Quick answer: 22 native plants for birds are native to Alaska, 16 with a live listing as of 04 Nov 2026.
22 species
- Beach strawberry Fragaria chiloensis · 1 states
- Bearberry Arctostaphylos uva-ursi · 34 states
- Broadleaf cattail Typha latifolia · 39 states
- Canada wild rye Elymus canadensis · 37 states
- Common juniper Juniperus communis · 39 states
- Common sunflower Helianthus annuus · 18 states
- Engelmann spruce Picea engelmannii · 1 states
- Fireweed Chamerion angustifolium · 37 states
- Giant red paintbrush Castilleja miniata · 13 states
- Harebell Campanula rotundifolia · 35 states
- Marsh marigold Caltha palustris · 28 states
- Mountain hemlock Tsuga mertensiana · 1 states
- Pacific yew Taxus brevifolia · 1 states
- Quaking aspen Populus tremuloides · 39 states
- Red huckleberry Vaccinium parvifolium · 1 states
- Red-osier dogwood Cornus sericea · 36 states
- Salmonberry Rubus spectabilis · 1 states
- Saskatoon serviceberry Amelanchier alnifolia · 14 states
- Seep monkeyflower Erythranthe guttata · 15 states
- Sitka spruce Picea sitchensis · 1 states
- Water birch Betula occidentalis · 1 states
- Western columbine Aquilegia formosa · 1 states
Native plants for birds in Alaska: what to know
22 of the 40 plants native to Alaska in this directory fit this need: 55% of the state's list, above the 52% share across all species.
Between them they flower from March through October, with the most in bloom in June. Mixing early and late bloomers keeps the planting useful all season.
Many do double duty: 14 are also good for pollinators, 12 are also shade-tolerant, 9 are also drought-tolerant.
20 of them grow in full or partial sun and 12 tolerate shade, so there are options for open beds and woodland edges alike. Sizes run from low plants like Giant red paintbrush and Marsh marigold to trees such as Bearberry and Common juniper. For wildlife, 14 support pollinators, 22 provide food or cover for birds and 5 are caterpillar host plants.
16 of the 22 have a seed or plant listing we verified as the wild species. Be careful buying Engelmann spruce, Harebell: common listings for these are often a bred variety or a different species.
Good places to start
Verified wild-species listings that take sun and are widely native, so they are forgiving first plants.
- Quaking aspen Populus tremuloides · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms Mar-Jun
- Canada wild rye Elymus canadensis · Sun, Part Shade · blooms Mar-Jun
- Fireweed Chamerion angustifolium · Sun · blooms Jun-Sep