Quick answer: 16 drought-tolerant native plants are native to Alaska, 8 with a live listing as of 24 Oct 2026.
16 species
- Beach strawberry Fragaria chiloensis · 1 states
- Bearberry Arctostaphylos uva-ursi · 34 states
- Bluebunch wheatgrass Pseudoroegneria spicata · 16 states
- Common juniper Juniperus communis · 39 states
- Common sunflower Helianthus annuus · 18 states
- Harebell Campanula rotundifolia · 35 states
- Mountain avens Dryas octopetala · 1 states
- Nootka rose Rosa nutkana · 1 states
- Pacific yew Taxus brevifolia · 1 states
- Pearly everlasting Anaphalis margaritacea · 38 states
- Quaking aspen Populus tremuloides · 39 states
- Red huckleberry Vaccinium parvifolium · 1 states
- Shore pine Pinus contorta · 1 states
- Western columbine Aquilegia formosa · 1 states
- Western yarrow Achillea millefolium var. occidentalis · 18 states
- Winterfat Krascheninnikovia lanata · 12 states
Drought-tolerant native plants in Alaska: what to know
16 of the 40 plants native to Alaska in this directory fit this need: 40% of the state's list, well below the 56% 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: 11 are also good for pollinators, 9 are also good for birds, 7 are also shade-tolerant.
16 of them grow in full or partial sun and 7 tolerate shade, so there are options for open beds and woodland edges alike. Sizes run from low plants like Bluebunch wheatgrass and Mountain avens to trees such as Bearberry and Common juniper. For wildlife, 11 support pollinators, 9 provide food or cover for birds and 6 are caterpillar host plants.
8 of the 16 have a seed or plant listing we verified as the wild species. Be careful buying Harebell: common listings for it 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
- Pearly everlasting Anaphalis margaritacea · Sun, Part Shade · blooms Jun-Oct
- Bearberry Arctostaphylos uva-ursi · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms Mar-Jun