Kentucky native plants
Kentucky ranges from the Appalachian coalfields through the Bluegrass's limestone soil to the western coalfields and the Mississippi bottoms. Limestone means sweeter soil than most of the East, and the state's natives include a distinctive calcium-loving flora alongside the usual eastern woodland species.
Bedfellow lists 715 of these.
The 30 most-observed are listed here — see all 715 in search.
- Red Maple (Acer rubrum)
- Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)
- Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)
- Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum)
- Pin Oak (Quercus palustris)
- Sweet Gum (Liquidambar styraciflua)
- Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos)
- Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
- Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)
- Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides)
- Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica)
- False Solomon's Seal (Maianthemum racemosum)
- Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera)
- Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)
- American Beech (Fagus grandifolia)
- Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus)
- Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana)
- Sensitive Fern (Onoclea sensibilis)
- Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum)
- Partridgeberry (Mitchella repens)
- American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana)
- Boxelder (Acer negundo)
- Green Ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica)
- Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)
- Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
- Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
- Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum)
- Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
- American Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)
- Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra)
Browse by what you want the plants to do
- Native plants for pollinators
- Native plants for butterflies
- Caterpillar host plants
- Milkweeds: monarch host plants
- Native plants for hummingbirds
- Native plants for birds
- Native plants for rain gardens
- Native groundcover plants
- Native plants for erosion control
- Native plants for hedges and screens
- Native plants for containers and pots
- Native plants for naturalizing