Native plants for Carbon County, Montana

455 native plants recorded in Carbon County, Montana

The USDA plant database has 749 plants recorded growing wild in Carbon County. 455 of them are native to the lower 48, and 130 are introduced species that this page leaves out.

By type: 298 wildflowers and herbs, 25 grasses and sedges, 38 shrubs, 70 low woody plants, 19 trees, 5 vines. USDA has rated sun, soil and water needs for 174 of them (38%), and only those can be matched to a spot below. Claspleaf twistedstalk (Streptopus amplexifolius), Common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) and 12 more are also recorded as introduced.

What fits each kind of spot in Carbon County

Sun all day in Carbon County: 173 rated natives

83 wildflowers and herbs, 29 shrubs, 27 low woody plants, 16 grasses and sedges, 15 trees, 3 vines. The first 8, ranked by how easy a start they make:

1. Alkali buttercup (Ranunculus cymbalaria) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 1 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
2. Alpine bistort (Polygonum viviparum) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 1 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
3. American alpine speedwell (Veronica wormskjoldii) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 1 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
4. American bistort (Polygonum bistortoides) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 1.5 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
5. American vetch (Vicia americana) vines
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 1.3 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
6. Arrowleaf balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 2 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
7. Blanketflower (Gaillardia aristata) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 2 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
8. Bush penstemon (Penstemon fruticosus) low woody plants
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 2 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial

Half shade in Carbon County: 151 rated natives

70 wildflowers and herbs, 25 shrubs, 23 low woody plants, 15 trees, 15 grasses and sedges, 3 vines. The first 8, ranked by how easy a start they make:

1. Alpine bistort (Polygonum viviparum) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 1 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial · high shade tolerance
2. American bistort (Polygonum bistortoides) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 1.5 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial · high shade tolerance
3. American vetch (Vicia americana) vines
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 1.3 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial · high shade tolerance
4. Blanketflower (Gaillardia aristata) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 2 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial · high shade tolerance
5. Bush penstemon (Penstemon fruticosus) low woody plants
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 2 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial · high shade tolerance
6. Cutleaf daisy (Erigeron compositus) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 1 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial · high shade tolerance
7. Desert yellow fleabane (Erigeron linearis) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 1 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial · high shade tolerance
8. Hairy false goldenaster (Heterotheca villosa) low woody plants
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 3 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial · high shade tolerance

Under trees in Carbon County: 75 rated natives

33 wildflowers and herbs, 16 shrubs, 14 low woody plants, 6 grasses and sedges, 5 trees, 1 vines. The first 8, ranked by how easy a start they make:

1. Alpine bistort (Polygonum viviparum) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 1 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
2. American bistort (Polygonum bistortoides) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 1.5 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
3. American vetch (Vicia americana) vines
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 1.3 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
4. Blanketflower (Gaillardia aristata) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 2 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
5. Bush penstemon (Penstemon fruticosus) low woody plants
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 2 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
6. Cutleaf daisy (Erigeron compositus) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 1 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
7. Desert yellow fleabane (Erigeron linearis) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 1 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
8. Hairy false goldenaster (Heterotheca villosa) low woody plants
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 3 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial

Heavy clay in Carbon County: 87 rated natives

43 wildflowers and herbs, 15 shrubs, 10 grasses and sedges, 9 trees, 8 low woody plants, 2 vines. The first 8, ranked by how easy a start they make:

1. Alpine bistort (Polygonum viviparum) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 1 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
2. Common selfheal (Prunella vulgaris) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 1.5 ft mature · rapid growth · perennial
3. Cutleaf daisy (Erigeron compositus) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 1 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
4. Heartleaf arnica (Arnica cordifolia) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 1.5 ft mature · rapid growth · perennial
5. Largeflower hawksbeard (Crepis occidentalis) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 0.9 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
6. Largeleaf avens (Geum macrophyllum) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 2 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
7. Longstalk clover (Trifolium longipes) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 0.5 ft mature · rapid growth · perennial
8. Longstalk starwort (Stellaria longipes) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 0.9 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial

Sandy, drains fast in Carbon County: 119 rated natives

48 wildflowers and herbs, 24 shrubs, 19 low woody plants, 14 trees, 11 grasses and sedges, 3 vines. The first 8, ranked by how easy a start they make:

1. Alpine bistort (Polygonum viviparum) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 1 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
2. American bistort (Polygonum bistortoides) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 1.5 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
3. American vetch (Vicia americana) vines
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 1.3 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
4. Blanketflower (Gaillardia aristata) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 2 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
5. Bush penstemon (Penstemon fruticosus) low woody plants
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 2 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
6. Common selfheal (Prunella vulgaris) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 1.5 ft mature · rapid growth · perennial
7. Cutleaf daisy (Erigeron compositus) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 1 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial
8. Desert yellow fleabane (Erigeron linearis) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 1 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial

Never watered in Carbon County: 95 rated natives

36 wildflowers and herbs, 26 shrubs, 19 low woody plants, 9 trees, 3 grasses and sedges, 2 vines. The first 8, ranked by how easy a start they make:

1. American vetch (Vicia americana) vines
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 1.3 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial · high drought tolerance
2. Arrowleaf balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 2 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial · high drought tolerance
3. Cutleaf daisy (Erigeron compositus) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 1 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial · high drought tolerance
4. Desert yellow fleabane (Erigeron linearis) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 1 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial · high drought tolerance
5. Gooseberry currant (Ribes montigenum) shrubs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 1 ft mature · rapid growth · perennial · high drought tolerance
6. Kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) shrubs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 0.5 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial · high drought tolerance
7. Missouri goldenrod (Solidago missouriensis) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 3 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial · high drought tolerance
8. Old man's whiskers (Geum triflorum) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 1.5 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial · high drought tolerance

Stays soggy in Carbon County: 58 rated natives

32 wildflowers and herbs, 11 grasses and sedges, 9 trees, 3 low woody plants, 2 shrubs, 1 vines. The first 8, ranked by how easy a start they make:

1. Arctic pearlwort (Sagina saginoides) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 0.3 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial · takes saturated soil
2. Broadleaf arnica (Arnica latifolia) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 2 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial · takes saturated soil
3. Chamisso arnica (Arnica chamissonis) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 2.5 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial · takes saturated soil
4. Fringed grass of Parnassus (Parnassia fimbriata) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 1.2 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial · takes saturated soil
5. Marsh grass of Parnassus (Parnassia palustris) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 2.2 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial · takes saturated soil
6. Silvery primrose (Primula incana) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 1.2 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial · takes saturated soil
7. Spearleaf arnica (Arnica longifolia) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 2 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial · takes saturated soil
8. American licorice (Glycyrrhiza lepidota) wildflowers and herbs
   USDA growing data on file · conspicuous flowers · photo available · about 4 ft mature · moderate growth · perennial · takes saturated soil

Natives Carbon County has that most of Montana does not

43 natives here are on file in no more than 3 of Montana's 56 counties. A few of them:

• Desert yellow fleabane (Erigeron linearis): only here
• White spruce (Picea glauca): only here
• Gray's milkvetch (Astragalus grayi): only here
• Oregon milkvetch (Astragalus oreganus): only here
• Blackandwhite sedge (Carex albonigra): only here
• Snow Indian paintbrush (Castilleja nivea): only here
• Austrian draba (Draba fladnizensis): only here
• Beautiful fleabane (Erigeron formosissimus): only here
• Siberian bog sedge (Kobresia sibirica): only here
• Drummond's halfchaff sedge (Lipocarpha drummondii): only here

Where to start in Carbon County

If you have only one spot to fill, sun all day is where Carbon County gives you the most rated choice (173 plants), and Alkali buttercup (Ranunculus cymbalaria) is the easiest start on that list. Stays soggy is the hard one here: 58 rated plants, so for that spot it is worth asking a local native-plant society about the 282 unrated natives too.