Where to Find Us
Books
- Bringing Nature Home, by Douglas W. Tallamy
- Nature’s Best Hope, by Douglas W. Tallamy
- A Sand County Almanac, by Aldo Leopold
- The Gardener’s Guide to Prairie Plants, by Neil Diboll & Hilary Cox
- Native Plants of the Midwest, by Alan Branhagan
- Midwestern Native Shrubs and Trees, by Charlotte Adelman & Bernard L. Schwartz
- Wildflowers of the Midwest, by Don Kurz
- An Illustrated Guide to Iowa Prairie Plants, by Paul Christiansen & Mark Muller
- Native Plant Gardening for Birds, Bees & Butterflies, by Jaret C. Daniels
Videos
Podcast Episodes
Growing Greener, by Tom Christopher
Guides & Articles
Trusted Native Plant Resources
Choosing native plants starts with good information. Not every plant labeled “native” is native to every part of North America—or even every part of Illinois or Iowa.
Wild Ones Quad Cities encourages gardeners to use scientifically grounded resources when researching native plants, planning landscapes, identifying plants, and creating habitat. The resources below are maintained by government agencies, universities, botanical institutions, conservation organizations, or recognized botanical experts.
For the greatest ecological relevance in the Quad Cities, look for plants native to Illinois and/or Iowa and, when possible, documented from our region of the Upper Mississippi River Valley.
Start Here: Native Status & Distribution
Illinois Natural History Survey — Illinois Plant Database
Best for: Illinois native status and distribution
The Illinois Natural History Survey maintains botanical records documenting the flora of Illinois. This is one of our preferred starting points for determining whether a plant occurs naturally in Illinois.
Visit the Illinois Plant Database
The database incorporates multiple sources of Illinois occurrence data, although INHS notes that some historical county records are unvouchered or may not reflect rapidly changing distributions.
BONAP — Biota of North America Program
Best for: County-level native distribution
BONAP’s North American Plant Atlas provides detailed distribution maps for vascular plants across North America. County-level mapping makes BONAP especially useful when determining whether a species is native not simply to a state, but to a particular region.
Explore the North American Plant Atlas
BONAP maintains North American phytogeographic databases and provides U.S. county-level species distribution maps.
USDA PLANTS Database
Best for: Scientific names, synonyms, distribution, and general plant information
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s PLANTS Database is a national reference for standardized plant information, including accepted names, distribution, plant characteristics, images, and related resources.
The database includes both native and introduced species, so users should confirm native status rather than assuming every listed plant is native.
Iowa State University Extension — Plants Native to Iowa
Best for: Iowa native plants and home landscapes
An especially important resource for gardeners on the Iowa side of the Quad Cities. Iowa State University Extension provides science-based information on plants native to Iowa, growing conditions, landscape use, and management considerations.
Iowa State also discusses an important distinction: some native plants can become aggressive in cultivated landscapes and may require management.
Plant Selection & Gardening
University of Illinois Extension — Native Plants
Best for: Illinois gardening, landscape design, establishment, and maintenance
University of Illinois Extension translates horticultural and ecological research into practical guidance for homeowners. Topics include native plant selection, garden design, pollinator habitat, invasive species, maintenance, and difficult growing conditions.
Explore Illinois Extension Native Plant Resources
Illinois Extension recommends selecting Illinois-native species appropriate to the region and site and, when possible, sourcing locally grown plants.
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center — Native Plants of North America
Best for: Finding plants for specific garden conditions
The Wildflower Center’s extensive native plant database is particularly useful for gardeners. Search plants by geographic region and characteristics such as sunlight, soil moisture, bloom period, height, and other growing requirements.
Search the Native Plant Database
The database contains information and images for thousands of North American native plant taxa and supports filtering by geographic and growing conditions.
Missouri Botanical Garden — Plant Finder
Best for: Mature size, bloom time, growing conditions, and landscape performance
The Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder is an excellent companion resource when deciding whether a native plant is appropriate for a residential landscape.
Plant profiles commonly include mature height and spread, light requirements, cultural requirements, landscape uses, noteworthy characteristics, and potential problems.
Plant Finder includes thousands of plants grown or evaluated in the Missouri Botanical Garden’s collections and display gardens.
Ecology, Pollinators & Wildlife
Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation
Best for: Pollinator habitat and documented plant–insect relationships
The Xerces Society is one of our preferred resources for designing landscapes that support native bees, butterflies, moths, and other beneficial insects.
Its regional native plant lists identify plants that provide nectar and pollen, support butterfly and moth caterpillars, provide nesting materials or sites for bees, support specialist bees, and benefit predatory or parasitoid insects.
Explore Pollinator-Friendly Native Plant Lists
View the Midwest Native Plant List
Xerces specifically provides a Midwest regional list rather than relying only on national recommendations.
Pollinator Partnership — Ecoregional Planting Guides
Best for: Matching pollinator plants to your ecological region
Ecological regions do not stop at state lines. Pollinator Partnership’s Selecting Plants for Pollinators guides use ecoregions to provide geographically relevant habitat recommendations.
Find Your Ecoregional Planting Guide
Users can enter a ZIP code to locate the appropriate U.S. ecoregional planting guide.
Illinois Wildflowers
Best for: Illinois plant ecology and plant–insect relationships
Illinois Wildflowers, created by botanist and naturalist John Hilty, is an exceptionally useful supplementary reference for Illinois native plants.
Species accounts often contain detailed information about habitats, growing conditions, floral visitors, caterpillar host relationships, plant-feeding insects, birds, mammals, and other ecological interactions.
How we use it: Illinois Wildflowers is an expert-curated secondary botanical resource. For formal determinations of native status or distribution, we recommend confirming information with INHS, BONAP, USDA, or another primary botanical database.
Conservation & Taxonomy
NatureServe Explorer
Best for: Rare plants and conservation status
Before purchasing, collecting, transplanting, or recommending an uncommon native species, NatureServe is an excellent place to investigate its conservation status.
NatureServe Explorer provides conservation status, taxonomy, broad-scale distribution, and life-history information for tens of thousands of plants, animals, and ecological communities.
Plants of the World Online — Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Best for: Current botanical names and taxonomy
Botanical names change as plant taxonomy evolves. Plants of the World Online, maintained by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, is an authoritative resource for accepted scientific names, synonyms, distribution, taxonomy, and other botanical information.
Search Plants of the World Online
Kew’s database draws on major international botanical datasets and is particularly useful when different resources use different scientific names for the same plant.
Illinois Native Plant Society
Best for: Illinois botany, conservation, plant identification, and regional expertise
The Illinois Native Plant Society promotes the study, appreciation, and conservation of Illinois native plants and natural communities. Its website includes botanical resources, plant identification references, research information, native plant sales, and nursery listings.
Visit the Illinois Native Plant Society
Explore Plant Identification Resources
The organization also supports scientific research on Illinois native plants and natural communities through its research-grant program.
Finding Native Plants & Seeds
Finding the right species is only part of the process. Where your plants come from matters, too.
Whenever practical, choose nurseries and seed producers that can tell you what they are selling and where the material originated.
Check out our Sourcing Native Plants Page for more information.
Preferred Characteristics of a Native Plant Supplier
Look for suppliers that:
- Identify plants by scientific name, not just common name.
- Clearly distinguish straight species from cultivars and hybrids.
- Specialize in plants native to the Midwest or your local region.
- Provide information about seed or plant provenance when available.
- Offer local or regional ecotypes when appropriate.
- Propagate nursery stock rather than removing plants from intact natural areas.
- Can explain their pesticide practices.
- Avoid systemic insecticides harmful to pollinators, particularly when plants are being purchased for pollinator habitat.
- Provide accurate information about mature size, growing requirements, and habitat.
- Avoid marketing a plant as “native” solely because it occurs somewhere in North America.
How We Vet Native Plant Information
When Wild Ones Quad Cities evaluates plant information, we recommend using more than one source when the answer matters.
To determine whether a plant is native locally:
Start with the Illinois Natural History Survey or Iowa State University resources and compare distribution information with BONAP.
To confirm a scientific name:
Check USDA PLANTS or Plants of the World Online.
To determine whether a plant fits a garden site:
Consult University Extension, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, or Missouri Botanical Garden.
To evaluate pollinator and wildlife relationships:
Consult the Xerces Society, Illinois Wildflowers, and Pollinator Partnership.
To investigate rarity or conservation concerns:
Consult NatureServe Explorer and appropriate state conservation agencies.
A Note About Online Plant Information
Native plant information found on nursery websites, social media, gardening blogs, plant-identification apps, search engines, and artificial-intelligence tools can be helpful for discovering plants—but it should not automatically be considered authoritative.
Whenever plant origin, conservation status, invasive potential, wildlife value, or ecological suitability matters, verify the information using an established botanical, government, university, or conservation-science source.
Remember
Native is a geographic term.
A plant can be native to North America without being native to Illinois or Iowa. A plant can also be native somewhere within Illinois or Iowa without historically occurring in every county or ecological community.
Choosing plants with documented regional occurrence—and matching them to the conditions in your own landscape—helps create more meaningful habitat and better-connected native plant communities.