What's Native Where You Garden?

With so much information online, it can be hard to know which plants are truly native to your area. The Maryland Native Plant Program (MNPP) helps take the guesswork out by providing a trusted source for plants native to Maryland. The Commercial Maryland Native Plant List includes about 675 species native to Maryland’s three main ecoregions: the Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain. These plants are considered suitable for use in home and commercial landscapes. The list is maintained by the MNPP Advisory Committee, a partnership that includes UMD Extension, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the Maryland Native Plant Society, the Maryland Department of Agriculture, and industry partners. As more native species become commercially available, the list will continue to grow.

For MNPP, a native plant is one that occurs naturally in Maryland and the surrounding region, without human introduction. This includes plants that were here before colonial settlement or are listed as native in the Maryland Plant Atlas, a database managed by the DNR and the Maryland Biodiversity Project. 

Maryland Ecoregion Map
EPA level (II) ecoregion map showing Maryland's three main ecoregions- the mountains (Appalachian Plateau, Blue Ridge, and Ridge and Valley), the Piedmont, and the coastal plains (lower and upper coastal plains). Map created by Amanda Wray.

Want a More Interactive Experience? Try the Native Plant Finder

Spreadsheets are helpful, but they are not for everyone. That is why, in collaboration with UMD’s iConsultancy Program, we developed the Maryland Native Plant Finder — an interactive version of the Commercial List. The tool helps users choose the ecoregion where they garden and search for plants by habitat type and site conditions. Favorite plants can be saved, shared, or printed.

The Native Plant Finder is currently in beta and will be improved in 2026–2027 based on user feedback and focus groups. We also hope to add a garden planner in the near future, so stay tuned.

Why Are Some Natives Excluded from the Commercial List?

The following plant species, though native to Maryland, are excluded from the Commercial Maryland Native Plant List due to one or more of the following: 

  1. State Status: as Critically Imperiled/Highly State Rare (S1), Imperiled/State Rare (S2), Endangered (E), Threatened (T), Presumed Extirpated (SX), Historical (Possibly Extirpated) (SH), Endangered Extirpated (X), Status Uncertain (SU), conservation status rank not applicable (SNA) — Source: Maryland Natural Heritage Program. 2021. Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Plants of Maryland, C. Frye Ed., Maryland Department of Natural Resources, 580 Taylor Avenue, Annapolis, MD 21401. DNR 03-030321-270 
     
  2. Difficult to cultivate (i.e. propagation or other issues) 
     
  3. Possible confusion with non-native species or hybridizes with invasive species
     
  4. Poses danger to human health

Note: The Commercial List may include a particular E/T/S1/S2 species when it is widely available in Maryland native plant nurseries (e.g., Baptisia australis).