From magnificent waterfalls, dazzling mountains, majestic caves, and whatnot to quirky Alabama native plants, being in Alabama is like being in the beautiful hands of Mother Nature, surrounded by peace and joy.
Alabama’s natural beauty will help you escape your everyday struggling life and be in peace for some time.
Native plants are those plants that are grown in a particular region naturally without any external help. Some plants are widespread and can be found in other regions, too. However, some plants are rigid to only one region or place.
Alabama native plants qualify for this condition as they are specific to Alabama only. Alabama native plants are not found in any other region except Alabama. Hence making these plants more special and rarer.
List of 10 Popular Alabama Native Plants
1. Acacia Farnesiana (Sweet Acacia)
Also known as Vachellia Farnesiana and commonly known as Sweet Acacia, this plant is mainly prized for its highly fragrant flowers. It is one of the most beautiful Alabama Native plants.
It is a species of small tree or shrub in the legume family. Having a height of 15-30 feet and multiple trunks, this plant is used for perfumes, gum, tanning leather, food, ornamental, traditional medicine, etc.
It is a native plant from Southern California to Southern Florida, Mexico, Central America, and Northern South America.
It is a thorny plant with sharp spines, so it must be planted where children and visitors do not contact. Once established strongly, this plant is even tolerant to drought.
2. Acer Floridanum (Florida Maple)
The Florida Maple, commonly known as the southern sugar maple or hammock maple, is a medium-sized or large deciduous plant.
It is one of the most alluring and versatile plants, which looks magnificent when planted in the surroundings. It fertilizes in the spring season before the leaves emerge and grow up to 20-60 ft. tall and 25-40 ft. wide.
Florida Maple flourishes the most in full sun or part shade. When grown in fertile, moist, acid, and well-drained soils, it gives the best results.
Be aware of verticillium wilt, cottony maple scale, borers, aphids, and gall mites. Proper care should be taken for the tree’s trunk to avoid damage done by weed eaters or lawnmowers.
3. Acer Negundo (Box Elder)
Known as the Box Elder, it is a species of maple native to North America. It is one of the fastest-growing plants, but it is short-lived.
It is widely used in medicines, food, cultivation, etc. This plant might easily get affected by scale insects, aphids, or verticillium wilt.
Always be cautious around snowfall or heavy wind as the wood of this plant is very weak; this plant is a full sun or part shade lover.
It usually grows up to 30-50 ft. tall and wide. In moist and well-drained soils, this plant flourishes well.
It is a perfect specimen plant that can be planted in cottage gardens, city gardens, and containers. It is also found in different parts of North America.
4. Acer Rubrum (Red Maple)
Also known as Red Maple, this plant can be easily grown in swamps or poor dry soils.
It is also one of the perfect specimen plants in cottage gardens, city gardens, and containers. Its flowers, twigs, seeds, and almost everything is red in various degrees.
It grows around 40-70 ft tall and 30-50 ft wide and is a low-maintenance plant that needs very little pruning. It grows easily in fertile soil in the spring season before the leaves emerge.
It is native to Eastern North America, from Quebec to Minnesota, south to Florida, and Eastern Texas. Seeds and grafting can easily propagate it.
5. Acer Saccharum (Sugar Maple)
Commonly known as Sugar Maple, it is a flowering plant native to eastern North America. The leaf of sugar maple is the symbol of Canada.
It is the native plant to hardwood forests of eastern Canada and is also known by names like “rock maple,” “sugar tree,” “bird-eye maple,” and whatnot.
It is mainly used to produce maple syrup and can also be used as timber and an ingredient in urban planting. This plant is great for those who love full tree shade or part shade of a tree.
It is a perfect specimen suitable for cottage gardens, city gardens, etc., and can be easily grown in fertile soil.
It grows up to 40-80 ft. tall and 30-60 ft. wide; it is recommended to plant these trees where the grass is already present as its roots are shallow and reach the surface at a very early stage.
6. Achillea Millefolium (White Yarrow)
Commonly known as white yarrow, this is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae and one of the most beautiful-looking Alabama Native plants.
This plant can lighten up any dull corner of your place with its dazzling beauty. It is a perfect specimen for your gardens and cottages.
It is creamy white and is very easy to care for as it is tolerant to drought, heat, humidity, deer, and rabbits. It is also found in Europe, Western Asia, and North America.
It is up to 24-36 inches tall and 12-18 inches wide and gives the best results in the full sun. Part shade is also tolerable, but for satisfaction and an amazing blossom, always try to grow it in full sun.
Apart from its eye-catching looks, it also possesses some other uses, like it is used in food, medicines, traditional medicines, agriculture, and companion planting.
7. Allium Schoenoprasum (Chives)
Commonly known as chives, this plant is a flowering plant belonging to the Amaryllidaceae family. This plant is widespread across the regions of Europe, Asia, and North America.
It is the only species that is native to both old and new worlds and is mainly native to the temperate North Hemisphere.
It looks magnificent when planted across border fronts or rock gardens, herb gardens, cottages, resorts, vegetable gardens, and containers.
These plants are easily grown through seeds and can expand on their own if they are not deadheaded. It is used in culinary arts and is also used in plant cultivation.
8. Alnus Serrulata (Smooth Alder)
Commonly known as smooth alder, this plant is a thicket-forming shrub in the Betulaceae family.
This plant can be found in Eastern North America, Western Nova Scotia, and Southern New Brunswick, south to Florida and Texas.
It blossoms perfectly in full sun and moist wet soils and looks alluring while growing perfectly when planted along with ponds and streams. Bog gardens, swamp borders, and wet meadows are the perfect places to plant these.
It grows up to 10-20 ft. high and 12-15 ft. wide and also tolerates part shade, clay soils, poor soils, and seasonal flooding.
9. Amorpha Fruticosa (Indigo Bush)
Commonly known as the Indigo bush, this is a flowering plant of the legume family. It is also known as the false indigo bush, desert false indigo bush, and bastard indigo bush.
It grows into a glandular thornless shrub and is native to eastern Canada, northern Mexico, and most of the continental United States.
It is up to 4-12 ft tall and 6-15 ft wide and blossoms beautifully in the full sun and medium or average well-drained soil.
It can tolerate wet soils as well as poor, sandy, and dry soils.
It looks graceful when planted at beds and borders, wildflower gardens, prairies or meadows, and for erosion control on banks and slopes.
10. Amsonia Tabernaemontana (Blue Star)
Commonly known as the blue star, it belongs to the Apocynaceae family.
It grows flourishingly under full sun or part shade and is a native plant to the United States of America.
It grows up to 24-36 inches tall and wide, but if it comes in contact with the milky sap, it can irritate, so be aware.
Blue star looks beautiful when planted at the borders of shade gardens, prairie plantings, and cottage gardens.
When planted massively, these amazing plants give a heavenly view, but always try to prevent flopping over this plant as it may promote bushy growth.
End Note on Alabama Native Plants
These Alabama native plants give the most spectacular view when planted in large quantities; they are not only a great specimen to be planted but also have many additional uses.
There are many benefits of native plants, as they are more comfortable and better adapted to the soil than any other plant.
These beautiful Alabama Native plants can be easily found in some amazing botanical gardens like Kaul Wildflower Garden or Birmingham Botanical Gardens.
Discover and start planting!
Last Updated on by Sathi Chakraborty, MSc Biology
