How to find what plants are native to your area 🍃

The bulk of what you’ll find at the average garden center in the United States are plants that originated in Europe or Asia.

However, foreign plant species require more maintenance, water, and other resources than natives because they didn’t evolve in your climate.

Foreign vegetation also provides significantly less habitat for wildlife including pollinator species like bees and butterflies.

But how do you figure out what species are native to your area?

Several online resources can help you find the right plants for your location.

Keystone Plant Species by the National Wildlife Federation

The National Wildlife Federation partnered with entomologist, author, and native plant advocate Doug Tallamy to create the Native Plant Finder online tool.

Simply enter your zip code then choose between a list of flowers and grasses or trees and shrubs.

The list of species is sorted by the importance to wildlife in your area, or what’s called a “keystone plant.” These are species that support the most biodiversity in your region and are “key” to a healthy ecosystem.

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center through the University of Texas has a great online database of North American native plants.

It allows you to sort by state, plant type (shrub, herbaceous, fern, etc), lifespan, light requirements, soil moisture, bloom time, height, leaf arrangement, and leaf retention.

This provides the ability to find the right native species for the specific conditions of your yard and the aesthetic you want to create.

Each species has its own page of specifications about the plant, along with photos.

BONAP North American Plant Atlas

State distribution map of Hibiscus moscheutos - Crimson-Eye Rose-Mallow

The Biota of North America Program has a large database that includes maps of the native ranges of plant species.

Their website lets you search by species or by state/providence. It can be used as a tool to check the area that a plant is native to or to find species you’re not yet familiar with.

Search Engines

When in doubt, look it up! If you’re at the garden center and think, “I really like this plant, I wonder if it’s native to my area” then pull out your phone and do a quick search.

Simply searching “X plant species native range” should get you an answer pretty quickly.