Quick answer: 35 native plants for shade are native to Colorado, 32 with a live listing as of 16 Sep 2026.
35 species
- American plum Prunus americana · 25 states
- Apache plume Fallugia paradoxa · 6 states
- Bearberry Arctostaphylos uva-ursi · 16 states
- Big bluestem Andropogon gerardii · 25 states
- Chokecherry Prunus virginiana · 35 states
- Colorado blue columbine Aquilegia coerulea · 6 states
- Common elderberry Sambucus nigra ssp. canadensis · 16 states
- Common hackberry Celtis occidentalis · 15 states
- Common ninebark Physocarpus opulifolius · 22 states
- Common yarrow Achillea millefolium · 31 states
- Creeping Oregon grape Mahonia repens · 11 states
- Creeping juniper Juniperus horizontalis · 10 states
- Cutleaf coneflower Rudbeckia laciniata · 21 states
- Eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides · 14 states
- Gambel oak Quercus gambelii · 6 states
- Gray alder Alnus incana · 12 states
- Green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica · 23 states
- Highbush cranberry Viburnum opulus var. americanum · 8 states
- Indian blanket Gaillardia pulchella · 18 states
- Indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans · 19 states
- Indigo bush Amorpha fruticosa · 16 states
- Little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium · 23 states
- Paper birch Betula papyrifera · 16 states
- Pearly everlasting Anaphalis margaritacea · 18 states
- Quaking aspen Populus tremuloides · 24 states
- Red baneberry Actaea rubra · 22 states
- Red-osier dogwood Cornus sericea · 22 states
- Rocky Mountain bee plant Peritoma serrulata · 22 states
- Rocky Mountain penstemon Penstemon strictus · 4 states
- Scarlet bugler Penstemon barbatus · 2 states
- Shrubby cinquefoil Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda · 15 states
- Sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula · 25 states
- Smooth sumac Rhus glabra · 34 states
- Swamp milkweed Asclepias incarnata · 25 states
- Switchgrass Panicum virgatum · 24 states