Native range

Native plants of Iowa

147 wild species and 17 plant groups in the BloomsEye library grow wild somewhere in Iowa, read from Kew's World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS. The 124 garden forms of them are listed apart on the first page, each naming its wild parent.

Showing 61 to 120 of 164 plants

How this list is made

Derived from each plant's native-range record, checked against Kew's World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS with every decision on a ledger; Iowa is read off the record's own range, and the order is how many of the state's counties record each plant, as stored in the BloomsEye library, which was written with AI assistance. Of these 164 plants, 152 have been checked against outside sources (1 fully verified); the rest have not been checked yet, and each plant's own page says which. The cards are AI-generated illustrations.

Range data from the World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 4.0, adapted) and USDA PLANTS. How the native range is credited.

Brown-Eyed Susan
Rudbeckia triloba
Full sunZones 4–83.5 ftModerate
Buttonbush
Cephalanthus occidentalis
Full sunZones 5–98.5 ftModerate
Common Pussy Willow
Salix discolor
Full sunZones 2–716 ftModerate
Virginia Creeper
Parthenocissus quinquefolia
Full sunZones 3–940 ftModerate
Listed as toxic to dogs and cats
Foliage
Wild Ginger
Asarum
Full shadeZones 4–86 inModerate
Listed as toxic to dogs and cats
Common Hackberry
Celtis occidentalis
Full sunZones 2–957 ftModerate
Long-Beaked Sedge
Carex sprengelii
Part shadeZones 3–72.5 ftModerate
Narrowleaf Mountain Mint
Pycnanthemum tenuifolium
Full sunZones 4–82.5 ftModerate
Quaking Aspen
Populus tremuloides
Full sunZones 1–645 ftModerate
Foliage
Eastern Red Cedar
Juniperus virginiana
Full sunZones 2–945 ftModerate
Zigzag Goldenrod
Solidago flexicaulis
Part shadeZones 3–82.5 ftModerate
Downy Serviceberry
Amelanchier arborea
Part sunZones 4–920 ftModerate
Gray's Sedge
Carex grayi
Full sunZones 5–92.5 ftModerate
Redosier Dogwood
Cornus sericea
Full sunZones 3–78 ftModerate
Buffalograss
Bouteloua dactyloides
Full sunZones 4–88 inLow
Eastern Redbud
Cercis canadensis
Part sunZones 4–923 ftModerate
Mayapple
Podophyllum peltatum
Part shadeZones 3–81.5 ftModerate
Listed as toxic to dogs and cats
Southern Blue Flag
Iris virginica
Full sunZones 5–92.5 ftHigh
Listed as toxic to dogs and cats
Spotted Joe Pye Weed
Eutrochium maculatum
Full sunZones 4–85.5 ftModerate
Wild Geranium
Geranium maculatum
Part shadeZones 3–81.5 ftModerate
Golden Currant
Ribes aureum
Part shadeZones 3–76 ftModerate
Purple Poppy Mallow
Callirhoe involucrata
Full sunZones 4–88 inModerate
Showy Milkweed
Asclepias speciosa
Full sunZones 3–93 ftModerate
Bristleleaf Sedge
Carex eburnea
Part shadeZones 2–88 inModerate
Creeping Jacob's Ladder
Polemonium reptans
Part shadeZones 3–81.5 ftModerate
Foliage
Marginal Wood Fern
Dryopteris marginalis
Part shadeZones 3–81.5 ftModerate
Foliage
River Birch
Betula nigra
Full sunZones 4–949 ftHigh
American Cranberrybush Viburnum
Viburnum opulus var. americanum
Full sunZones 2–710 ftModerate
Common Pawpaw
Asimina triloba
Full sunZones 5–817 ftModerate
Ninebark
Physocarpus opulifolius
Full sunZones 3–76.5 ftModerate
Pin Oak
Quercus palustris
Full sunZones 4–860 ftModerate
Listed as toxic to dogs
Anise Hyssop
Agastache
Full sunZones 5–93 ftLow
Blackhaw
Viburnum prunifolium
Full sunZones 3–913 ftModerate
Blue Indigo
Baptisia australis
Full sunZones 3–93.5 ftModerate
Listed as toxic to cats
Cardinal Flower
Lobelia cardinalis
Part sunZones 3–93.5 ftHigh
Listed as toxic to dogs and cats
Carolina Rose
Rosa carolina
Full sunZones 4–93.5 ftModerate
Coral Honeysuckle
Lonicera sempervirens
Full sunZones 4–915 ftModerate
Flava (Yellow Trumpet)
Campsis radicans f. flava
Full sunZones 4–926 ftModerate
Foxglove Beardtongue
Penstemon digitalis
Full sunZones 3–84 ftModerate
Fragrant Sumac
Rhus aromatica
Full sunZones 3–94.5 ftLow
Garden Phlox
Phlox paniculata
Full sunZones 4–83.5 ftModerate
Red Elderberry
Sambucus racemosa
Full sunZones 3–710 ftModerate
Listed as toxic to dogs and cats
Foliage
Sugar Maple
Acer saccharum
Full sunZones 3–859 ftModerate
Trumpet Vine
Campsis radicans
Full sunZones 4–926 ftModerate
White-Tinged Sedge
Carex albicans
Part shadeZones 4–81.5 ftModerate
Allegheny Serviceberry
Amelanchier laevis
Part shadeZones 4–825 ftModerate
American Hornbeam
Carpinus caroliniana
Part shadeZones 3–925 ftModerate
Arrowwood
Viburnum dentatum
Full sunZones 3–88 ftModerate
Big Bluestem
Andropogon gerardi
Full sunZones 4–96 ftLow
Black Chokeberry
Aronia melanocarpa
Full sunZones 3–85 ftModerate
Bunchberry
Cornus canadensis
Part shadeZones 2–68 inModerate
Foliage
Cinnamon Fern
Osmundastrum cinnamomeum
Part shadeZones 3–93.5 ftHigh
Common Persimmon
Diospyros virginiana
Full sunZones 4–935 ftModerate
Common Snowberry
Symphoricarpos albus
Full sunZones 3–74.5 ftModerate
Common Witch Hazel
Hamamelis virginiana
Full sunZones 3–817 ftModerate
Creeping Phlox
Phlox subulata
Full sunZones 3–96 inLow
Dwarf Crested Iris
Iris cristata
Part shadeZones 4–88 inModerate
Listed as toxic to dogs and cats
Eastern Star Sedge
Carex radiata
Part shadeZones 4–81.5 ftModerate
Foliage
Eastern White Pine
Pinus strobus
Full sunZones 3–859 ftModerate
Foxglove Penstemon
Penstemon cobaea
Full sunZones 5–81.5 ftLow

Keep exploring

Design your garden

Drop plants onto a 3D plan, see how they fill in, and watch the whole garden bloom across the year.

Open BloomsEye Studio →