State Plant Listings
North Dakota
Vegetation References
(Dominant plant species present in each vegetation type are listed in Appendix C)
15 Eastern Ponderosa Forest (Pinus)
59 Wheatgrass-Needlegrass (Agropyron-Stipa)
60 Wheatgrass-Bluestem-Needlegrass (Agropyron-Andropogon-Stipa)
66 Bluestem Prairie (Andropogon-Panicum-Sorghastrum)
67 Sandhills Prairie (Andropogon-Calamovilfa)
72 Oak Savanna (Quercus-Andropogon)
89 Northern Floodplain Forest (Populus-Salix-Ulmus)
Botanical Experts
Darla Lenz, Botanist/Plant Ecologist
North Dakota Natural Heritage Program
1835 Bismarck Expressway
Bismarck, ND 58504
(701) 328-5368
(701) 328-5363 (fax)
internet: dlenz@state.nd.us
Susan Rinehart, Botanist
U.S. Forest Service
Medora Ranger District
161 21 st St. W
Dickinson, ND 58601
(701) 225-5151
Recommended Flora
Stevens, O.A. 1963. Handbook of North Dakota Plants. North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies. Fargo, ND. 324 pgs. + illus. maps.
Great Plains Flora Association. 1986. Flora of the Great Plains. University Press of Kansas. Lawrence, KS 66045. Other authors: R.L. McGregor and T.M. Barkley. 1392 pgs. ISBN 0 7006 0295 X.
Native Plants for Landscape Use in North Dakota
Ferns
Botrychium virginianum (rattlesnake fern)
Cystopteris fragilis (fragile fern)
Matteuccia struthiopteris (ostrich fern)
Forbs (annuals/biennials)
Cleome serrulata (Rocky Mountain beeplant)
Coreopsis tinctoria (tickseed, goldenwave, plains coreopsis, calliopsis)
Euphorbia marginata (snow-on-the-mountain)
Helianthus annuus (common sunflower)
Helianthus petiolaris (plains sunflower)
Linum rigidum (yellow flax)
Lobelia spicata (pale lobelia)
Mimulus guttatus (golden monkey flower)
Oenothera albicaulis (pale evening primrose)
Oenothera biennis (common evening primrose)
Rudbeckia hirta (black-eyed Susan)
Senecio plattensis (prairie ragwort, prairie groundsel)
Townsendia exscapa (Easter daisy)
Forbs (perennials)
Ageratina altissima var. altissima (white snakeroot)
Allium canadense (wild garlic)
Allium stellatum (wild pink onion)
Anemone canadensis (Canada anemone, windflower)
Anemone cylindrica (thimbleweed, candle anemone)
Anemone multifida (early thimbleweed, cut-leaf anemone, Pacific anemone)
Anemone virginiana (thimbleweed, tall anemone)
Antennaria spp. (pussytoes, everlasting)
Apocynum androsaemifolium (spreading dogbane)
Aquilegia canadensis (columbine)
Arisaema triphyllum Back-in-the-pulpit, Indian turnip)
Artemisia ludoviciana (white sage, prairie sage, artemisia)
Asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed)
Asclepias speciosa (showy milkweed)
Asclepias verticillata (whorled milkweed)
Aster ericoides (heath aster, white wreath aster)
Aster laevis (smooth aster)
Aster novae-angliae (New England aster)
Aster oblongifolius (aromatic aster)
Aster puniceus (red-stem aster, swamp aster)
Astragalus canadensis (milk vetch, Canada milk vetch)
Calochortus nuttallii (sego lily, mariposa lily)
Campanula rotundifolia (harebell)
Castilleja sessiliflora (downy painted cup)
Dalea candida (white prairie clover)
Dalea purpurea (purple prairie clover)
Desmodium canadense (Canada tick-trefoil, Canada tickclover)
Echinacea angustifolia (narrow-leaved purple coneflower)
Epilobium angustifolium (fireweed, willow herb)
Erigeron compositus (alpine daisy)
Eupatorium maculatum (spotted Joe-pye weed)
Eupatorium perfoliatum (boneset)
Euthamia graminifolia var. graminifolia (grass-leaved goldenrod)
Fragaria virginiana (wild strawberry)
Gaillardia aristata (blanket flower, gaillardia, brown-eyed Susan)
Galium triflorum (sweet-scented bedstraw)
Gaura coccinea (scarlet gaura)
Gentiana andrewsii (bottle gentian)
Geum triflorum (prairie smoke, purple avens)
Glycyrrhiza lepidota (wild licorice)
Gutierrezia sarothrae (broom snakeweed, matchbrush)
Hedysarum boreale (sweet vetch, sweet broom)
Helenium autumnale (common sneezeweed)
Helianthus maximiliani (Maximilian sunflower)
Helianthus pauciflorus ssp. pauciflorus (stiff sunflower)
Heliopsis helianthoides (ox-eye sunflower, false sunflower)
Heterotheca villosa var. villosa (golden aster)
Heuchera richardsonii (alum root)
Hydrophyllum virginianum (Virginia waterleaf)
Hypoxis hirsuta (yellow star grass)
Liatris aspera (rough blazing star, gayfeather)
Liatris punctata (dotted blazing star, gayfeather)
Lilium philadelphicum (wood lily)
Linum lewisii (wild blue flax)
Lithospermum canescens (hoary puccoon)
Lithospermum incisum (fringed puccoon, narrow-leaved puccoon)
Lobelia siphilitica (great blue lobelia)
Lupinus argenteus (silvery lupine)
Lysimachia ciliata (fringed loosestrife)
Maianthemum stellatum (starry Solomon's seal)
Monarda fistulosa (wild bergamot, horsemint, beebalm)
Nuphar lutea (yellow pond lily, cow lily, spatter dock)
Oenothera cespitosa (gumbo evening primrose, gumbo lily)
Oenothera flava (shortfin evening primrose)
Penstemon albidus (white beardtongue)
Penstemon angustifolius (whorled penstemon)
Penstemon grandiflorus (large-flowered penstemon)
Pentaphylloides floribunda (potentilla, shrubby cinquefoil)
Polygonatum biflorum (Solomon's seal)
Potentilla arguta (white cinquefoil, prairie cinquefoil, tall cinquefoil)
Pulsatilla patens ssp. multifida (pasque flower, wild crocus)
Pycnanthemum virginianum (mountain mint)
Pyrola elliptica (shinleaf)
Ratibida columnifera (prairie coneflower, long-headed coneflower, Mexican hat)
Rudbeckia laciniata (cut-leaf coneflower)
Sibbaldiopsis tridentata (three-toothed cinquefoil)
Silphium perfoliatum (cup plant)
Sisyrinchium angustifolium (narrow-leaved blue-eyed grass)
Solidago canadensis (meadow goldenrod)
Solidago nemoralis (gray goldenrod, old-field goldenrod)
Solidago rigida (stiff goldenrod)
Tetraneuris acaulis var. acaulis (stemless goldflower, stemless rubber weed, butte marigold)
Thalictrum dasycarpum (tall or purple meadow rue)
Verbena hastata (blue verbena, blue vervain)
Verbena stricta (hoary vervain)
Vernonia fasciculata (ironweed)
Viola pedatifida (prairie violet)
Viola soraria (common blue violet, meadow violet)
Yucca glauca (yucca, soapweed)
Zizia aptera (heart-leaved golden alexanders)
Zizia aurea (golden alexanders)
Grasses/Grass-like plants
Agrostis scabra (ticklegrass, fly-away grass)
Andropogon gerardii (big bluestem)
Andropogon hallii (sand bluestem)
Aristida purpurea var. longiseta (red three awn)
Bouteloua curtipendula (sideoats grama)
Bouteloua gracilis (blue grama)
Bouteloua hirsuta (hairy grama)
Bromus carinatus (California brome)
Buchloe dactyloides (buffalograss)
Calamagrostis canadensis (bluejoint grass)
Calamovilfa longifolia (sandreed grass, prairie sandreed)
Carex aquatilis (water sedge)
Carex atherodes
Carex crawei
Carex filifolia
Carex lanuginosa
Carex pensylvanica (Pennsylvania sedge)
Carex sprengelii Carex stipata (awl-fruited sedge)
Carex stricta (tussock sedge)
Carex utriculata (beaked sedge)
Deschampsia cespitosa (tufted hairgrass)
Distichlis spicata (seashore saltgrass)
Eleocharis palustris (creeping spikesedge, spike rush)
Elymus canadensis (Canada wild rye)
Elymus hystrix var. hystrix (bottlebrush grass)
Elymus lanceolatus (thickspike wheatgrass)
Eragrostis spectabilis (purple lovegrass, tumblegrass)
Festuca ovina (sheep fescue)
Glyceria grandis (American mannagrass, tall mannagrass, reed meadowgrass)
Hierochloe odorata (sweet grass)
Juncus effusus var. solutus (soft rush)
Juncus interior (inland rush)
Koeleria macrantha (June grass)
Leersia oryzoides (rice cut grass)
Nassella viridula (green needle grass)
Oryzopsis hymenoides (Indian ricegrass)
Panicum virgatum (switchgrass)
Pascopyrum smithii (western wheatgrass)
Poa secunda (pine bluegrass)
Pseudoroegneria spicata (bluebunch wheatgrass)
Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem)
Scirpus acutus (hardstem bulrush)
Scirpus maritimus (alkali bulrush, prairie bulrush, bayonet grass)
Scirpus tabernaemontani (great bulrush)
Sorghastrum nutans (Indian grass)
Spartina pectinata (prairie cordgrass, freshwater cordgrass)
Sporobolus airoides (alkali sacaton)
Sporobolus compositus var. compositus (tall dropseed)
Sporobolus cryptandrus (sand dropseed)
Sporobolus heterolepis (northern prairie dropseed)
Stipa comata (needle-and-thread grass)
Stipa spartea (porcupine grass)
Typha latifolia (cattail)
Shrubs (deciduous)
Alnus incana (speckled alder, mountain alder)
Amelanchier alnifolia (saskatoon, western serviceberry, Juneberry)
Amorpha canescens (leadplant)
Amorpha fruticosa (false indigo, Indigo bush)
Amorpha nana (dwarf wild indigo)
Artemisia frigida (prairie sagewort, fringed sage)
Atriplex canescens (four-wing saltbush, wingscale)
Atriplex confertifolia (spiny saltbush, shadscale saltbush, hop sage)
Chrysothamnus nauseosus (rabbit brush, chamisa)
Cornus racemosa (gray dogwood)
Cornus sericea (red-twig dogwood, red-osier dogwood)
Corylus americana (American hazelnut or filbert)
Corylus cornuta (beaked hazelnut or filbert)
Elaeagnus commutata (silverberry, wild olive, wolf willow)
Krascheninnikovia lanata (winterfat)
Lonicera dioica (limber or wild honeysuckle)
Prunus pumila var. besseyi (sand cherry)
Prunus virginiana (chokecherry)
Rhus glabra (smooth sumac)
Ribes odoratum (buffalo currant, golden currant)
Rosa blanda (early wild rose, smooth rose)
Rosa woodsii (western wild rose, woods rose)
Rubus idaeus ssp. strigosus (red raspberry)
Rubus occidentalis (black raspberry, thimbleberry)
Salix bebbiana (Bebb willow, long-beaked willow)
Salix discolor (pussy willow)
Sambucus canadensis (elderberry, common elder)
Sarcobatus vermiculatus (greasewood)
Shepherdia argentea (silver buffaloberry)
Shepherdia canadensis (buffaloberry)
Spiraea alba (meadow sweet)
Symphoricarpos albus (snowberry)
Symphoricarpos occidentalis (wolfberry, buckbush)
Viburnum lentago (black haw, nannyberry)
Viburnum opulus var. americanum (high-bush cranberry, American cranberrybush viburnum)
Shrubs (evergreen)
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (bearberry, kinnikinnik)
Artemisia tridentata (big sagebrush, Great Basin sagebrush)
Juniperus communis (common juniper)
Juniperus horizontalis (creeping juniper, creeping savin)
Trees (deciduous)
Acer negundo (box elder)
Betula occidentalis (mountain birch, water birch)
Betula papyrifera (paper birch)
Celtis occidentalis (hackberry, sugarberry)
Crataegus mollis (downy hawthorn)
Fraxinus pensylvanica (green ash)
Ostrya virginiana (ironwood, hophornbeam)
Populus deltoides (eastern cottonwood)
Populus tremuloides (quaking aspen)
Prunus americana (wild plum)
Prunus pensylvanica (fire or pin cherry)
Quercus macrocarpa (bur oak)
Salix amygdaloides (peachleaf willow)
Tilia americana (American linden, basswood)
Ulmus americana (American elm)
Ulmus rubra (red elm, slippery elm)
Trees (evergreen)
Juniperus scopulorum (Rocky Mountain juniper)
Vines (deciduous)
Celastrus scandens (American bittersweet)
Clematis ligusticifolia (clematis)
Clematis virginiana (virgin's bower)
Parthenocissus quinquefolia var. quinquefolia (woodbine)
Vitis riparia (riverbank grape)
Federally Listed Endangered Species
Western prairie fringed orchid (Platanthera praeclara)
North Dakota Noxious Species
Because the noxious weed lists have continually changed since we gathered them in 1994, we are not including them at this time. Not all States have noxious weed lists. Those that do, do not use the same standards of importance and are not comparable. States typically have included plants that interfere with agriculture (Canada thistle), or cause human health problems (poison ivy). Some States are now including a category of plants that invade and degrade the environment (purple loosestrife). Check with your State's Agriculture Department or Weed Scientist listed below. The noxious weed list can be used two ways on roadsides: 1) check to not inadvertently plant these invasive plants, and 2) note the plants you are legally responsible to control. Many States now check adjacent State lists to avoid planting their neighbors' problem plants. Because weeds do not respect political boundaries, and because by their very nature weeds continue to adapt and expand, monitoring and controlling invasives at State borders is a wise part of vegetation management.
(Weed and Seed Laws)
Department of Agriculture
600 East Boulevard
State Capitol, 6th Floor
Bismarck, ND 58505
Richard K. Zollinger
North Dakota State University
Loftsgard Hall, Box 5051
Fargo, ND 58105
(701) 237-8157
North Dakota Resources
Natural Heritage Inventory
ND Parks & Recreation Department
1835 Bismarck Expressway
Bismarck, ND 58504
(701) 328-5357
The Nature Conservancy Field Office
PO Box 1156
Bismarck, ND 58502-1156
(701) 222-8464
North Dakota Natural Science Society
8065 51 1 /2 St. SE
Montpelier, ND 58472
Gunlogson Nature Preserve
Icelandic State Park
13571 Highway 5 West
Cavalier, ND 58220
