Native range
Native plants of Kentucky
182 wild species and 19 plant groups in the BloomsEye library grow wild somewhere in Kentucky, read from Kew's World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS. The 154 garden forms of them are listed apart below, each naming its wild parent.
Showing 1 to 60 of 201 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; Kentucky 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 201 plants, 188 have been checked against outside sources (2 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.
American Elderberry
Sambucus canadensis
Full sunZones 3–98.5 ftModerate
Listed as toxic to dogs and cats
FoliageSugar Maple
Acer saccharum
Full sunZones 3–859 ftModerate
White Oak
Quercus alba
Full sunZones 3–965 ftModerate
Listed as toxic to dogs
Flowering Dogwood
Cornus florida
Part shadeZones 5–923 ftModerate
Northern Red Oak
Quercus rubra
Full sunZones 3–863 ftModerate
Listed as toxic to dogs
Common Persimmon
Diospyros virginiana
Full sunZones 4–935 ftModerate
Eastern Redbud
Cercis canadensis
Part sunZones 4–923 ftModerate
Silver Maple
Acer saccharinum
Full sunZones 3–939 ftModerate
Spicebush
Lindera benzoin
Part shadeZones 4–99.5 ftModerate
Black Gum
Nyssa sylvatica
Full sunZones 4–940 ftModerate
FoliageChristmas Fern
Polystichum acrostichoides
Full shadeZones 3–91.5 ftModerate
Common Pawpaw
Asimina triloba
Full sunZones 5–817 ftModerate
Smooth Hydrangea
Hydrangea arborescens
Part shadeZones 3–94 ftModerate
Listed as toxic to dogs and cats
Tulip Tree
Liriodendron tulipifera
Full sunZones 4–966 ftModerate
American Hazelnut
Corylus americana
Full sunZones 4–910 ftModerate
False Solomon's Seal
Maianthemum racemosum
Part shadeZones 3–82.5 ftModerate
Virginia Creeper
Parthenocissus quinquefolia
Full sunZones 3–940 ftModerate
Listed as toxic to dogs and cats
Blackhaw
Viburnum prunifolium
Full sunZones 3–913 ftModerate
FoliageEastern Red Cedar
Juniperus virginiana
Full sunZones 2–945 ftModerate
FoliageWild Ginger
Asarum
Full shadeZones 4–86 inModerate
Listed as toxic to dogs and cats
American Hornbeam
Carpinus caroliniana
Part shadeZones 3–925 ftModerate
Sweetgum
Liquidambar styraciflua
Full sunZones 5–969 ftModerate
Common Hackberry
Celtis occidentalis
Full sunZones 2–957 ftModerate
FoliageHoneylocust
Gleditsia triacanthos
Full sunZones 3–949 ftModerate
Chinkapin Oak
Quercus muehlenbergii
Full sunZones 5–750 ftModerate
Woodland Phlox
Phlox divaricata
Part shadeZones 3–812 inModerate
Flava (Yellow Trumpet)
Campsis radicans f. flava
Full sunZones 4–926 ftModerate
Trumpet Vine
Campsis radicans
Full sunZones 4–926 ftModerate
Downy Serviceberry
Amelanchier arborea
Part sunZones 4–920 ftModerate
Smooth Solomon's Seal
Polygonatum biflorum
Part shadeZones 3–83.5 ftModerate
Listed as toxic to dogs
Buttonbush
Cephalanthus occidentalis
Full sunZones 5–98.5 ftModerate
FoliageRed Maple
Acer rubrum
Full sunZones 3–949 ftModerate
Smooth Sumac
Rhus glabra
Full sunZones 3–912 ftModerate
FoliageMaidenhair Fern
Adiantum
Full shadeZones 3–81.5 ftHigh
American Linden
Tilia americana
Full sunZones 3–870 ftModerate
Blue Mistflower
Conoclinium coelestinum
Part shadeZones 5–102 ftModerate
Common Black-Eyed Susan
Rudbeckia hirta
Full sunZones 3–92.5 ftModerate
American Hophornbeam
Ostrya virginiana
Part shadeZones 3–932 ftModerate
Carolina Rose
Rosa carolina
Full sunZones 4–93.5 ftModerate
Crossvine
Bignonia capreolata
Full sunZones 5–943 ftModerate
Wild Geranium
Geranium maculatum
Part shadeZones 3–81.5 ftModerate
Butterfly Weed
Asclepias tuberosa
Full sunZones 3–92 ftLow
Listed as toxic to dogs and cats
FoliageRiver Birch
Betula nigra
Full sunZones 4–949 ftHigh
Woodland Stonecrop
Sedum ternatum
Part shadeZones 4–88 inModerate
Listed as toxic to dogs and cats
Wild Bee Balm
Monarda fistulosa
Full sunZones 3–93 ftModerate
Common Witch Hazel
Hamamelis virginiana
Full sunZones 3–817 ftModerate
Mayapple
Podophyllum peltatum
Part shadeZones 3–81.5 ftModerate
Listed as toxic to dogs and cats
Creeping Jacob's Ladder
Polemonium reptans
Part shadeZones 3–81.5 ftModerate
American Holly
Ilex opaca
Full sunZones 5–935 ftModerate
Listed as toxic to dogs and cats
Blue-Stemmed Goldenrod
Solidago caesia
Part shadeZones 4–82.5 ftModerate
Bottlebrush Grass
Elymus hystrix
Part shadeZones 5–93 ftModerate
FoliageLady Fern
Athyrium filix-femina
Part shadeZones 4–82.5 ftModerate
FoliageSensitive Fern
Onoclea sensibilis
Part shadeZones 4–83.5 ftModerate
Dwarf Crested Iris
Iris cristata
Part shadeZones 4–88 inModerate
Listed as toxic to dogs and cats
Northern Sea Oats
Chasmanthium latifolium
Part shadeZones 3–83.5 ftModerate
Great Blue Lobelia
Lobelia siphilitica
Part shadeZones 4–92.5 ftHigh
Listed as toxic to dogs and cats
Pin Oak
Quercus palustris
Full sunZones 4–860 ftModerate
Listed as toxic to dogs
Roundleaf Ragwort
Packera obovata
Part shadeZones 3–81.5 ftModerate
White-Tinged Sedge
Carex albicans
Part shadeZones 4–81.5 ftModerate
Zigzag Goldenrod
Solidago flexicaulis
Part shadeZones 3–82.5 ftModerate
Recorded across Kentucky
How many of the state's 120 counties record each wild species growing wild, from USDA PLANTS: a plant recorded in many counties is widespread in Kentucky; one recorded in few may be local, or simply under-recorded. A county's absence is not evidence a plant is absent. 179 of the wild species carry a county record here.
- American Elderberry
- Sugar Maple
- White Oak
- Flowering Dogwood
- Northern Red Oak
- Common Persimmon
- Eastern Redbud
- Silver Maple
- Spicebush
- Black Gum
- Christmas Fern
- Common Pawpaw
- Smooth Hydrangea
- Tulip Tree
- American Hazelnut
- False Solomon's Seal
- Virginia Creeper
- Blackhaw
- Eastern Red Cedar
- Wild Ginger
- American Hornbeam
- Sweetgum
- Common Hackberry
- Honeylocust
- Chinkapin Oak
- Woodland Phlox
- Flava (Yellow Trumpet)
- Trumpet Vine
- Downy Serviceberry
- Smooth Solomon's Seal
- Buttonbush
- Red Maple
- Smooth Sumac
- Maidenhair Fern
- American Linden
- Blue Mistflower
- Common Black-Eyed Susan
- American Hophornbeam
- Carolina Rose
- Crossvine
- Wild Geranium
- Butterfly Weed
- River Birch
- Woodland Stonecrop
- Wild Bee Balm
- Common Witch Hazel
- Mayapple
- Creeping Jacob's Ladder
- American Holly
- Blue-Stemmed Goldenrod
- Bottlebrush Grass
- Lady Fern
- Sensitive Fern
- Dwarf Crested Iris
- Northern Sea Oats
- Great Blue Lobelia
- Pin Oak
- Roundleaf Ragwort
- White-Tinged Sedge
- Zigzag Goldenrod
- Blue Wood Aster
- Common Milkweed
- Swamp Milkweed
- Narrowleaf Mountain Mint
- Kentucky Coffeetree
- Marginal Wood Fern
- Soft Rush
- Bur Oak
- Golden Ragwort
- Mapleleaf Viburnum
- Eastern Red Columbine
- Little Bluestem
- New Jersey Tea
- American Alumroot
- Garden Phlox
- Virginia Bluebells
- Mountain Laurel
- Cardinal Flower
- Hollow Joe Pye Weed
- Swamp White Oak
- Black Cohosh
- Brown-Eyed Susan
- Celandine Poppy
- Common Sneezeweed
- Eastern Hemlock
- Sweet Joe Pye Weed
- Shrubby St. John's Wort
- Foxglove Beardtongue
- Goatsbeard
- Indiangrass
- Rosy Sedge
- Silky Dogwood
- Fragrant Sumac
- False Sunflower
- Purple Lovegrass
- Hardy Hibiscus
- Cinnamon Fern
- New England Aster
- Pagoda Dogwood
- Perennial Black-Eyed Susan
- Cucumbertree Magnolia
- Gray-Headed Coneflower
- Eastern White Pine
- Eastern Star Sedge
- Blue Wood Sedge
- Pennsylvania Sedge
- White Turtlehead
- Royal Fern
- Switchgrass
- Whorled Milkweed
- American Wintergreen
- Culver's Root
- Hay Scented Fern
- Willow Oak
- Gray's Sedge
- Redosier Dogwood
- Winterberry
- Arrowwood
- Southern Blue Flag
- Coral Honeysuckle
- Ninebark
- Rosebay Rhododendron
- White Fringetree
- Nodding Onion
- Seersucker Sedge
- White Wood Aster
- Bald Cypress
- Golden Alexanders
- Allegheny Spurge
- Black Chokeberry
- Virginia Sweetspire
- Possumhaw Holly
- Aromatic Aster
- Dense Blazing Star
- Staghorn Sumac
- Indian Pink
- Smooth Blue Aster
- Swamp Sunflower
- Blue Indigo
- Dutchman's Pipe
- Possumhaw Viburnum
- Purple Coneflower
- Eastern Bluestar
- Pinxterbloom Azalea
- Rattlesnake Master
- Texas Sedge
- Pink Muhly Grass
- Brome-Like Sedge
- Allegheny Serviceberry
- Appalachian Sedge
- Creeping Phlox
- Red Buckeye
- Sideoats Grama
- Bristleleaf Sedge
- Chokecherry
- Palm Sedge
- Carolina Allspice
- Red Chokeberry
- Creeping Woodland Phlox
- Stiff Goldenrod
- Canby's Mountain Lover
- Mountain Stewartia
- New York Ironweed
- Common Pussy Willow
- Purple Prairie Clover
- Arborvitae
- Clustered Mountain Mint
- Spotted Joe Pye Weed
- Common Snowberry
- Prairie Dropseed Grass
- Tufted Hairgrass
- Cherokee Sedge
- Prairie Blazing Star
- Red Elderberry
- Carolina Lupine
- Green and Gold
- Nannyberry Viburnum
- Prairie Junegrass
- Queen of the Prairie
Garden forms of Kentucky natives
154 garden forms, each a named selection of a species that grows wild in Kentucky and each naming its wild parent. A garden form is not the wild plant, so it is listed here and never counted above.
- Alba Gayfeather
- Alma Pötschke
- Alpine Carpet Juniper
- Amazing Grace
- Amber Jubilee
- Amethyst Falls Wisteria
- Annabelle
- Appalachian Red
- Aquavita Juniper
- Arctic Fire Red Twig Dogwood
- Arctic Fire Yellow Dogwood
- Athena Gold False Sunflower
- Autumn Bride Coral Bells
- Autumn Colors
- Baby Joe Dwarf Joe Pye Weed
- Balmy Purple
- Berry Heavy
- Berry Poppins
- Berry Scape Aronia
- Blackhawks Big Bluestem
- Blackjack Gold Black-Eyed Susan
- Blaze
- Blue Blaze Viburnum
- Blue Moon Wisteria
- Blue Moon Woodland Phlox
- Blue Muffin Viburnum
- Blue Paradise
- Brandywine Viburnum
- Bridesmaid Mountain Laurel
- Bright Eyes
- Bronze Wave Coral Bells
- Bubblegum Pink Garden Phlox
- Bunny Blue Sedge
- Candy Stripe
- Caramel
- Carol Mountain Laurel
- Carousel Mountain Laurel
- Cheer Drops Arborvitae
- Cherokee Brave
- Cherokee Chief
- Cherokee Princess
- Cherry Berries Wintergreen
- Cherry Brandy
- Citronelle
- Claire Grace
- Cloud Nine
- Coconut Lime
- Columnar White Pine
- Coppertina
- Coral Flame
- Crème Brûlée
- Crimson Comet Buttonbush
- Crimson Trumpet
- Dakota Burgundy Beardtongue
- Danica
- David
- DeGroot's Spire
- Denver Daisy
- Deschampsia Goldtau Grass
- Designer Threads Golden Needles Coreopsis
- Designer Threads Heartstrings Coreopsis
- Designer Threads Scarlet Ribbons Coreopsis
- Diabolo
- DreamScape Hydrangea
- Dressed To Thrill Crossvine
- Drummond's Pink
- Dwarf White Pine
- Early Sunrise
- Elf Mountain Laurel
- Emerald Blue
- Emerald Green
- Emerald Pink
- Eye Candy Moss Phlox
- Eye Shadow Moss Phlox
- Falling Waters
- Fire Chief
- Fireworks Goldenrod
- Flame Thrower
- Forest Pansy
- Gentsch White
- Golden Globe
- Goldilocks
- Goldsturm
- Grand Marshall
- Green Jewel
- Gro-Low Fragrant Sumac
- Hearts of Gold
- Heavy Metal
- Henry's Garnet Sweetspire
- Holmstrup
- Incrediball Hydrangea
- Indian Summer
- Invincibelle Spirit II Hydrangea
- Jeana
- Jeddeloh Hemlock
- Laura
- Lavender Twist
- Lemony Lace Elderberry
- Little Devil
- Little Henry Sweetspire
- Luminary Ultraviolet
- Luna Pink Swirl
- Luna White
- Magnus
- Major Wheeler
- Moonbeam
- New England Aster 'Barr's Pink'
- New England Aster 'Harrington's Pink'
- Nicky
- Northwind
- Nugget
- October Skies
- Orange Perfection
- Pardon My Purple
- Peve Minaret
- Pink Double Delight
- PowWow Wild Berry
- Prairie Sun
- Purple Beauty
- Purple Dome
- Purple Phlox
- Purple Rooster
- Raydon's Favorite
- Red Sprite
- Red Wings
- Rheingold
- River Mist
- Robert Poore
- Route 66
- Royal White Redbud
- Ruby Falls
- Sarah Mountain Laurel
- Scarlet Flame
- Shawnee Brave
- Shenandoah
- Sienna Sunset
- Starfire
- Sugar Buzz Cherry Pops
- Sugar Shack Buttonbush
- Summer Wine
- Techny
- The Rising Sun
- Tiger Eyes Sumac
- Tiny Wine
- Toto Gold
- Twilight Zone
- Weeping Hemlock
- Weeping White Pine
- White Delight
- White Flame
- White Swan
- Winter Gold
- Winter Red
- Zagreb
Plant groups native to Kentucky
19 plant groups sold under one name whose wild species grow in Kentucky; the count beside each is how many of its wild species the record finds in the state.
Keep exploring
Native to your own county
This page is the whole state. In the free garden planner, enter your ZIP and Garden Check lists these same plants for your location, marks the ones recorded growing wild in your county, and places any of them in your plan; its Browse tab answers for any of the 65 states, provinces and territories with no account.
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