WNC Native Plant Lists
Photo: Bumblebee on common milkweed by Megan Lee.
The Full List
This PDF is packed with valuable recommendations for WNC Native Pollinator-Friendly Plants, Nurseries and Landscapers. It’s an extensive (but not exhaustive) reference curated by an elite task force of local experts.
All of these plants will count towards your certification.
Mobile Lists
Want quick access to from your phone? Scroll down for simple categorized lists make it easy to check plants by common or scientific name when you’re out shopping or browsing on mobile.
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Starter Lists
Get inspired! In these lists, you can browse the blooms of some of our favorites. These pollinator-friendly plants are relatively easy to find and grow.
Coming soon
Mobile-Friendly Plant Lists
Click on any scientific name to open a detailed profile. Lists below include plants for sun, shade, or sun/shade.
Sun Loving Plants
| Scientific Name | Common Name |
|---|---|
| Asclepias syriaca | Common Milkweed |
| Asclepias tuberosa | Butterfly Milkweed |
| Asclepias verticillata | Whorled Milkweed |
| Coreopsis tripteris | Tall Tickseed |
| Eryngium yuccifolium | Rattlesnake Master |
| Eupatorium hyssopifolium | Hyssopleaf Thoroughwort |
| Helenium autumnale | Common Sneezeweed |
| Helenium flexuosum | Purplehead Sneezeweed |
| Helianthus angustifolius | Swamp Sunflower |
| Helianthus tuberosus | Jerusalem Artichoke |
| Heliopsis helianthoides | False Sunflower |
| Liatris microcephala | Smallhead Blazing Star |
| Liatris spicata | Dense Blazing-star |
| Liatris squarrosa | Scaly Blazingstar |
| Phlox maculata | Wild Sweetwilliam, Phlox |
| Phlox paniculata | Fall Phlox |
| Rudbeckia fulgida | Orange Coneflower |
| Solidago rugosa | Wrinkle-leaf Goldenrod |
| Solidago speciosa | Showy Goldenrod |
| Symphyotrichum oblongifolium | Aromatic Aster |
| Symphyotrichum pilosum | Frost Aster, Heath Aster |
| Vernonia noveboracensis | New York Ironweed |
| Veronicastrum virginicum | Culver's Root |
Shade Loving Plants
| Scientific Name | Common Name |
|---|---|
| Actaea podocarpa | Mountain Bugbane |
| Actaea racemosa | Black Cohosh |
| Aquilegia canadensis | Wild Columbine |
| Arisaema triphyllum | Jack-in-the-pulpit |
| Aruncus dioicus | Goat's Beard |
| Asarum canadense | Wild Ginger |
| Astilbe biternata | False Goatsbeard |
| Cardamine diphylla | Two-leaved Toothwort |
| Caulophyllum thalictroides | Blue Cohosh |
| Chrysogonum virginianum | Green and Gold |
| Dicentra eximia | Wild Bleeding Heart |
| Erythronium americanum | Yellow Trout Lily |
| Eurybia divaricata | White Wood Aster |
| Geranium maculatum | Wild Geranium |
| Hepatica acutiloba | Sharp-lobed Hepatica |
| Heuchera americana | Coral Bells |
| Heuchera villosa | Rock Alumroot |
| Impatiens capensis | Jewelweed (annual) |
| Iris cristata | Dwarf Crested Iris |
| Lilium michauxii | Carolina Lily |
| Lilium superbum | Turk’s-cap Lily |
| Pachysandra procumbens | Allegheny Spurge |
| Phacelia bipinnatifida | Fernleaf Phacelia (biennial) |
| Phlox divaricata | Eastern Blue Phlox |
| Phlox stolonifera | Creeping Phlox |
| Podophyllum cymosum | Umbrella Leaf |
| Polygonatum biflorum | Solomon's Seal |
| Primula meadia | Shooting Star |
| Sanguinaria canadensis | Bloodroot |
| Sedum ternatum | Woodland Stonecrop |
| Silene virginica | Fire Pink |
| Solidago curtisii | Curtis’ Goldenrod |
| Spigilea marilandica | Indian Pink |
| Symphyotrichum cordifolium | Blue Wood Aster |
| Thalictrum pubescens | Tall Meadowrue |
| Tiarella cordifolia | Foamflower |
| Trillium erectum | Wake Robin Trillium |
| Trillium catesbaei | Catesby's Trillium |
| Trillium cuneatum | Little Sweet Betsy |
| Trillium grandiflorum | Great White Trillium |
| Trillium luteum | Yellow Trillium |
| Viola blanda | Sweet White Violet |
| Viola rotundifolia | Roundleaf Yellow Violet |
| Viola striata | Striped Cream Violet |
Sun/Shade Loving Plants
| Scientific Name | Common Name |
|---|---|
| Allium cernuum | Nodding Onion |
| Amsonia tabernaemontana | Eastern Blue Star |
| Anemone virginiana | Thimbleweed |
| Antennaria plantaginifolia | Plantain-leaf Pussytoes |
| Asarum arifolium | Little Brown Jugs |
| Asclepias exaltata | Poke Milkweed |
| Asclepias incarnata | Swamp Milkweed |
| Baptisia tinctoria | Yellow Wild Indigo |
| Campanulastrum americanum | American Bellflower |
| Chelone glabra | White Turtlehead |
| Chelone lyonii | Pink Turtlehead |
| Chelone obliqua | Red Turtlehead |
| Chrysopsis mariana | Maryland Goldenaster |
| Cirsium altissimum | Tall Thistle |
| Conoclinium coelestinum | Blue Mist Flower |
| Coreopsis auriculata | Lobed Tickseed |
| Coreopsis grandiflora | Coreopsis |
| Coreopsis lanceolata | Lanceleaf Coreopsis |
| Coreopsis major | Greater Tickseed |
| Coreopsis pubescens | Hairy Coreopsis |
| Coreopsis verticillata | Whorled Tickseed |
| Delphinium exaltatum | Tall Larkspur |
| Echinacea purpurea | Purple Coneflower |
| Eupatoriadelphus fistulosus | Hollow-stem Joe-pyeweed |
| Eupatorium perfoliatum | Common Boneset |
| Eupatorium sessilifolium | Upland Boneset |
| Eutrochium maculatum | Purple Joe-Pye Weed |
| Fragaria virginiana | Wild Strawberry |
| Gentiana clausa | Bottle Gentian |
| Gentiana decora | Appalachian Gentian |
| Gentianella quinquefolia | Eastern Agueweed |
| Gillenia trifoliata | Bowman's Root |
| Hedeoma pulegoides | American Pennyroyal (annual) |
| Helianthus decapetalus | Paleleaf Woodland Sunflower |
| Helianthus hirsutis | Hairy Sunflower |
| Hibiscus moscheutos | Marsh Mallow Hibiscus |
| Houstonia purpurea | Purple Bluets |
| Hypericum punctatum | Spotted St. Johnswort |
| Impatiens pallida | Yellow Jewelweed (annual) |
| Iris verna | Dwarf Violet Iris |
| Lobelia cardinalis | Cardinal Flower |
| Lobelia siphilitica | Great Blue Lobelia |
| Lysimachia quadrifolia | Loosestrife |
| Monarda didyma | Scarlet Bee Balm |
| Monarda fistulosa | Wild Bergamot, Beebalm |
| Monarda punctata | Spotted Beebalm |
| Oenothera fruticosa | Sundrops |
| Packera aurea | Golden Ragwort |
| Penstemon canescens | Appalachian Beardtongue |
| Penstemon digitalis | Foxglove Beardtongue |
| Penstemon smallii | Blue Ridge Beardtongue |
| Phlox carolina | Carolina Phlox |
| Phlox subulata | Creeping Phlox |
| Physostegia virginiana | Obedient Plant |
| Pycnanthemum incanum | Hoary Mountainmint |
| Pycnanthemum montanum | Thinleaf Mountain Mint |
| Pycnanthemum muticum | Clustered Mountainmint |
| Pycnanthemum tenuifolium | Slender Mountain Mint |
| Rudbeckia hirta | Black-eyed Susan (biennial) |
| Rudbeckia laciniata | Sochan, Cutleaf Coneflower |
| Rudbeckia triloba | Brown-eyed Susan |
| Salvia lyrata | Lyreleaf Sage |
| Scutellaria incana | Hoary Skullcap |
| Scutellaria ovata | Heartleaf Skullcap |
| Silphium perfoliatum | Cup Plant |
| Sisyrinchium angustifolium | Narrow-leaved Blue-eyed Grass |
| Solidago bicolor | White Goldenrod |
| Solidago chilensis | Anise-scented Goldenrod |
| Solidago flexicaulis | Broad Leaf Goldenrod |
| Solidago sphacelata | Autumn Goldenrod |
| Symphyotrichum novae-angliae | New England Aster |
| Symphyotricum patens | Late Purple Aster |
| Thermopsis villosa | Carolina Bush Pea |
| Tradescantia ohiensis | Ohio Spiderwort |
| Verbena hastata | Blue Vervain |
| Verbesina alternifolia | Wingstem |
| Viola pedata | Birdfoot Violet |
| Viola sororia | Common Blue Violet |
| Zizia aptera | Heartleaf Golden Alexanders |
| Zizia aurea | Golden Alexanders |