Native Plant Guides

Regional and National Flora

Purpose

This directory gathers trusted native plant resources from across the United States and Canada. It is intended to help conservationists, educators, gardeners, and community groups locate reliable, science-based information for habitat restoration, native landscaping, and ecological education.

Scope

Resources are organized by geographic region. Each regional guide lists states or provinces along with links to:

  • Land Grant University and Cooperative Extension programs
  • Native Plant Societies and conservation organizations
  • Herbaria, plant databases, and regional field guides

Together these sources provide practical information on native plant identification, distribution, and ecological use — forming a broad framework for projects that support birds, pollinators, and healthy landscapes.

How to Use These Guides

Begin with your own state or province. Most links lead to regional plant databases or organizations that provide plant lists, habitat guidance, and educational materials.

Plants do not recognize political boundaries, but people usually search that way. For that reason these guides are organized geographically so visitors can quickly locate resources relevant to their region.

It is often helpful to explore neighboring regions as well. Comparing nearby states or provinces can reveal shared species, overlapping habitats, and broader ecological patterns.

Native plants form the foundation of healthy ecosystems. By learning the plants of our own regions, we begin to understand the habitats that birds and other wildlife depend on.

Continental Plant Databases

In addition to regional guides, several major databases cover large portions of North America. These tools allow users to explore plant distributions, taxonomy, and ecological relationships across political boundaries.

  • USDA PLANTS Database — national distribution maps and taxonomic information for plants of the United States and its territories.
  • BONAP (Biota of North America Program) — detailed county-level distribution maps for North American plants.
  • bPlant — an integrated native plant database supporting habitat restoration and ecological research.

For a step-by-step explanation of how to explore plant distributions using BONAP maps, see our guide: How to Use BONAP Distribution Maps.

Acknowledgments

These guides draw on the cooperative work of the Land Grant University system, Native Plant Societies, and public herbaria throughout North America.

Compiled by Saving Birds Thru Habitat in support of bird-friendly landscapes and native plant diversity.

Updated October 2025.

United States

Universities, botanical organizations, and conservation groups have created excellent regional plant guides, but they are scattered across many different websites.

These pages gather those resources in one place so visitors can quickly locate reliable guides for their region.

Canada

Mexico and Central America