EPA Level III Ecoregion
Central Basin and Range
940 native plants for the Central Basin and Range ecoregion (Reno area).
The Central Basin and Range is sagebrush country: the high desert between the Sierra Nevada and the Wasatch Front, including Reno, Carson City, and the Salt Lake Valley’s western edges. Cold winters, hot dry summers, and alkaline soils rule out most conventional landscaping. Natives like basin wildrye, rabbitbrush, and firecracker penstemon evolved for exactly these conditions.
Conditions: Alkaline, often salty basin soils, under 12 inches of rainfall, cold winters and hot arid summers.
Cities and areas: Reno, Salt Lake City, Carson City, Elko, Bishop.
940 Native Plants for the Central Basin and Range
HOA-friendly picks listed first. Pet-safety status varies by species; each plant page shows its sourced ASPCA status. Native range data from vouchered herbarium specimen records and regional native plant society lists.
Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
Cardinal Flower
Lobelia cardinalis
Common Yarrow
Achillea millefolium
Common Sneezeweed
Helenium autumnale
Sideoats Grama
Bouteloua curtipendula
Smooth Aster
Symphyotrichum laeve
Soft rush
Juncus effusus
American Fox Sedge
Carex vulpinoidea
Red-osier Dogwood
Cornus sericea
Aromatic Sumac
Rhus aromatica
Blue Grama
Bouteloua gracilis
Prairie Junegrass
Koeleria macrantha
Bear-grape
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Golden Currant
Ribes aureum
Prairie Wildrye
Elymus canadensis
Wild Woodland Strawberries
Fragaria vesca
Tufted Hairgrass
Deschampsia cespitosa
Solomon's-plume
Maianthemum racemosum
California-poppy
Eschscholzia californica
Western Columbine
Aquilegia formosa
California Fuchsia
Epilobium canum
Sulfur-buckwheat
Eriogonum umbellatum
Heath Aster
Symphyotrichum ericoides
Canoe Birch
Betula papyrifera
Pacific Serviceberry
Amelanchier alnifolia
California Wild Buckwheat
Eriogonum fasciculatum
Apricot globemallow
Sphaeralcea ambigua
Western Blue-eyed Grass
Sisyrinchium bellum
Foothill Lupine
Lupinus albifrons
Firecracker penstemon
Penstemon eatonii
Star False Solomon's-seal
Maianthemum stellatum
Canadian Goldenrod
Solidago canadensis
Common Juniper
Juniperus communis
Western Redbud
Cercis occidentalis
Antelope Horn Milkweed
Asclepias asperula
California Rose
Rosa californica
Skunkbush Sumac
Rhus trilobata
Douglas' Sagewort
Artemisia douglasiana
California Honeysuckle
Lonicera involucrata
Oregongrape
Mahonia repens
Desert Marigold
Baileya multiradiata
Honey Locust
Gleditsia triacanthos
Bush Cinquefoil
Potentilla fruticosa
Four-wing Saltbush
Atriplex canescens
Banana yucca
Yucca baccata
Blue Elderberry
Sambucus mexicana
Woolly Sedge
Carex pellita
Three-nerve Goldenrod
Solidago velutina
Showing 48 of 940. Enter your ZIP for the natives matched to your yard.
Fall care in the Central Basin and Range
What to do right now for plants commonly grown here. Each links to the full regional care guide for that species, with sources.
- Little bluestem
Fall is the show. The blades turn coppery red and the fluffy seed heads catch the low light. Leave everything standing for winter interest and wildlife.
- Swamp milkweed
Fall is seed time and cleanup. Pods dry and split to release fluffy seeds, and once the stems yellow you can cut back for a neat winter look.
Build a plan for the Central Basin and Range
Pollinator Patch turns plants like these into a front-yard plan tuned for the soil, climate, and HOA expectations of the Reno area.