NATIVE PLANT LIST for Arkansas, Louisiana, Eastern Oklahoma,
and Eastern Texas
This
is a "starter" list of native plants
for Arkansas, Louisiana, Eastern Oklahoma, and
Eastern Texas. It is intended for residential
or commercial landscapers who want to create attractive
and varied native landscapes.
Florida Maple
Red Maple
Chalk Maple
Red Buckeye
River Birch
Blue Beech
Hackberry
Redbud
Fringe Tree
Flowering Dogwood
Beech
White Ash
Green Ash
Two-winged Silverbell
Carolina Silverbell
Witch Hazel
Possum Haw
American Holly
Black Walnut
Sweet Gum
Tulip Tree
Cucumber Tree
Southern Magnolia
Sweetbay
Black Gum
Ironwood
Red Bay
Shortleaf Pine
Loblolly Pine
Sycamore
White Oak
Laurel Oak
Willow Oak
Carolina Buckthorn
Sassafras
Bald Cypress
Not as much
fall color as sugar maple; seeds eaten by birds
One of first trees to show fall color; small red dense
flowers
Brilliant yellow-orange to crimson in fall; pest free
Salmon to red flowers in spring; attracts hummers and
bees
Multistemmed desired; seeds attract birds; easy transplant
Good street tree; scarlet fall color
Orange to blue-black, sweet fruit attracts birds; yellow
in fall
Rosy-pink flowers in spring; drought-tolerant; yellow
in fall
Creamy white fragrant flowers in May; dark blue fruit
in fall
4" white bracts in April; fruit attracts birds;
red fall color
Hard to grow plants underneath; nuts attract birds/
squirrels
Purple in fall; larval plant for butterflies; seeds
for birds
Adaptable tree; transplants well; green to purple flowers
White to pink, bell-shaped flowers in spring
Similar culture to dogwood; white, bell-shaped flowers
Creamy to bright yellow flowers in fall; golden fall
color
White flowers in spring; orange berries into winter
(females)
Red berries into winter; must have both sexes for berries
Green, rounded fruit; edible nuts with rough black shell
Seeds eaten by birds; spiny fruit is a litter problem
on lawns
Cup-shaped, fragrant flowers in spring; attracts birds
Small, knobby fruit resembles a cucumber; attracts birds
Should be planted where lowest branches reach ground
2-3" white flowers all summer; red seeds; fruit
attracts birds
Yellow, orange, red to purple fall color; honey plant
for bees
Fruiting clusters; shreddy bark; common understory tree
Blue fruit in fall; larval plant for swallowtails; birds
like fruit
Dark, blue-green needles; seeds eaten by birds
6-10" dark green leaves; most rapid growth of all
pines
Round seeds; white, mottled bark; leaves drop all summer
Avoid planting near paved areas; red to wine fall color
Transplants well; shiny leaves; acorns
Yellow fall color; not as messy as some oaks
Yellowish fall color; fruit changes from red to black
Yellow, orange, pink, scarlet fall color; attracts birds
Cypress knees produced in or near water; orange fall
color
Downy Serviceberry
False Indigo
Sea Myrtle
Americ. Beautyberry
Chinquapin
New Jersey Tea
Buttonbush
Burning Bush
Wild Hydrangea
Shrub. St. Johns Wort
Winterberry
Yaupon
Sweetspire
Spicebush
Maleberry
Sweet Azalea
Swamp Azalea
Shining Sumac
Smooth Sumac
Carolina Rose
Dwarf Palmetto
Elderberry
Silky camellia
American Silverbells
Sparkleberry
Black Haw
Amelanchier
arborea
Amorpha fruticosa
Baccharis halimifolia
Callicarpa americana
Castanea pumila
Ceanothus americanus
Cephalanthus occidentalis
Euonymus atropurpureus
Hydrangea arborescens
Hypericum prolificum
Ilex verticillata
Ilex vomitoria
Itea virginica
Lindera benzoin
Lyonia lingustrina
Rhododendron canescens
Rhododendron viscosum
Rhus copallina
Rhus glabra
Rosa carolina
Sabal minor
Sambucus canadensis
Stewartia malacodendron
Styrax americana
Vaccinium arboreum
Viburnum prunifolium
F-S
F
F
P-S
P
F-P
S-P P-S
P-S
S
P-S
F-S
P
P
F-P
A-D
A-D
W
W-A
A-D
A-D
W-A
W-A
W-A
W-D
W-A
W-D
W-A
A
W-A
15-30"
6-10"
6-12"
to 6"
to 30"
2-3"
10-15"
20-25"
3-6"
3"
3-10"
12-25"
6-8"
3-12"
6-12"
Magenta fruit
attracts birds; largest fruit of any serviceberry
Deep purple flowers with gold stamens attract butterflies
Female plant covered with shiny white "clouds"
in fall
Small white to pink flowers in summer; purple berries
in fall
Spiked flowers; fall color; good food plant for wildlife
Long-lasting flowers; attracts birds, butterflies, hummers
Creamy white flowers in summer; nutlets through winter
Purple flowers in June; persistent red seeds
White lace cap flowers; attracts bees
Yellow flowers; attracts birds; no appreciable fall color
Bright red berries on female plants into winter; attracts
birds
White flowers; red berries; good screen plant; attracts
birds
Red fall foliage; attracts butterflies; seeds eaten by
birds
All parts edible and aromatic; glossy red fruit
White flowers in spring; fall color; honey plant
Red foliage; pink/white flowers; attracts birds and butterflies
Fall color; fragrant, white flowers in summer; forms a
thicket
Male + female plants; maroon fall foliage; attracts birds
Brilliant fall color; good in dry arrangement; not poisonous
Single, pink flowers in summer; red hips in fall attract
birds
Subterranean trunk; black fruits on flowering stalks
Creamy, white flowers; edible fruit; yellow fall foliage
Waxy white flowers; cinnamon colored bark; slow grower
Fragrant white flowers mid-spring; rounded form
Tree-like shrub; white flowers; dark berries in fall
Showy fall color; creamy white flowers; blue-black fruit
Grass-like
appearance; grows in wet areas
Inch-long flowers in a loose spike
Light blue flowers; black seeds can be used for propagation
Spring bloomer; blossom resembles sunflower
Attracts butterflies; xeriscapic
Red and yellow flowers; perfect for shady gardens
Good shade ground cover; slug pollinated
All parts are poisonous
Adult nectar and larval food source for Monarch butterflies
One of the toughest asters; attracts butterflies
Drought-tolerant; parts are poisonous if ingested
Grows well over walls and in rock gardens
Blue, star-shaped flowers in an elongated, loose cluster
Star-shaped light violet-blue flowers
Anise-like fragrance
Lilac, pink or white petals; stamens form a beak-like
cone
Attracts birds, small mammals, and butterflies
Tolerates dry, droughty soil and hot sun; good cut flowers
Greenish-white flowers in globular, 1' diameter heads
Eight weeks of blue flowers; spreads by rhizomes
Rounded, pink flower clusters mid-summer to early fall
Light-blue to lilac flowers; soapy sap
1' purple flowers; slender capsules resemble a crane's
bill
Attracts birds and butterflies
Resembles sunflower on a shorter plant
Root has astringent qualities
3-4' flowers with crown of tissue connecting bases of
anthers
Red, tubular flowers; leaves with bristle-tipped segments
Unusual in flowering from top to bottom of spike
1' delicate flowers on branched stems
Cardinal red flowers in late summer
Elongated cluster of pale to dark blue flowers on stalk
White to pinkish flowers; red double berries; rich soil
Fragrant; dried leaves make herbal tea
Red stems compliment yellow flowers
Earlier flowering, with thicker leaves than common phlox
Semi-evergreen foliage
Flowers can be twisted in any direction and stay there
Solitary flower at fork of 2 leaf stalks; small edible
fruit
Beautiful, arching stem with perfectly oriented leaves
Bright, purple-pink flowers open in a.m., drop petals
A popular, tough and beautiful perennial
6-10 droopy yellow petals around green center
Bright orange-red sap in thick rootstock
Cluster of daisy-like yellow flower heads
1' brilliant red star-shaped flowers
Clusters of yellow flowers from axils of leaves
Has an anise-like odor when crushed
Radiating flower form looks like fireworks
Clusters of 2 to 12 vivid red tubular flowers
Very attractive to butterflies; clumps of purple flowers
Spire-like white flower stalks above deep green leaves
This is the violet often found growing wild by roads/in
fields
Five petals, lavender to purple, occasionally white
Bright green
fronds; spreads by rhizomes
Sterile fronds are arching to flat; fertile fronds are
upright
Easy to grow; turns yellow or russet in fall
Circular cluster of fronds; cinnamon-colored fertile fronds
Easy to grow; fronds are pale pink in early spring
Easy to grow; tufted clump of stiff, deep green fronds
Lustrous, dark green, leathery fronds in a close mass
Twining tendrils
bear orange-red trumpet-shaped flowers
Blue, pink, lavender or white; dies to ground each year
White flowers in late summer to early fall
Foliage bronzes in winter; all parts of plant are toxic
Trumpet-shaped flowers mid-spring to fall attract hummers
Excellent red fall color; attracts birds
Lavender flowers; edible fruit; attracts butterflies
Long-lived;
slow to establish; self-seeds; orange in fall
Great cut flowers
A pioneer soil-stabilizing plant
R elatively large green-to-black, spike-like inflorescence
Golden in fall; reseeds in moist gardens
Inflorescence in late summer appears as red-purple clouds
Provides food and nesting to birds and other wildlife
Creeping perennial with flat, yellow-green leaves
Dark green, glossy leaves; dark purple inflorescence
Dark gold fall color; inflorescence holds into winter
Self-seeds; variable form and color
Long, shaggy brown inflorescence
Warm season grass; attractive most of winter; self-seeds
Easy to grow; evergreen in frost-free areas
Long green leaves; hotdog-shaped brown flower
1. While
the plants listed above are native to and appropriate
for their indicated regions, please recognize that,
in some instances, human development alters the
characteristics of a site such that it may be advisable
to use plants from a neighboring region. For example,
plantings in urban and suburban areas may receive
reflected heat from streets, sidewalks and/or walls
or be in media that receives less moisture than
normal (e.g., next to a paved area – the pavement
blocks rain from entering soil). Accordingly, using
plants from a neighboring region that support higher
temperatures and/or drier conditions may be more
appropriate.
2. While a plant is native to a region, that does
not mean that it will grow everywhere in that region.
The characteristics of any site will typically vary
from place to place and some plants may do better
than others at various places within a site. In
other words, a little experimentation might be required.
3. The above list is a starter list. Though adequate
for most residential and commercial landscapes,
there are many more native plants and should you
want to consider them, please inquire at a listed
nursery, community
service organization, reference
book or other resources.
