Quick answer: 56 deer-resistant native plants are native to South Dakota, 51 with a live listing as of 04 Nov 2026.
56 species
- Bearberry Arctostaphylos uva-ursi · 34 states
- Big bluestem Andropogon gerardii · 41 states
- Big sagebrush Artemisia tridentata · 14 states
- Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta · 44 states
- Bloodroot Sanguinaria canadensis · 34 states
- Blue grama Bouteloua gracilis · 19 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
- Colorado blue columbine Aquilegia coerulea · 9 states
- Common gaillardia (blanketflower) Gaillardia aristata · 11 states
- Common juniper Juniperus communis · 39 states
- Common sneezeweed Helenium autumnale · 40 states
- Common yarrow Achillea millefolium · 47 states
- Creeping juniper Juniperus horizontalis · 12 states
- Cutleaf coneflower Rudbeckia laciniata · 43 states
- Dutchman's breeches Dicentra cucullaria · 32 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
- Heart-leaved meadow parsnip Zizia aptera · 30 states
- Idaho fescue Festuca idahoensis · 12 states
- Indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans · 37 states
- Indigo bush Amorpha fruticosa · 37 states
- Jack-in-the-pulpit Arisaema triphyllum · 35 states
- Large penstemon (shell-leaf beardtongue) Penstemon grandiflorus · 12 states
- Leadplant Amorpha canescens · 16 states
- Lewis flax (blue flax) Linum lewisii · 17 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
- Mexican hat Ratibida columnifera · 17 states
- Narrow-leaf coneflower Echinacea angustifolia · 11 states
- Northern maidenhair fern Adiantum pedatum · 37 states
- Prairie Junegrass Koeleria macrantha · 29 states
- Prairie dropseed Sporobolus heterolepis · 19 states
- Prairie goldenrod Solidago nemoralis · 7 states
- Prairie ironweed Vernonia fasciculata · 14 states
- Prairie onion Allium stellatum · 12 states
- Prairie tickseed Coreopsis palmata · 10 states
- Rocky Mountain bee plant Peritoma serrulata · 26 states
- Rubber rabbitbrush Ericameria nauseosa · 17 states
- Scarlet globemallow Sphaeralcea coccinea · 12 states
- Showy goldenrod Solidago speciosa · 28 states
- Showy milkweed Asclepias speciosa · 17 states
- Sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula · 38 states
- Swamp milkweed Asclepias incarnata · 37 states
- Switchgrass Panicum virgatum · 43 states
- Upland larkspur Delphinium nuttallianum · 13 states
- Virginia mountain mint Pycnanthemum virginianum · 27 states
- Western yarrow Achillea millefolium var. occidentalis · 18 states
- Whorled milkweed Asclepias verticillata · 30 states
Deer-resistant native plants in South Dakota: what to know
56 of the 146 plants native to South Dakota in this directory fit this need: 38% of the state's list, well above the 28% share across all species.
Between them they flower from February through December, with the most in bloom in June. Mixing early and late bloomers keeps the planting useful all season.
Many do double duty: 48 are also good for pollinators, 36 are also drought-tolerant, 28 are also good for birds.
47 of them grow in full or partial sun and 20 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 Bearberry and Common juniper. For wildlife, 48 support pollinators, 28 provide food or cover for birds and 19 are caterpillar host plants.
51 of the 56 have a seed or plant listing we verified as the wild species. Be careful buying Black-eyed Susan, Common yarrow, Indiangrass: 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