Wyoming Natives

Virginia Wild Rye has long filled forest edges and damp clearings in eastern North America. Its quick growth and ready reseeding make it useful as a native cover crop and for streambank stabilization. Birds use the seed-bearing stems for food and cover, and insects inhabit the grass. It tolerates sun to shade and moist ground, with tan and crimson fall color.

Western Sand Milkweed (Asclepias arenaria), also known as Sandhill Milkweed or Dwarf Milkweed, is a hardy, drought-tolerant species native to the sandy plains and prairies of the central and southwestern United States, where it has long supported pollinators and played a role in Indigenous plant knowledge. This milkweed forms upright stems with soft, velvety, blue-green leaves and produces clusters of pale greenish-white flowers that are highly attractive to monarchs, bees, and other beneficial insects.

The Sideoats Grama is a warm-season bunchgrass grain variety that is easy to grow and native throughout much of North America. The ornamental and distinctive seed spikes hang from only one side of the stalk, and these make good fresh or dried cuttings. This grain prefers full sun and moderate to dry soils. The Sideoats Grama is recommended for meadow and prairie plantings, beds & borders, and as a component of forage mixes for livestock and wildlife.

The Canada Wildrye is a cool-season bunchgrass grain variety that can be found throughout Canada and the U.S. except in the southeastern states. It is typically found in prairies, open woods, fields and disturbed sites. This grain tends to be short-lived but provides quick stabilization for erosion control seedings, and it makes a good, early successional component of prairie mixtures. The Canada Wildrye provides quality forage for livestock and wildlife.

Blue Joint Grass is a widespread North American wetland grass with a long natural role in streamside and meadow plant communities. Pink-green summer seed heads rise above rhizomes that help hold damp soil in place. Its dense growth offers cover for wetland insects and birds, and it can spread quickly across restoration sites. Give it full sun to partial shade and moist to wet ground.

Nodding Bur Marigold is a native annual of North American wet meadows and marsh edges. Its old names Beggar's Tick and Sticktight recall the hooked seeds that cling to passing animals. Golden, sunflower-like flowers feed bees, butterflies, skippers, and moths; later, ducks and songbirds eat the seeds. Plant in full sun and wet to moist ground, where it can reseed naturally.

Wild Golden Glow (Rudbeckia laciniata) is a tall native perennial with bright yellow flowers that bloom from midsummer into fall. Plants reach about 7 feet and spread by rhizomes, making them well suited to moist naturalized gardens, woodland edges, and rain-garden plantings. The flowers support bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects, while mature seed heads provide food for birds. Seed requires 30 days of cold, moist stratification and should be surface sown.

The Wyoming Blend combines annual and perennial wildflowers selected for ornamental planting across western plains, valleys and mountain regions. Its current component profile features Showy Goldeneye, Blanketflower, Blue Flax, and Blue Columbine. Wyoming’s open plains and mountain elevations make site elevation, exposure and moisture important when placing this Western mixture. The mixture contains both native species and non-native flowers adapted to the region, creating varied colors, heights and bloom periods. Sow in a sunny, prepared, weed-free seedbed and keep the surface consistently moist while seedlings establish.

The Buffalo Grass is a warm-season grass that is the predominant component of the shortgrass prairies of the Great Plains. Once established, it is extremely drought tolerant and tough. It can be used as a xeriscape lawn grass for water conservation, and it is a common component in range mixtures. White Tailed Deer, Bison and Prairie Dogs utilize it for forage, and it is a larval host for the Green Skipper. Plants are stoloniferous and can invade flower beds if an edging or barrier is not used.

Western Native Grass Mix combines seven grasses adapted to dry western sites below about 6,000 feet. Cool- and warm-season growth produces a changing display of fine foliage, upright stems, and ornamental seed heads. Plants mature around one to three feet, offering meadow character without the scale of tallgrass species. The diverse root systems strengthen soil and support wildlife in low-input landscapes.

Southern Plains Native Grass Mix unites short- and mid-height prairie grasses adapted to sun, wind, and periodic drought. Warm- and cool-season species share the stand, giving the planting a longer active season and varied seed-head form. Most growth stays between one and three feet, making the blend useful around homes as well as in broad meadow projects. Dense roots protect soil while mature stems furnish food and shelter for wildlife.

Foothills Native Grass Mix combines warm- and cool-season species selected for western mountain foothills between roughly 5,500 and 8,200 feet. The blend creates a varied meadow texture with bunchgrasses adapted to lean, seasonally dry ground. Deep and fibrous roots contribute durable cover for naturalized landscapes and reclamation work. It can be planted alone or paired with regionally appropriate native wildflowers.

High Mountain Native Grass Mix brings together cool-season grasses suited to elevated western landscapes from about 8,200 to 12,000 feet. Fine and broader blades combine for a layered meadow with strong seasonal texture. The blend supports naturalistic plantings where short summers, cold winters, and exposed conditions challenge ordinary lawn grasses. It may be sown alone or integrated with high-elevation native flowers.

Rosinweed is a robust prairie perennial with bright yellow daisies held on strong upright stems. Its coarse foliage and substantial form provide bold structure in sunny naturalistic plantings. Deep roots help established plants endure heat and dry periods while the seedheads feed birds.

Water Horehound is native to nearly all of the contiguous United States and has long occupied open marshes, fens, and wet meadows. Although it belongs to the mint family, its foliage lacks the strong mint scent; small white flowers sit in the leaf axils. Those flowers can serve small pollinating insects, while the stems add cover in wetland habitat. Give it sun or partial shade and moist to wet soil.

Rice Cut Grass has a wide history across world wetlands and is native to North American floodplains and pond margins. Its sharp-edged leaves explain the common name and can form dense stands. Least Skipper larvae use the grass, adults feed in its habitat, and waterfowl eat the seed. Plant in sun or partial shade on wet, preferably silty soil.

Torrey's Rush is a North American wetland perennial with round flower clusters near the tops of slender stems. Its named species has long occupied marshes, wet prairies, and pond or river margins. Fast-spreading rhizomes help stabilize shorelines and create cover for wetland insects and small animals. Give it full sun and consistently moist soil.

Fowl Manna Grass is one of North America's most widespread wetland grasses, occurring from shaded woodland pools to open marshes. Its airy panicles and soft foliage provide cover for small animals. Geese graze the leaves, and the moth Elachista irrorata uses it as a host plant. Grow it in sun or shade on moist to wet soil.

Silky Wild Rye is a native grass of eastern North American deciduous woods, where its nodding, bristly heads rise above the understory. Like other Elymus grasses, it grows most strongly in cool spring and fall weather and may be relatively short lived. Its stems give woodland birds and insects cover, and the grain can add forage for seed eaters. Plant in partial or full shade with medium moisture.

Brown Fox Sedge takes its name from the fox-tail appearance of its midsummer seed heads. This abundant North American native grows across wet meadows and other moist open habitats. Fruiting clumps provide bird forage and cover for small wetland animals. It adapts to sun or partial shade and soils ranging from wet to moderately dry.

Common Tussock Sedge is a North American wetland perennial whose raised clumps have shaped sedge meadows over generations. It offers larval food to Black Dash and Mulberry Wing skippers, Eyed Brown and Appalachian Brown butterflies, and the Bog Lithacondia moth. Birds also forage within the dense wetland stands. Grow in sun to partial shade on consistently wet ground.

Awl-fruited Sedge has several long-used names, including Prickly Sedge and Fox Sedge, reflecting its pointed seed heads. It is native to North American riverbanks, floodplain forests, and marshes and establishes quickly in disturbed wetlands. Caterpillars feed on the foliage; woodcocks, ducks, and swamp sparrows eat the seeds. Plant in sun or shade with reliably moist to wet soil.

Lance-fruited Oval Sedge has also been called Broom Sedge, a name linked to its broom-like fruiting form. It belongs to sunny North American marshes, floodplains, and wet sandy ground. Moths and skipper caterpillars use the foliage, while waterfowl, songbirds, turtles, and small mammals eat the seeds. This clumping, cool-season perennial suits wetland gardens and restoration sites.

Broad-leaved Woolly Sedge is native to North American wet meadows and mineral-rich wetlands, where calcareous soil is common. Its broad, softly textured leaves and June seed spikes distinguish it from finer sedges. Native sedge foliage can host insects, while its seeds contribute to wetland bird forage. Plant it in sun or partial shade with consistently moist to wet, often alkaline soil.

Porcupine Sedge is a native of North American fens, marshes, sedge meadows, and wet prairies, also known as Bottlebrush Sedge. Its bristly seed heads give the common names their character. Wetland insects use its foliage and waterfowl forage for sedge seeds among the stems. Grow it in full sun and wet soil that may flood for short periods.

Pale Sedge has long been part of North American wet meadows and limestone-rich wetlands; its other name, Limestone Meadow Sedge, describes that habitat. It grows in cool weather and carries pale spring to early-summer flower spikes above narrow leaves. Like other sedges, its growth supports small wetland insects and seed-foraging birds. Choose moist to wet, often alkaline soil in sun or shade.

Plains Oval Sedge, historically also called Shortbeak Sedge, occurs across North American open ground, from dry disturbed sites to seasonally flooded margins. Golden-brown oval seed spikes stand above a compact mound in fall. Like other native sedges, it contributes seed and cover to birds and habitat for small insects. Its wide moisture tolerance makes it useful in sunny or partly shaded restoration plantings.

Wild Four O'Clock (Mirabilis nyctaginea) is a distinctive North American native plant. Magenta-purple flowers open later in the day on branching plants, offering nectar to evening-active pollinators. It matures at approximately 48 inches tall and flowers from late spring to early summer through early to mid summer through mid to late summer. Plant it in full sun, in dry to medium conditions, with loamy soil, sandy soil or dry soil. Space plants 24–36 inches apart for healthy growth and airflow.

Cow Parsnip (Heracleum maximum) is a distinctive North American native plant. Broad leaves and large white umbels give this imposing biennial a strong presence in moist meadows and woodland edges. It matures at approximately 96 inches tall and flowers from late spring to early summer through early to mid summer. Plant it in full sun to partial shade, in medium to medium-wet conditions, with loamy soil, clay soil or wet soil. Space plants 24–36 inches apart for healthy growth and airflow.

Lead Plant (Amorpha canescens) is a distinctive North American native plant. Silvery foliage and purple flower spikes make this deep-rooted prairie legume a durable choice for dry gardens and pollinator plantings. It matures at approximately 36 inches tall and flowers from late spring to early summer through early to mid summer. Plant it in full sun to partial shade, in dry to medium conditions, with loamy soil, sandy soil or poor soil. Space plants 12–24 inches apart for healthy growth and airflow.

Early Figwort (Scrophularia lanceolata) is a native perennial valued for its nectar-rich red and green flowers. Upright plants reach about 5 feet tall and bloom from late spring through midsummer, attracting bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and other beneficial insects. This adaptable wildflower grows in full sun through shade and tolerates loamy or sandy soils across a broad moisture range. Seed requires 60 days of cold, moist stratification and light for germination.