Native plants · Rhode Island
Native Plants of Rhode Island
A few of Rhode Island'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.
- 1,333 native plants recorded
- Records in 5 of 5 counties
- USDA hardiness zones 6b to 7a
Wildflowers
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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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Butterfly Milkweed
Asclepias tuberosa
Forb · Sun · to 2 ft · blooms May–September
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
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Canada Goldenrod
Solidago canadensis
Forb · Part Shade, Sun · to 6 ft · blooms September–November
Photo · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
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Canada Germander
Teucrium canadense
Forb · Part Shade · to 5 ft · blooms May–August
Photo: Joshua Mayer from Madison, WI, USA · CC BY-SA · Wikimedia Commons
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Broadleaf Cattail
Typha latifolia
Forb · Part Shade, Sun · to 10 ft · blooms April–June
Photo · CC0 · 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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American White Waterlily
Nymphaea odorata
Forb · Shade, Part Shade, Sun · blooms March–October
Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA · 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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False Indigo Bush
Amorpha fruticosa
Shrub or subshrub · Part Shade, Sun · to 12 ft · blooms April–June
Photo · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
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Coralberry
Symphoricarpos orbiculatus
Shrub or subshrub · Shade, Part Shade · to 6 ft · blooms April–July
Photo · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
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New Jersey Tea
Ceanothus americanus
Shrub or subshrub · Part Shade, Sun · to 5 ft · blooms March–August
Photo: Salicyna · CC BY-SA · Wikimedia Commons
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Striped Prince's Pine
Chimaphila maculata
Shrub or subshrub, Dwarf or creeping shrub · Shade · to 9 in · blooms June–August
Photo: Fritzflohrreynolds · 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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Striped Alder
Hamamelis virginiana
Shrub or subshrub, Tree · Shade, Part Shade · to 35 ft · blooms September–December
Photo · CC0 · 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
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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Woolgrass
Scirpus cyperinus
Grass or grass-like (graminoid) · Sun · to 6 ft · blooms June–September
Photo: Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz · 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 →