EPA Level III Ecoregion
Mississippi Valley Loess Plains
764 native plants for the Mississippi Valley Loess Plains ecoregion (Jackson area).
The Mississippi Valley Loess Plains run as a band along the eastern edge of the Delta through western Mississippi and Tennessee, including Jackson, Grenada, Vicksburg, and Oxford. Wind-deposited loess gives the region deep, fine-textured soil that erodes badly once it is left bare, which makes groundcover matter more here than in most places. Natives such as white wild indigo, sweetbay magnolia, and yaupon holly hold that soil and take the long humid summers.
Conditions: Deep wind-deposited loess, highly erodible when exposed, 50–58 inches of rain, hot humid summers and mild winters.
Cities and areas: Jackson, Grenada, Greenwood, Vicksburg, Oxford, Batesville.
764 Native Plants for the Mississippi Valley Loess Plains
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
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
Common Sneezeweed
Helenium autumnale
Switchgrass
Panicum virgatum
False Sunflower
Heliopsis helianthoides
Lanceleaf Coreopsis
Coreopsis lanceolata
New Jersey-tea
Ceanothus americanus
Purple Lovegrass
Eragrostis spectabilis
Mallow-rose
Hibiscus moscheutos
Blue Woodland Phlox
Phlox divaricata
Narrowleaf Mountain Mint
Pycnanthemum tenuifolium
Inland Sea Oats
Chasmanthium latifolium
Smooth Spiderwort
Tradescantia ohiensis
Soft rush
Juncus effusus
American Fox Sedge
Carex vulpinoidea
Indiangrass
Sorghastrum nutans
Spicebush
Lindera benzoin
Sevenbark
Hydrangea arborescens
Coral Honeysuckle
Lonicera sempervirens
Spotted Geranium
Geranium maculatum
Narrowleaf Blue-eyed Grass
Sisyrinchium angustifolium
Oakleaf Hydrangea
Hydrangea quercifolia
Northern Red Oak
Quercus rubra
River Birch
Betula nigra
American Beautyberry
Callicarpa americana
Blunt Mountain Mint
Pycnanthemum muticum
Eastern Red Cedar
Juniperus virginiana
Southern Blue Flag Iris
Iris virginica
Black-alder
Ilex verticillata
Black Chokeberry
Aronia melanocarpa
Red Maple
Acer rubrum
Black Gum
Nyssa sylvatica
White Wild Indigo
Baptisia alba
Lyre Leaf Sage
Salvia lyrata
Eastern Bluestar
Amsonia tabernaemontana
Blue-stemmed Goldenrod
Solidago caesia
Christmas Fern
Polystichum acrostichoides
White Oak
Quercus alba
Hornbeam
Carpinus caroliniana
Fragrant Phlox
Phlox pilosa
Sweetbay Magnolia
Magnolia virginiana
Showing 48 of 764. Enter your ZIP for the natives matched to your yard.
Fall care in the Mississippi Valley Loess Plains
What to do right now for plants commonly grown here. Each links to the full regional care guide for that species, with sources.
- Blue stemmed goldenrod
Fall is peak bloom for pollinators and seed for songbirds.
- Helmet skullcap
Fall is quiet for this plant, so there is little to do.
- Garden phlox
Fall is the cleanup window that cuts next year's mildew.
- Fuzzy wuzzy sedge
Fall is easy, and the plant keeps feeding wildlife.
- Eastern narrowleaf sedge
Fall is a calm time for this sedge.
- Mexican bird of paradise
Fall is about slowing down watering and getting the root zone ready for winter, not about pruning.
- Prairie petunia
Fall bloom tapers off gradually in Memphis's long, mild autumn, and this is a good time to decide how much reseeding to allow.
- Farkleberry
Fall brings farkleberry's black berries to full ripeness and its foliage to crimson red in Memphis, a two-season native for color and wildlife value.
- Spigelia marilandica
As bloom winds down heading into fall, Indian pink's foliage clump persists in Memphis gardens before dying back with the first hard freeze.
- Seaside goldenrod
Fall is when seaside goldenrod earns its keep in a Memphis garden, with bright yellow, one-sided flower clusters opening from August into October.
Build a plan for the Mississippi Valley Loess Plains
The Pollinator Patch App turns plants like these into a front-yard plan tuned for the soil, climate, and HOA expectations of the Jackson area.