Native Plant Lists from the Maryland Native Plants Society
Riverbank, Wetland, and Bottomland Plants
Tall Trees
- Red Maple: Acer rubrum - orange to red fall foliage
- Silver Maple: Acer saccharinum (grow only on riverbanks and near springs)
- River Birch: Betula nigra (coastal plain and major rivers in the piedmont) - peeling, pinkish bark is interesting and attractive, especially in winter
- Bitternut Hickory: Carya cordiformis
- White Ash: Fraxinus americana
- Sycamore: Platanus occidentalis - peeling bark, snow-white crown stands out in winter
- Swamp White Oak: Quercus bicolor (mainly on the coastal plain)
- Pin Oak: Quercus palustrus - pyramidal shape, lower branches droop to the ground
- American Elm: Ulmus americana (still common in natural sites despite Dutch elm disease)
Medium Trees
- Box Elder (Maple): Acer negundo
- Persimmon: Diospyros virginiana
- Green Ash: Fraxinus pennsylvanica var. integerrima
- Sweetgum: Liquidambar styraciflua (coastal plain only) - star shaped leaves, bright fall foliage (yellow, orange, or red)
- Black or Sour Gum (Tupelo): Nyssa sylvatica - bright red fall foliage
- Willow Oak: Quercus phellos (mainly on the coastal plain) - leaves are willow-like
- Black Willow: Salix nigra
- Slippery Elm: Ulmus rubra
Small Trees
- Pawpaw: Asimina triloba
- Ironwood/Hornbeam: Carpinus caroliniana - gracefully twisted trunk (very slow growing)
- Serviceberry: Amelanchier canadensis - lovely white flowers in early spring
- Hackberry: Celtis occidentalis - larval host for seven species of Lepidoptera; sole larval host for the rare Hackberry Butterfly
- Fringetree: Chionanthus virginicus - spectacular large clusters of aromatic white flowers in late spring
- Sweetbay Magnolia: Magnolia virginiana (coastal plain only) - evergreen, white flowers in June
Shrubs
- Smooth Alder: Alnus serrulata
- Buttonbush: Cephalantus occidentalis
- Sweet Pepperbush: Clethra alnifolia (coastal plain, more common on Eastern shore) - showy white flower spikes in summer, very attractive to butterflies
- Hazelnut: Corylus americana
- Silky Dogwood: Cornus amomum
- Witch Hazel: Hamamelis virginiana
- Inkberry: Ilex glabra - evergreen holly, grows to 6-8'
- Winterberry: Ilex verticillata - deciduous holly, bright red berries in winter, grows to 6-10'
- American Elderberry: Sambucus canadensis - huge cymes of white flowers in June
- Southern Arrowwood: Viburnum dentatum - coastal plain only
- Swamp Azalea: Rhododendron viscosum - beautiful, aromatic white flowers in June
- Swamp Rose: Rosa palustris - single pink flowers
Emergent Herbaceous Plants
- Sweet Flag: Acorus calamus
- Hardy Hibiscus: Hibiscus moscheutos - huge flowers
- Blue Flag: Iris versicolor - large blue flowers
- Yellow Pond Lily: Nuphar advena
- Fragrant Water Lily: Nymphaea odorata - white flowers; our only native water lily
- Lotus Lily: Nelumbo lutea - small pale yellow flowers; interesting seedpods
- Pickerelweed: Pontederia cordata
- Arrowhead: Sagittaria latifolia
- Lizard's Tail: Saururus cernuus - tail-like white flower spikes
Herbaceous Plants for Wet Soil
- Green Dragon: Arisaema dracontium (uncommon)
- Wild Ginger: Asarum canadense - a deciduous ground cover
- Swamp Milkweed: Asclepius incarnata - pink flowers, larval host for Monarch Butterfly
- New England Aster: Aster novae-angliae - purple flowers bloom 2-3 months in Fall
- Trout Lily (Dogtooth Violet): Erythronium americanum - small yellow lily-shaped flowers in early spring
- Boneset: Eupatorium perfoliatum - a shorter, white-flowered relative of Joe Pye Weed
- Joe Pye Weed: Eupatorium fistulosum, E. maculatum, E. purpureum, E. dubium - extraordinary huge clusters of mauve flowers, up to 8' tall, very attractive to butterflies
- Cardinal Flower: Lobelia cardinalis - bright red flowers, attractive to hummingbirds
- Virginia Bluebells: Mertensia virginica - striking blue flowers in spring
- Wild Blue Phlox: Phlox divaricata - pale blue or pink flowers in spring
- Green Coneflower: Rudbeckia laciniata - yellow flowers with green cones, very tall
- New York Ironweed: Vernonia noveboracencis - magenta to purple flowers in large clusters
- Yellow Violet: Viola pennsylvanica
- Golden Alexander: Zizia aptera (uncommon) - yellow flowers in umbels (like parsley or Queen Anne's lace)
Plants for Rich, Moist Woods
Tall Trees
Oaks are the dominant genus. If you have room for a tall tree, plant an oak. If you have plenty of space, plant in a ratio of several oaks to other tall trees. In addition to the obvious food value of the acorns, oaks provide food for approximately one thousand species of insects on the East Coast. Insects, in turn, are food for birds and other creatures.
- White Oak: Quercus alba - shaggy bark on the middle portion of the trunk makes this tree especially ornamental in winter; excellent shade tree; leaves have rounded lobes. White oak acorns are sweet and sprout quickly so are eaten in fall.
- Southern Red Oak: Quercus falcata - (more common on coastal plain) leaves have few lobes (pointed); bark appears striped; red and black oak acorns have a lot of tannin and are buried by squirrels to mellow before eating.
- Northern Red Oak: Quercus rubra - leaves have pointed lobes; bark appears striped
- Black Oak: Quercus velutina - very large leaves with pointed lobes
- Red Maple: Acer rubrum - a very attractive tree with red/orange fall foliage, but now rapidly expanding out of its original swamp habitat
- Mockernut Hickory: Carya tomentosa - very large terminal leaflet, aromatic foliage turns gold in late Fall
- American Beech: Fagus grandifolia - pale gray bark; young trees keep their leaves through the winter; beechnuts are high-quality food for mammals and large birds
- White Ash: Fraxinus americana
- Tulip Poplar: Liriodendron tulipifera - a "pioneer" tree, it needs full sun and shades out (and drops) its own lower branches. Don't allow it to grow close to a house. There is no need to plant tulip poplar - this species is doing just fine in contemporary Maryland.
Medium Trees
- Persimmon: Diospyros virginiana - checkered bark and fruits hanging on tree provide winter interest
- American Holly: Ilex opaca (coastal plain only) - evergreen, handsome pyramidal shape when grown in the open, but found as an understory tree in the wild
- Black or Sour Gum (Tupelo): Nyssa sylvatica - bright red fall foliage
- Black Cherry: Prunus serotina - flowers are quietly ornamental, now showy; fruits are staple food for many birds; leaves are larval host for Spring Azure, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, and Red-spotted Purple butterfly and many other butterfly and moth species. Black cherry is a pioneer tree; if you have anything for birds to perch on, they will plant it for you. In fact, you may want to weed out its seedlings.
- Sassafras: Sassafras albidum - mitten-shaped leaves, brilliant orange fall foliage; larval host for Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly
- Red Mulberry: Morus rubra, is now very hard to find because of competition from the non-native White Mulberry, which may also be the source of the root disease that kills off many of the natives. The native has large leaves with few or no lobes; the exotic has two or more lobes on most of its leaves, and usually has dark purple fruit. To preserve this native, weed out the other.
Small Trees
- Dogwood: Cornus florida
- Redbud: Cercis canadensis - deep pink, pea-like flowers all along stem, heart-shaped leaves
- Black Haw: Viburnum prunifolium - creamy white, flat flower clusters in May; extremely scaly light brown bark provides winter interest
- Serviceberry: Amelanchier canadensis (uncommon) - lovely white flowers in early spring
- Hackberry: Celtis occidentalis (uncommon) - larval host for seven species of Lepidoptera; sole larval host for the rare Hackberry Butterfly
- Fringetree: Chionanthus virginicus (uncommon) - spectacular large clusters of aromatic white flowers in late spring
Shrubs
- Spicebush: Lindera benzoin - most common shrub in the piedmont - tiny yellow flowers all along stem in late March, red berries in winter; larval host for Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly
- Red Chokeberry: Aronia arbutifolia (uncommon in central Maryland) - white flowers in spring, red berries often last all winter
- Strawberry Bush: Euonymus americanus (uncommon)
- Virginia Sweetspire: Itea virginica (coastal plain only) - fragrant white flower spires; height 3-5'; good butterfly nectar plant
- Smooth Arrowwood: Viburnum recognitum
Ferns
- Maidenhair Fern: Adiantum pedatum (rare on coastal plain) - leaves attached to an unusual semicircular stem
- Sensitive Fern: Onoclea sensibilis - leaflets rather amorphous in shape
- Common Polypody: Polypodium virginianum
- Christmas Fern: Polystichum acrostichoides is by far the most common - evergreen
- New York Fern: Thelypteris noveboracensis - narrows toward base as well as toward tip
Evergreen Groundcovers
- Partridgeberry: Mitchella repens - tiny leaves, covers ground slowly, thinly
- Golden Ragwort: Senecio aureus - handsome, scalloped, kidney-shaped leaves; golden dandelion-like flowers on tall stems in spring; covers densely, spreads quickly - may be too aggressive in sun
Spring Wildflowers
- Jack in the Pulpit: Arisaema triphyllum
- Spring Beauty: Claytonia virginiana - corms provide winter food for small mammals
- Cut-leaved and Slender Toothwort: Dentaria laciniata, D. heterophylla
- Dutchman's Breeches: Dicentra cucullaria and Squirrel Corn, Dicentra canadensis - corms provide winter food for small mammals
- Wild Geranium: Geranium maculatum
- Round- and Sharp-lobed Hepatica: Hepatica americana, H. acutiloba
- Virginia Waterleaf: Hydrophyllum virginianum
- Showy Orchis: Orchis spectabilis
- Smooth Sweet Cicely: Osmorhiza longistylis, carrot family member, presumed to be a native larval host of Eastern Black Swallowtail butterfly; flowers small, not showy
- Mayapple: Podophyllum peltatum
- Solomon's Seal: Polygonatum biflorum
- Bloodroot: Sanguinaria canadensis
- False Solomon's Seal: Smilacina racemosa
- Star Chickweed: Stellaria pubera
- Perfoliate Bellwort: Uvullaria perfoliata
- Common Blue Violet: Viola papilionacea, and other blue and white violets
Summer Wildflowers
- Black Cohosh: Black Snakeroot, Bugbane, Cimicifuga racemosa - larval host for the rare Appalachian Blue butterfly; blooms in June
Fall Wildflowers
- Common Blue Wood Aster: Aster cordifolius - blue flowers, often with pink centers
- Upland Boneset: Eupatorium sessifolium (needs neutral soil) - a white-flowered Joe Pye weed
- Blue-stem Goldenrod: Solidago caesia - one of the prettier goldenrods, with a long string of small flower clusters in the leaf axils
Plants for Steep, Rocky Slopes
Tall Trees
- Chestnut Oak: Quercus prinus, is the dominant tree, having replaced the American Chestnut. Other oaks may grow where soil has collected.
- Pignut Hickory: Carya glabra (in mature forests)
- American Beech: Fagus grandifolia (where humus has built up)
Medium Trees
- Sassafras: Sassafras albidum - larval host for Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly
Small Trees
- American Chestnut: Castanea dentata - chestnuts still re-sprout from the roots, but rarely grow more than 20' tall before they are killed by the blight.
- Redbud: Cercis canadensis - can grow on steep slopes as long as the soil is rich (e.g., has some limestone in it) and well-watered; the nectar source for Henry's elfin butterfly, larval host for several butterflies and moths; Rhabdopterus beetles sometimes eat away the leaf edges in a dramatically scalloped pattern.
Shrubs
- Huckleberries: Gaylussacia species (can tolerate acid soil but grow wherever there is little competition, e.g., on these eroded slopes)
- Witch Hazel: Hamamelis virginiana (next to streams, including on steep slopes) - sole nectar source for the night-flying moth that pollinates it in fall
- Mountain Laurel: Kalmia latifolia (probably very important for erosion control, as it forms large colonies on the steepest slopes)
- Pinxterbloom: Rhododendron periclymenoides (formerly R. nudiflorum) - deciduous, but one of the most beautiful shrubs of all
- Blueberries: Vaccinium species (most common is Lowbush Blueberry, V. vacillans; Highbush Blueberry, V. corymbosum, from which our cultivated blueberries are bred, is common; Maine Lowbush Blueberry, V. angustifolium, is more common in the mountains but is sometimes found here)
- Maple-Leaf Viburnum: Viburnum acerifolium
Groundcovers
- Striped or Spotted Wintergreen: Chimaphila maculata - evergreen but sparse, technically a "sub-shrub"
- Trailing Arbutus: Epigaea repens - also a sub-shrub, disappearing because people dig it up
Herbaceous Plants
- Maidenhair Fern: Adiantum pedatum - fronds grow from outer side of semicircular stem
- Rue Anemone: Anemonella thalictroides - white flowers in Spring
- Alumroot: Heuchera americana - evergreen foliage, sprays of greenish or reddish flowers in Spring
- Christmas Fern: Polystichum acrostichoides - evergreen fern, needs moisture
- Wild Stonecrop: Sedum ternatum - white flowers in Spring, evergreen fleshy foliage
- Wild Pink: Silene caroliniana - pink flowers in Spring
- Star Chickweed: Stellaria pubera - white flowers in Spring, exceptionally showy
Plants for Dry Ridgetops and Sunny Sites
Tall Trees
- Scarlet Oak: Quercus coccinea - the brightest red fall foliage of our indigenous oaks
- Tulip Poplars and Red Maples - They are pioneer trees, brought by the wind, and now overrepresented because so much land has been cleared.
Medium Trees
- Black Cherry: Prunus serotina (a pioneer tree on cleared sites, also grows in shade) - flowers are quietly ornamental, not showy; fruits are staple food for many birds; leaves are larval host for spring azure, Eastern tiger swallowtail, and red-spotted purple butterfly and other butterfly and moth species.
- Post Oak: Quercus stellata (on very poor, dry soils)
- Red Mulberry: Morus rubra, is now very hard to find because of competition from the non-native White Mulberry, which may also be the source of the root disease that kills off many of the natives. The native has large leaves with few or no lobes; the exotic has smaller leaves with two or more lobes on most of them, and usually has dark purple fruit. To preserve this native, weed out the other.
Small Trees
- Redbud: Cercis canadensis (can be grown in a lawn) - deep-pink pea-like flowers all along stem, heart-shaped leaves
- Dogwood: Cornus florida (although in the wild it grows in partial shade, it also thrives in sun and is actually more likely to escape or survive the anthracnose disease because of lower humidity)
- Black Haw: Viburnum prunifolium - creamy white, flat flower clusters in may; extremely scaly light brown bark provides winter interest
Shrubs
- Pasture Rose: Rosa carolina and R. virginiana - single pink flowers, usually solitary, sometimes in small clusters
Groundcovers
- Moss Phlox: Phlox subulata (thrives in minimal soil with excellent drainage)
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