EPA Level III Ecoregion
Mississippi Alluvial Plain
932 native plants for the Mississippi Alluvial Plain ecoregion (Memphis area).
The Mississippi Alluvial Plain is the Delta, the flat wide floodplain the river built from Cairo down toward the Gulf, taking in Memphis, Greenville, Vicksburg, and Jonesboro. Soils are deep and heavy, the water table sits close to the surface, and ground that has not been leveled for row crops still floods. Natives like white wild indigo, rose-mallow, and dwarf palmetto are built for heavy wet soil and long humid heat.
Conditions: Deep heavy alluvial clay over a high water table, 48–56 inches of rain, hot humid summers and short mild winters.
Cities and areas: Memphis, Greenville, Vicksburg, Jonesboro, Clarksdale, Helena.
932 Native Plants for the Mississippi Alluvial Plain
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.
Purple Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea
Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
Little Bluestem
Schizachyrium scoparium
Wild Bergamot
Monarda fistulosa
Cardinal Flower
Lobelia cardinalis
Black-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia hirta
Butterfly Milkweed
Asclepias tuberosa
Blue Lobelia
Lobelia siphilitica
Common Yarrow
Achillea millefolium
Rattlesnake Master
Eryngium yuccifolium
Switchgrass
Panicum virgatum
Common Sneezeweed
Helenium autumnale
Lanceleaf Coreopsis
Coreopsis lanceolata
False Sunflower
Heliopsis helianthoides
New Jersey-tea
Ceanothus americanus
Mallow-rose
Hibiscus moscheutos
Purple Lovegrass
Eragrostis spectabilis
Blue Woodland Phlox
Phlox divaricata
Culver's Root
Veronicastrum virginicum
Whorled Milkweed
Asclepias verticillata
Inland Sea Oats
Chasmanthium latifolium
Narrowleaf Mountain Mint
Pycnanthemum tenuifolium
Soft rush
Juncus effusus
Smooth Spiderwort
Tradescantia ohiensis
Spicebush
Lindera benzoin
Sevenbark
Hydrangea arborescens
Pale Purple Coneflower
Echinacea pallida
Indiangrass
Sorghastrum nutans
American Fox Sedge
Carex vulpinoidea
Tall Blazing Star
Liatris aspera
Coral Honeysuckle
Lonicera sempervirens
Aromatic Sumac
Rhus aromatica
Narrowleaf Blue-eyed Grass
Sisyrinchium angustifolium
Spotted Geranium
Geranium maculatum
Oakleaf Hydrangea
Hydrangea quercifolia
Northern Red Oak
Quercus rubra
Southern Blue Flag Iris
Iris virginica
River Birch
Betula nigra
Eastern Red Cedar
Juniperus virginiana
Blunt Mountain Mint
Pycnanthemum muticum
Broombush
Hypericum prolificum
American Beautyberry
Callicarpa americana
Christmas Fern
Polystichum acrostichoides
Hornbeam
Carpinus caroliniana
Blue-stemmed Goldenrod
Solidago caesia
Lyre Leaf Sage
Salvia lyrata
Black Gum
Nyssa sylvatica
Eastern Bluestar
Amsonia tabernaemontana
Showing 48 of 932. Enter your ZIP for the natives matched to your yard.
Fall care in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain
What to do right now for plants commonly grown here. Each links to the full regional care guide for that species, with sources.
- Zinnia
Zinnias keep blooming into fall in Memphis until the first frost ends the season.
- Spiny sida
Flowering continues into early fall in Memphis, after which spiny sida sets its spiny seed pods.
- Camphorweed
Bloom continues into fall in Memphis, after which camphorweed sets seed for next year.
- Pink thoroughwort
Fall is peak season for pink thoroughwort in Memphis, with clusters of pink to white flowers drawing in late season pollinators.
- Purple lovegrass
Fall is the showiest season for purple love grass in Memphis, with a haze of purple-pink seed heads and bronze fall color.
- Smooth spiderwort
Fall around Memphis is mainly cleanup and division time for this plant, not a bloom season.
- Prairie spiderwort
Fall stays mild in Memphis well into October, with the average first frost landing around November 3.
- Stiff goldenrod
Fall bloom in Memphis runs long, from late summer into the area's average first frost in mid November.
- Narrowleaf blue eyed grass
Fall stays mild in Memphis, with the first frost usually not arriving until mid to late November, so this plant keeps some green foliage later into the year than it would up north.
- Long flower beeblossom
After the first Memphis frost, this gaura dies back for the year, and a fall cleanup plus limiting reseeding keeps beds tidy and manageable.
Build a plan for the Mississippi Alluvial Plain
The Pollinator Patch App turns plants like these into a front-yard plan tuned for the soil, climate, and HOA expectations of the Memphis area.