Quick answer: 78 deer-resistant native plants are native to Arkansas, 73 with a live listing as of 04 Nov 2026.
78 species
- Adam's needle Yucca filamentosa · 21 states
- Big bluestem Andropogon gerardii · 41 states
- Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta · 44 states
- Bloodroot Sanguinaria canadensis · 34 states
- Blue wild indigo Baptisia australis · 23 states
- Brown-eyed Susan Rudbeckia triloba · 21 states
- Buffalograss Bouteloua dactyloides · 19 states
- Butterflyweed Asclepias tuberosa · 40 states
- Canada wild rye Elymus canadensis · 37 states
- Canadian wild ginger Asarum canadense · 30 states
- Cardinal flower Lobelia cardinalis · 41 states
- Christmas fern Polystichum acrostichoides · 34 states
- Cinnamon fern Osmunda cinnamomea · 32 states
- Common sneezeweed Helenium autumnale · 40 states
- Common yarrow Achillea millefolium · 47 states
- Cutleaf coneflower Rudbeckia laciniata · 43 states
- Dutchman's breeches Dicentra cucullaria · 32 states
- Dwarf crested iris Iris cristata · 17 states
- Dwarf larkspur Delphinium tricorne · 15 states
- Eastern bluestar Amsonia tabernaemontana · 18 states
- Eastern hay-scented fern Dennstaedtia punctilobula · 25 states
- Eastern purple coneflower Echinacea purpurea · 24 states
- Eastern red cedar Juniperus virginiana · 37 states
- Eastern red columbine Aquilegia canadensis · 36 states
- Foxglove beardtongue Penstemon digitalis · 35 states
- Golden alexanders Zizia aurea · 35 states
- Grayhead coneflower Ratibida pinnata · 26 states
- Great blue lobelia Lobelia siphilitica · 36 states
- Gulf muhly Muhlenbergia capillaris · 16 states
- Heart-leaved meadow parsnip Zizia aptera · 30 states
- Hollow Joe-pye weed Eutrochium fistulosum · 24 states
- Indian blanket Gaillardia pulchella · 17 states
- Indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans · 37 states
- Indigo bush Amorpha fruticosa · 37 states
- Inland sea oats Chasmanthium latifolium · 21 states
- Interrupted fern Osmunda claytoniana · 29 states
- Jack-in-the-pulpit Arisaema triphyllum · 35 states
- Lanceleaf coreopsis Coreopsis lanceolata · 35 states
- Large penstemon (shell-leaf beardtongue) Penstemon grandiflorus · 12 states
- Largeflower tickseed Coreopsis grandiflora · 25 states
- Leadplant Amorpha canescens · 16 states
- Leavenworth's eryngo Eryngium leavenworthii · 1 states
- Lemon beebalm Monarda citriodora · 10 states
- Little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium · 42 states
- Longbract wild indigo (cream false indigo) Baptisia bracteata var. leucophaea · 19 states
- Low prickly pear Opuntia humifusa · 31 states
- Lyreleaf sage Salvia lyrata · 22 states
- Mayapple Podophyllum peltatum · 35 states
- Mexican hat Ratibida columnifera · 17 states
- Narrow-leaf coneflower Echinacea angustifolia · 11 states
- Northern maidenhair fern Adiantum pedatum · 37 states
- Northern spicebush Lindera benzoin · 31 states
- Orange coneflower Rudbeckia fulgida · 23 states
- Pale purple coneflower Echinacea pallida · 17 states
- Pawpaw Asimina triloba · 29 states
- Plains coreopsis Coreopsis tinctoria · 16 states
- Prairie Junegrass Koeleria macrantha · 29 states
- Prairie dropseed Sporobolus heterolepis · 19 states
- Prairie ironweed Vernonia fasciculata · 14 states
- Prairie onion Allium stellatum · 12 states
- Prairie tickseed Coreopsis palmata · 10 states
- Purple milkweed Asclepias purpurascens · 20 states
- Rattlesnake master Eryngium yuccifolium · 20 states
- Royal fern Osmunda regalis var. spectabilis · 30 states
- Sensitive fern Onoclea sensibilis · 26 states
- Showy goldenrod Solidago speciosa · 28 states
- Sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula · 38 states
- Spotted beebalm Monarda punctata · 29 states
- Swamp milkweed Asclepias incarnata · 37 states
- Sweet Joe-Pye Eutrochium purpureum · 33 states
- Sweet coneflower Rudbeckia subtomentosa · 11 states
- Switchgrass Panicum virgatum · 43 states
- Virginia bluebells Mertensia virginica · 23 states
- Virginia iris Iris virginica · 26 states
- Virginia mountain mint Pycnanthemum virginianum · 27 states
- White wild indigo Baptisia alba · 23 states
- Whorled milkweed Asclepias verticillata · 30 states
- Yellow (Bush's) coneflower Echinacea paradoxa · 1 states
Deer-resistant native plants in Arkansas: what to know
78 of the 278 plants native to Arkansas in this directory fit this need: 28% of the state's list, close to the 28% share across all species.
Between them they flower from February through December, with the most in bloom in May. Mixing early and late bloomers keeps the planting useful all season.
Many do double duty: 65 are also good for pollinators, 37 are also shade-tolerant, 37 are also drought-tolerant.
56 of them grow in full or partial sun and 37 tolerate shade, so there are options for open beds and woodland edges alike. Sizes run from low plants like Black-eyed Susan and Bloodroot to trees such as Eastern red cedar and Northern spicebush. For wildlife, 65 support pollinators, 36 provide food or cover for birds and 20 are caterpillar host plants.
73 of the 78 have a seed or plant listing we verified as the wild species. Be careful buying Black-eyed Susan, Common yarrow, Eastern bluestar: 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.
- Cutleaf coneflower Rudbeckia laciniata · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms Jul-Oct
- Little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium · Sun, Part Shade · blooms Jun-Dec
- Big bluestem Andropogon gerardii · Sun, Part Shade · blooms Aug-Nov