Native Plants / Indiana
Indiana
Indiana Native Plants
A plant is considered native if it has occurred naturally in a particular region or ecosystem without human introduction. There are many benefits in growing native plants. First, these plants are better adapted to soils, moisture and weather than exotic plants that evolved in other parts of the world. They need less fertilizers, pesticides or use less water. Second, they are unlikely to escape and become invasive, destroying natural habitat. Third, they support wildlife, providing shelter and food for native birds and insects, while exotic plants do not.
Acer rubrum (Red Maple)
Noted for its lovely fall color, Acer rubrum (Red Maple) is a relatively fast-growing deciduous tree of pyramidal habit when young, becoming rounded to oval at maturity. In early spring, tiny red flowers, borne in erect clusters, appear before the leaves and are followed by red fruit. Emerging red tinged in spring, the leaves change to dark green with whitish undersides and often develop dazzling yellows and red in the fall. This Red Maple also provides some winter interest, with its attractive, smooth gray bark, often ridged and furrowed with age.
Acer saccharum (Sugar Maple)
Noted for its spectacular fall color, Acer saccharum (Sugar Maple) is a large, deciduous tree with a straight trunk, wide-spreading branches and a dense, oval to rounded crown. Its foliage of five-lobed leaves, 3-6 in. (7-15 cm) ranges from medium to dark green in summer, and changes to a brilliant palette of yellows, oranges, and reds in the fall.
Achillea millefolium (White Yarrow)
Achillea millefolium (White Yarrow) is a graceful perennial wildflower which produces an abundance of huge, flat clusters, 5 in. across (12 cm), packed with 20-25 creamy-white flowers.
Actaea pachypoda (White Baneberry)
Perfect for shade gardens, Actaea pachypoda (White Baneberry) is an herbaceous perennial forming clumps of finely divided, bright green foliage, enhanced by dense, globular clusters of small fluffy white flowers in late spring and early summer.
Actaea racemosa (Black Cohosh)
Striking all summer long, award-winning Actaea racemosa (Black Cohosh) is a beautiful perennial with deep green, finely divided foliage, enhanced by gracefully arching wands of fragrant white flowers in late summer and fall. The blooms are packed in fluffy spikes, up to 2 ft. long (60 cm), which rise well above the foliage, and mature into attractive seed pods.
Actaea rubra (Red Baneberry)
Perfect for shade gardens, Actaea rubra (Red Baneberry) is herbaceous perennial forming bushy clumps of finely divided, bright green foliage, enhanced by clusters of small fluffy white flowers in late spring and early summer. Borne on conspicuous red stems which rise above the foliage, they give way to pea-sized glossy scarlet berries in summer.
Adiantum pedatum (Northern Maidenhair Fern)
One of the most sought-after ferns, Adiantum pedatum (Northern Maidenhair Fern) is a deciduous perennial fern with handsome, black shiny stems and graceful, bright green fronds spreading horizontally in a circular pattern.
Aesculus flava (Yellow Buckeye)
Award-winning Aesculus flava (Yellow Buckeye) is a large deciduous tree of upright-oval to oval-rounded habit with immense secondary branches clothed in palmate compound leaves divided into 5-7 dark green leaflets. In mid to late spring, greenish yellow flowers are borne in erect panicles, 6 in. long (15), but are often almost lost among the leaves.
Aesculus glabra (Ohio Buckeye)
Aesculus glabra (Ohio Buckeye) is a small to medium sized deciduous tree of rounded habit with a dense canopy of dark green leaves adorned with 5-7 leaflets. Its low, sweeping branches bend toward the ground then arch back up, creating a rounded outline.
Ageratina altissima (White Snakeroot)
Ageratina altissima (White Snakeroot) is a clump-forming, spreading, herbaceous perennial boasting flat-topped clusters of small, fluffy, bright white flowers in summer and fall.
Allium cernuum (Lady's Leek)
Native to North America, Allium cernuum is a lovely summer flowering bulb with loose, nodding umbels of tiny bell-shaped, pink to lilac or even white flowers. Each erect stem produces up to 30 flowers!
Allium schoenoprasum (Chives)
Great for spicing up salads or edging borders! Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) are cultivated both for their culinary uses and their ornamental value.
Allium stellatum (Prairie Onion)
Allium stellatum (Prairie Onion) is a bulbous perennial forming a very compact clump of flat, slender, grass-like green leaves, 12 in. long (30 cm). In midsummer to early fall, profuse, rounded umbels, 3-4 in. across (7-10 cm), tightly packed with rose-pink to lavender flowers are borne atop leafless stems just above the foliage.
Amelanchier arborea (Downy Serviceberry)
Early-flowering, Amelanchier arborea (Downy Serviceberry) is a large deciduous shrub or small tree of rounded habit boasting a profusion of 5-petaled, showy, slightly fragrant, white flowers in early to mid spring. Borne in drooping clusters, they appear before the leaves emerge.
Amelanchier laevis (Allegheny Serviceberry)
Amelanchier laevis (Allegheny Serviceberry) is a large deciduous shrub or small multi-trunked tree of dense, fine-textured branching habit with purplish to bronze young leaves. In mid spring, abundant sprays of small, slightly fragrant, white flowers emerge as the leaves unfurl.
