Native plants · North Carolina
Native Plants of North Carolina
A few of North Carolina's best garden natives. Choose any of them to see where it grows and what it needs, or open the Native Plant Finder and enter your ZIP code for the plants recorded in your county.
- 3,085 native plants recorded
- Records in 100 of 100 counties
- USDA hardiness zones 6b to 9a
Wildflowers
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Butterfly Milkweed
Asclepias tuberosa
Forb · Sun · to 2 ft · blooms May–September
Photo · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
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Lyreleaf Sage
Salvia lyrata
Forb · Shade, Part Shade, Sun · to 2 ft · blooms March–June
Photo: sonnia hill · CC BY · Wikimedia Commons
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Purple Passionflower
Passiflora incarnata
Forb · Part Shade, Sun · to 25 ft · blooms March–November
Photo · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
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Wild Red Columbine
Aquilegia canadensis
Forb · Shade, Part Shade · to 3 ft · blooms February–July
Photo: Paulparadis · CC BY-SA · Wikimedia Commons
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Blackeyed Susan
Rudbeckia hirta
Forb · Sun · to 3 ft · blooms June–October
Photo · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
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Fringed Bluestar
Amsonia ciliata
Forb · Part Shade · to 2 ft · blooms March–June
Photo: Krzysztof Golik · CC BY-SA · Wikimedia Commons
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Dwarf Crested Iris
Iris cristata
Forb · Shade, Part Shade · to 1.25 ft · blooms March–May
Photo: Eric Hunt · CC BY-SA · Wikimedia Commons
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Tall Thimbleweed
Anemone virginiana
Forb · Part Shade, Sun · to 3 ft · blooms May–July
Photo · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
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Common Yarrow
Achillea millefolium
Forb · Part Shade, Sun · to 3 ft · blooms April–September
Photo · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Shrubs
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Mapleleaf Viburnum
Viburnum acerifolium
Shrub or subshrub · Shade, Part Shade, Sun · to 6 ft · blooms April–August
Photo: Katja Schulz from Washington, D. C., USA · CC BY · Wikimedia Commons
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Coastal Sweet Pepper
Clethra alnifolia
Shrub or subshrub · Shade, Part Shade, Sun · to 12 ft · blooms July–August
Photo: Leonora (Ellie) Enking from East Preston, United Kingdom · CC BY-SA · Wikimedia Commons
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Evening Trumpetflower
Gelsemium sempervirens
Shrub or subshrub · Part Shade, Sun · to 20 ft · blooms January–December
Photo: Jim Evans · CC BY-SA · Wikimedia Commons
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Virginia Sweetspire
Itea virginica
Shrub or subshrub · Part Shade · to 10 ft · blooms April–June
Photo: Salicyna · CC BY-SA · Wikimedia Commons
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Devil's-tongue
Opuntia humifusa
Shrub or subshrub, Succulent · Sun · to 1.5 ft · blooms May–July
Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA · Wikimedia Commons
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Showy Eveningprimrose
Oenothera speciosa
Shrub or subshrub, Forb · Sun · to 2 ft · blooms February–July
Photo: Andrea Bonifazi · CC BY-SA · Wikimedia Commons
Trees
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Red Maple
Acer rubrum
Tree · Part Shade, Sun · to 100 ft · blooms March–April
Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA · Wikimedia Commons
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Black Cherry
Prunus serotina
Shrub or subshrub, Tree · Shade, Part Shade, Sun · to 110 ft · blooms March–June
Photo · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
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Flowering Dogwood
Cornus florida
Shrub or subshrub, Tree · Shade, Part Shade · to 65 ft · blooms February–June
Photo: Joanna Boisse · CC BY-SA · Wikimedia Commons
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Common Buttonbush
Cephalanthus occidentalis
Shrub or subshrub, Tree · Shade, Part Shade · to 12 ft · blooms June–September
Photo: smallcurio from Austin, TX · CC BY · Wikimedia Commons
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Striped Alder
Hamamelis virginiana
Shrub or subshrub, Tree · Shade, Part Shade · to 35 ft · blooms September–December
Photo · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Grasses and sedges
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Switchgrass
Panicum virgatum
Grass or grass-like (graminoid) · Part Shade, Sun · to 10 ft · blooms August–November
Photo: Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA · CC BY-SA · Wikimedia Commons
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Little Bluestem
Schizachyrium scoparium
Grass or grass-like (graminoid) · Part Shade, Sun · to 7 ft · blooms June–December
Photo: Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA · CC BY-SA · Wikimedia Commons
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Eastern Gamagrass
Tripsacum dactyloides
Grass or grass-like (graminoid) · Part Shade · to 12 ft · blooms April–June
Photo: Judy Gallagher · CC BY · Wikimedia Commons
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Splitbeard Bluestem
Andropogon ternarius
Grass or grass-like (graminoid) · Part Shade, Sun · to 4 ft · blooms August–November
Photo: DouglasGoldman · CC BY-SA · Wikimedia Commons
Plant records as of 2026-09-30.
About this data
“Native” means the USDA lists the plant as native to the region, and it has been recorded in this state. Records come from USDA PLANTS county and state data.
Why some counties look empty. A county with few or no records usually hasn't been surveyed much — it doesn't mean few plants grow there. Try a neighboring county or the whole state.
Rare plants. County locations of rare and at-risk plants are withheld, and they are never featured here, to protect them.
Safety. Hazard data is incomplete. Check a plant's safety notes in the tool before planting where children or pets play.
Data: USDA PLANTS · U.S. Census Bureau · Powered by Flora API →