Native Plants of Indiana

American Alumroot

Heuchera americana

American bellflower

Campanulastrum americanum

Host plant for 5 species of Lepidoptera larvae. Attracts hummingbirds and native bees.

American Spikenard

Aralia racemosa

Provides cover in forest understories. The berries provide a valuable food source for birds and small mammals.

Autumn Sneezeweed

Helenium autumnale

Beak Grass

Diarrhena americana

Bicknell’s Sedge

Carex bicknellii

Provides food for several types of insects and birds. Many species of grasshoppers feed on the plant, and upland gamebirds and granivorous songbirds eat the seeds. Helps suppress weeds and stabilize soils.

Big Bluestem

Andropogon gerardii

Provides shelter and nesting material for birds and insects. Attracts butterflies and beneficial insects.

Black Chokeberry

Aronia melanocarpa

Provides food and habitat for wildlife. Used for soil erosion control and windbreaks.

Blue-Eyed Mary

Collinsia verna

Blue False Indigo

Baptisia australis

Enriches the soil by fixing nitrogen and provides important habitat value for pollinators.

Blue Flag Iris

Iris virginica shrevei

Blue-Joint Grass

Calamagrostis canadensis

Stabilizes stream banks, filters stormwater, and provides forage and habitat for wildlife. Waterfowl and other birds feed on the seeds.

Blue Mist Flower

Conoclinium coelestinum

Bottlebrush Grass

Elymus hystrix v. hystrix

Bottlebrush Sedge

Carex hystericina

Stabilizes soil, manages stormwater, and supports wildlife habitat. Amphibians, including frogs and salamanders utilize Carex for feeding, shade, and protection. Important buffer species against nutrient runoff.

Boxelder

Acer negundo

Provides habitat for wildlife and helps stabilize stream banks.

Bracted Oak Sedge

Carex cephalophora

Improves soil structure, prevents erosion, and supports wildlife.

Broomsedge Bluestem

Andropogon virginicus

Pioneer grass species and indicator of poor soil. Provides grazing in spring and early summer. Provides food/cover for wildlife.

Butterfly milkweed

Asclepias tuberosa

Host plant for Monarch butterfly larvae and nectar source for various pollinators.

Canada Wild Rye

Elymus canadensis

Canadian Anemone

Anemone canadensis

Provides habitat and food for various wildlife species. Effective ground cover prevents soil erosion.

Common Boneset

Eupatorium perfoliatum

Common buttonbush

Cephalanthus occidentalis

Provides nectar for pollinators, seeds for waterfowl and shorebirds, and helps with erosion control.

Common milkweed

Asclepias syriaca

Host plant for Monarch butterfly caterpillars and provides nectar for a wide range of insects.

Common Rush

Juncus effusus

Cream False Indigo

Baptisia bracteata

Provides an important early food source for queen bumblebees as they emerge from hibernation. Has special value to native bees of the region, especially bumblebees.

Crested Sedge

Carex cristatella

Provides food and shelter for grassland wildlife.

Cross Vine

Bignonia capreolata

Provides nesting and shelter for squirrels and birds. Attracts butterflies, hummingbirds, and other pollinators. Foliage is eaten by white-tailed deer and beavers.

Cut-Leaved Toothwort

Cardamine concatenata

Important early season nectar source for native bees and early butterflies. Larval host to the West Virginia White butterfly.

Dense Blazing Star

Liatris spicata

Devil’s Walkingstick

Aralia spinosa

The flowers provide nectar for bees and butterflies. The fruits are used as food by many birds.

Downy Sunflower

Helianthus mollis

Dutchman’s Pipe

Aristolochia tomentosa

Larval host for the pipevine swallowtail and polydamas swallowtail butterflies. Pollinated by flies.

Dwarf Crested Iris

Iris cristata

Eastern Bluestar

Amsonia tabernaemontana

Provides an important early-season nectar source for pollinators.

Eastern Star Sedge

Carex radiata

Host for Lepidoptera larvae. Its dense root system plays a crucial role in stabilizing soil and preventing erosion.

False Aster

Boltonia asteroides recognita

Important late-season nectar and energy source for pollinators including butterflies, bees, and songbirds.

False Sunflower

Heliopsis helianthoides

Field Pussytoes

Antennaria neglecta

Host for the American Painted Lady butterfly caterpillar. Allelopathic properties can reduce the height of surrounding plants.

Field thistle

Cirsium discolor

The large flowers and abundant nectar are very attractive to many species of butterflies, hummingbirds, bees and moths. After flowering, its seeds become a major food source for goldfinches and other seed-eating birds in late summer and fall.

Flowering Dogwood

Cornus florida

Fox Sedge

Carex vulpinoidea

Goat’s Beard

Aruncus dioicus

Attracts a variety of small pollinators. Stabilizes streambanks and aids in erosion control.

Goldenseal

Hydrastis canadensis

Gray Alder

Alnus incana

Greater Straw Sedge

Carex normalis

Provides habitat and food for wildlife, contributes to soil stabilization, nutrient cycling, and water filtration. Seeds are valuable food for birds and small mammals.

Grey Dogwood

Cornus racemosa

Hairy Woodland Brome

Bromus pubescens

Disturbance-adapted colonizer of bare ground. Can provide erosion control and restores degraded soils. Food and habitat for insects. Stabilizes thin, rocky soils of upland woods.

Halberdleaf Hibiscus

Hibiscus laevis

Hayscented Fern

Dennstaedtia punctilobula

Hollow Joe-Pye Weed

Eutrochium fistulosum

Honeyvine Milkweed

Cynanchum laeve

Indigo Bush

Amorpha fruticosa

Important food source for bees and other insects. Its extensive root system helps prevent soil erosion and is valuable for shoreline stabilization.

Jack-in-the-Pulpit

Arisaema triphyllum

Provides habitat and food for various wildlife, with its bright red berries being eaten by birds and mammals.

Jewelweed

Impatiens capensis

June Grass

Koeleria macrantha

Lance-Fruited Oval Sedge

Carex scoparia

Host plant for various insects, including several species of skippers and moths. Seeds are a food source for birds, including ducks. Provides valuable nesting cover for ground-dwelling birds and helps stabilize streambanks and drainage areas with its fibrous root system.

Lance-Leaf Coreopsis

Coreopsis lanceolata

Leadplant

Amorpha canescens

Nitrogen fixer, provides forage for wildlife and livestock

Leatherflower

Clematis viorna

Longhair Sedge

Carex comosa

The dense root system helps prevent soil erosion while providing protective cover for small wildlife. Offers cover and nesting material for wildlife.

Maidenhair Fern

Adiantum pedatum

Provides cover for small wildlife.

Marsh Marigold

Caltha palustris

Provides protection for many small aquatic creatures and assists in water clarifying by absorbing nutrients. Stabilizes soil along streambanks and supports aquatic and semi-aquatic food chains.

Maximilian Sunflower

Helianthus maximiliani

Meadow Garlic

Allium canadense

New Jersey tea

Ceanothus americanus

Nitrogen-fixing species. Host plant for several species of butterflies and moths.

Nodding Onion

Allium cernuum

Provides a food source for pollinators and other wildlife.

Northern Bush Honeysuckle

Diervilla lonicera

Northern Sea Oats

Chasmanthium latifolium

Northern Sweetgrass

Hierochloe hirta ssp. arctica

Ohio Buckeye

Aesculus glabra

Provides habitat and food for various wildlife, including squirrels and birds that feed on its seeds and flowers.

Pagoda Dogwood

Cornus alternifolia

Pale Purple Coneflower

Echinacea pallida

Partridge pea

Chamaecrista fasciculata

Nitrogen-fixing plant. Seeds are an important food source for birds like quail.

Persimmon

Diospyros virginiana

Pink Turtlehead

Chelone obliqua

Plantain-Leaved Sedge

Carex plantaginea

Provides early season food for insects.

Poke Milkweed

Asclepias exaltata

Larval host plant for the Monarch butterfly. The flowers are an excellent nectar source for native bees, bumblebees, and the Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly.

Prairie Blazing Star

Liatris pycnostachya

Purple Giant Hyssop

Agastache scrophulariifolia

Provides a nectar source for a wide variety of pollinators.

Purple Milkweed

Asclepias purpurascens

Host plant for Monarch butterfly caterpillars and supports other milkweed-feeding insects. Attracts a wide range of pollinators.

Purple prairie clover

Dalea purpurea

Nitrogen-fixing plant that provides excellent forage for livestock and wildlife. It is also a food plant for the larvae of the Dogface Sulphur butterfly.

Pussytoes

Antennaria plantaginifolia

Host plant for the American Painted Lady butterfly. Provides a good ground cover for dry areas and rock gardens, helping with erosion control.

Queen of the Prairie

Filipendula rubra

Ramp

Allium tricoccum

Plays a key role in nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems.

Rattlesnake Master

Eryngium yuccifolium

Red Baneberry

Actaea rubra

Provides food for birds and other wildlife that consume the berries.

Redbud

Cercis canadensis

Red columbine

Aquilegia canadensis

Early-season nectar source for pollinators.

Red Maple

Acer rubrum

Keystone species that supports approximately 238 species of caterpillars. Provides early spring nectar for pollinators, and seeds for birds and small mammals.

Riverbank Wildrye

Elymus riparius

Rough Blazing Star

Liatris aspera

Roughleaf Dogwood

Cornus drummondii

Savanna Blazing Star

Liatris scariosa nieuwlandii

Scouringrush Horsetail

Equisetum hyemale

Sharplobe Hepatica

Hepatica nobilis

Shooting Star

Dodecatheon meadia

Short’s Sedge

Carex shortiana

Side-Oats Grama

Bouteloua curtipendula

Provides habitat, nesting material, and food for birds and insects. Its dense root system helps stabilize soil on slopes and disturbed sites.

Silky Dogwood

Cornus amomum

Silver Maple

Acer saccharinum

Smooth Hydrangea

Hydrangea arborescens

Spotted Joe-Pye Weed

Eutrochium maculatum

Sugar Maple

Acer saccharum

Sullivant’s Milkweed

Asclepias sullivantii

Vital host plant for Monarch butterflies and a rich nectar source for pollinators.

Swamp milkweed

Asclepias incarnata

Host plant for Monarch butterfly caterpillars and provides nectar for a wide range of insects.

Sweet Flag

Acorus americanus

Provides habitat and shelter for wetland insects, amphibians, and small aquatic animals. Helps with shoreline stabilization.

Sweet Joe-Pye Weed

Eutrochium purpureum

Tall Coreopsis

Coreopsis tripteris

Tickseed Sunflower

Bidens aristosa

Important species for sustaining pollinators during the seasonal nectar gap between summer and frost. Seeds provide food for birds in the fall and winter.

Trumpet Creeper

Campsis radicans

Attracts a wide variety of pollinators such as hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees. Foliage is eaten by white-tailed deer and rabbits.

Tussock Sedge

Carex stricta

Two-Flowered Cynthia

Krigia biflora

Virginia Wildrye

Elymus virginicus

Virgin’s Bower

Clematis virginiana

Western Sunflower

Helianthus occidentalis

White Baneberry

Actaea pachypoda

White False Indigo

Baptisia alba var. macrophylla

Attracts butterflies and serves as a host plant for certain native insects. Its nitrogen-fixing roots improve soil fertility.

White prairie clover

Dalea candida

Nitrogen-fixing plant that is a valuable resource for a wide variety of pollinators and wildlife.

White Snakeroot

Ageratina altissima

Provides a late-season nectar source for bees, moths, and flies.

White Turtlehead

Chelone glabra

White wild indigo

Baptisia alba

Nitrogen fixer, host plant for several insect species.

Whorled Milkweed

Asclepias verticillata

Valuable food source for the adult and larval stages of Monarch Butterflies, as well as many other butterflies, moths, bees and beneficial insects.

Wild Geranium

Geranium maculatum

Wild Ginger

Asarum canadense

Host plant for the Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly. Forms dense colonies that create a protective carpet on the forest floor, helping to control erosion and providing habitat for various small creatures.

Wild Senna

Cassia hebecarpa

Winterberry

Ilex verticillata

Woodland Sunflower

Helianthus divaricatus

Yellowfruit Sedge

Carex annectens

Essential habitat and food for insects, birds, and other wildlife. Useful in rain gardens and for erosion control.

Yellow Giant Hyssop

Agastache nepetoides

Supports and attracts a wide variety of pollinators. Its deep root system stabilizes soil and prevents erosion.