 160 7b
Duplin County 430 206 8a
Durham County 757 268 8a
Edgecombe County 415 194 8a
Forsyth County 660 238 7b–8a
Franklin County 483 206 8a
Gaston County 388 168 8a
Gates County 495 213 8a
Graham County 479 192 7a–7b
Granville County 646 253 7b–8a
Greene County 370 163 8a–8b
Guilford County 639 265 8a
Halifax County 449 203 8a
Harnett County 679 265 8a
Haywood County 743 287 7a
Henderson County 637 239 7a–7b
Hertford County 491 205 8a
Hoke County 404 164 8a
Hyde County 387 187 8b–9a
Iredell County 601 221 7b–8a
Jackson County 687 257 7a–7b
Johnston County 645 272 8a
Jones County 525 231 8a–8b
Lee County 728 303 8a
Lenoir County 398 191 8a–8b
Lincoln County 303 130 8a
Macon County 680 254 7a–7b
Madison County 627 234 7a
Martin County 494 209 8a
McDowell County 463 171 7a–7b
Mecklenburg County 503 188 8a
Mitchell County 585 222 7a
Montgomery County 489 197 8a
Moore County 572 235 8a
Nash County 518 217 8a
New Hanover County 512 229 8b
Northampton County 501 201 8a
Onslow County 566 256 8a–8b
Orange County 849 324 8a
Pamlico County 346 151 8b
Pasquotank County 309 163 8a
Pender County 564 247 8a–8b
Perquimans County 228 109 8a
Person County 449 198 7b
Pitt County 558 255 8a–8b
Polk County 532 188 7b–8a
Randolph County 541 217 8a
Richmond County 590 231 8a
Robeson County 566 246 8a–8b
Rockingham County 478 196 7b–8a
Rowan County 613 234 7b–8a
Rutherford County 311 103 7b–8a
Sampson County 435 206 8a–8b
Scotland County 444 180 8a
Stanly County 569 216 8a
Stokes County 616 246 7b
Surry County 478 196 7b
Swain County 735 307 7a–7b
Transylvania County 611 226 7a–7b
Tyrrell County 339 167 8b
Union County 450 183 8a
Vance County 409 173 7b
Wake County 871 331 8a
Warren County 485 180 7b–8a
Washington County 428 190 8a–8b
Watauga County 554 218 6b–7b
Wayne County 473 207 8a–8b
Wilkes County 417 158 7b
Wilson County 483 213 8a
Yadkin County 281 109 7b
Yancey County 557 217 7a

Garden-ready natives of North Carolina

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

Tree 166

Shrub 70

Wildflower (forb) 198

Grass or grass-like 185

Vine 25

Fern 10

Also listed as native and introduced here 6

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
  • common reedPhragmites australis
  • hedge false bindweedCalystegia sepium
  • Kentucky bluegrassPoa pratensis
  • Mexican teaDysphania ambrosioides
  • switchcaneArundinaria tecta

Look up a North Carolina 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
North Carolina: 1,920 native species in this site’s scope; county lists for 100 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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