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 on the first page, each naming its wild parent.

Showing 61 to 120 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.

Blue Wood Aster
Symphyotrichum cordifolium
Part shadeZones 3–83 ftModerate
Common Milkweed
Asclepias syriaca
Full sunZones 3–93.5 ftModerate
Listed as toxic to dogs and cats
Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
Full sunZones 3–93.5 ftModerate
Listed as toxic to dogs and cats
Narrowleaf Mountain Mint
Pycnanthemum tenuifolium
Full sunZones 4–82.5 ftModerate
Kentucky Coffeetree
Gymnocladus dioicus
Full sunZones 3–869 ftModerate
Listed as toxic to dogs and cats
Foliage
Marginal Wood Fern
Dryopteris marginalis
Part shadeZones 3–81.5 ftModerate
Soft Rush
Juncus effusus
Full sunZones 4–93 ftHigh
Bur Oak
Quercus macrocarpa
Full sunZones 3–870 ftModerate
Listed as toxic to dogs
Golden Ragwort
Packera aurea
Part shadeZones 3–81.5 ftModerate
Mapleleaf Viburnum
Viburnum acerifolium
Part shadeZones 3–84.5 ftModerate
Eastern Red Columbine
Aquilegia canadensis
Part shadeZones 3–82 ftModerate
Little Bluestem
Schizachyrium scoparium
Full sunZones 3–93.5 ftLow
New Jersey Tea
Ceanothus americanus
Full sunZones 4–83.5 ftModerate
American Alumroot
Heuchera americana
Part shadeZones 4–92 ftModerate
Garden Phlox
Phlox paniculata
Full sunZones 4–83.5 ftModerate
Virginia Bluebells
Mertensia virginica
Part shadeZones 3–81.5 ftModerate
Mountain Laurel
Kalmia latifolia
Part shadeZones 5–99 ftModerate
Listed as toxic to dogs and cats
Cardinal Flower
Lobelia cardinalis
Part sunZones 3–93.5 ftHigh
Listed as toxic to dogs and cats
Hollow Joe Pye Weed
Eutrochium fistulosum
Full sunZones 4–86 ftModerate
Swamp White Oak
Quercus bicolor
Full sunZones 4–855 ftModerate
Listed as toxic to dogs
Black Cohosh
Actaea racemosa
Part shadeZones 3–85 ftModerate
Listed as toxic to dogs and cats
Brown-Eyed Susan
Rudbeckia triloba
Full sunZones 4–83.5 ftModerate
Celandine Poppy
Chelidonium diphyllum
Part shadeZones 4–91.5 ftModerate
Common Sneezeweed
Helenium autumnale
Full sunZones 3–84 ftHigh
Foliage
Eastern Hemlock
Tsuga canadensis
Part shadeZones 3–749 ftModerate
Sweet Joe Pye Weed
Eutrochium purpureum
Full sunZones 4–96 ftModerate
Shrubby St. John's Wort
Hypericum prolificum
Full sunZones 4–83 ftModerate
Foxglove Beardtongue
Penstemon digitalis
Full sunZones 3–84 ftModerate
Goatsbeard
Aruncus dioicus
Part shadeZones 3–74 ftModerate
Indiangrass
Sorghastrum nutans
Full sunZones 4–96 ftModerate
Rosy Sedge
Carex rosea
Part shadeZones 4–812 inModerate
Silky Dogwood
Cornus amomum
Part shadeZones 4–88.5 ftModerate
Fragrant Sumac
Rhus aromatica
Full sunZones 3–94.5 ftLow
False Sunflower
Heliopsis
Full sunZones 3–94 ftModerate
Purple Lovegrass
Eragrostis spectabilis
Full sunZones 5–91.5 ftLow
Hardy Hibiscus
Hibiscus moscheutos
Full sunZones 5–94 ftHigh
Foliage
Cinnamon Fern
Osmundastrum cinnamomeum
Part shadeZones 3–93.5 ftHigh
New England Aster
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
Full sunZones 3–84 ftModerate
Pagoda Dogwood
Cornus alternifolia
Part shadeZones 3–720 ftModerate
Perennial Black-Eyed Susan
Rudbeckia fulgida
Full sunZones 3–92.5 ftModerate
Cucumbertree Magnolia
Magnolia acuminata
Full sunZones 4–865 ftModerate
Gray-Headed Coneflower
Ratibida pinnata
Full sunZones 3–84 ftModerate
Foliage
Eastern White Pine
Pinus strobus
Full sunZones 3–859 ftModerate
Eastern Star Sedge
Carex radiata
Part shadeZones 4–81.5 ftModerate
Blue Wood Sedge
Carex flaccosperma
Part shadeZones 5–88 inModerate
Pennsylvania Sedge
Carex pensylvanica
Part shadeZones 3–88 inLow
White Turtlehead
Chelone glabra
Part shadeZones 3–83 ftHigh
Foliage
Royal Fern
Osmunda regalis
Part shadeZones 3–94 ftHigh
Switchgrass
Panicum virgatum
Full sunZones 4–95 ftLow
Whorled Milkweed
Asclepias verticillata
Full sunZones 4–91.5 ftModerate
Listed as toxic to dogs and cats
American Wintergreen
Gaultheria procumbens
Part shadeZones 3–88 inModerate
Listed as toxic to cats
Culver's Root
Veronicastrum virginicum
Full sunZones 3–85 ftModerate
Foliage
Hay Scented Fern
Dennstaedtia punctilobula
Part shadeZones 3–82 ftModerate
Willow Oak
Quercus phellos
Full sunZones 5–957 ftModerate
Listed as toxic to dogs
Gray's Sedge
Carex grayi
Full sunZones 5–92.5 ftModerate
Redosier Dogwood
Cornus sericea
Full sunZones 3–78 ftModerate
Winterberry
Ilex verticillata
Full sunZones 3–96.5 ftHigh
Listed as toxic to dogs and cats
Arrowwood
Viburnum dentatum
Full sunZones 3–88 ftModerate
Southern Blue Flag
Iris virginica
Full sunZones 5–92.5 ftHigh
Listed as toxic to dogs and cats
Coral Honeysuckle
Lonicera sempervirens
Full sunZones 4–915 ftModerate

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