Iowa native plants
Iowa sits at the heart of the tallgrass prairie, on some of the deepest topsoil in the world — and less than a tenth of a percent of that prairie remains. The natives here are the ones built for it: deep roots, full sun, and the ability to take both drought and a wet spring.
Bedfellow lists 533 of these.
The 30 most-observed are listed here — see all 533 in search.
- Red Maple (Acer rubrum)
- Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)
- Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)
- Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum)
- Pin Oak (Quercus palustris)
- Large Beardtongue (Penstemon grandiflorus)
- Common Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
- 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)
- Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)
- Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus)
- Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana)
- Sensitive Fern (Onoclea sensibilis)
- Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum)
- Boxelder (Acer negundo)
- Green Ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica)
- Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)
- Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
- Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum)
- Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
- American Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)
- Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra)
- Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum)
- Black Cherry (Prunus serotina)
- Canada Mayflower (Maianthemum canadense)
- Partridgeberry (Mitchella repens)
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