Quick answer: 68 native plants for shade are native to South Dakota, 64 with a live listing as of 04 Nov 2026.
68 species
- American basswood Tilia americana · 37 states
- American bellflower Campanulastrum americanum · 34 states
- American bittersweet Celastrus scandens · 33 states
- American hazelnut Corylus americana · 34 states
- American plum Prunus americana · 37 states
- Bearberry Arctostaphylos uva-ursi · 34 states
- Bloodroot Sanguinaria canadensis · 34 states
- Blue vervain Verbena hastata · 34 states
- Bunchberry Cornus canadensis · 18 states
- Bur oak Quercus macrocarpa · 33 states
- Canada anemone Anemone canadensis · 29 states
- Canadian wild ginger Asarum canadense · 30 states
- Chokecherry Prunus virginiana · 44 states
- Closed bottle gentian Gentiana andrewsii · 23 states
- Colorado blue columbine Aquilegia coerulea · 9 states
- Common elderberry Sambucus nigra ssp. canadensis · 36 states
- Common evening primrose Oenothera biennis · 30 states
- Common hackberry Celtis occidentalis · 33 states
- Common ninebark Physocarpus opulifolius · 30 states
- Common snowberry Symphoricarpos albus · 21 states
- Coralberry Symphoricarpos orbiculatus · 30 states
- Creeping Oregon grape Mahonia repens · 15 states
- Cutleaf coneflower Rudbeckia laciniata · 43 states
- Downy hawthorn Crataegus mollis · 24 states
- Downy serviceberry Amelanchier arborea · 37 states
- Dutchman's breeches Dicentra cucullaria · 32 states
- Eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides · 42 states
- Eastern hop-hornbeam Ostrya virginiana · 37 states
- Eastern red cedar Juniperus virginiana · 37 states
- Eastern red columbine Aquilegia canadensis · 36 states
- Fragrant sumac Rhus aromatica · 30 states
- Gray dogwood Cornus racemosa · 19 states
- Great blue lobelia Lobelia siphilitica · 36 states
- Green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica · 43 states
- Harebell Campanula rotundifolia · 35 states
- Heart-leaved meadow parsnip Zizia aptera · 30 states
- Highbush cranberry Viburnum opulus var. americanum · 22 states
- Indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans · 37 states
- Jack-in-the-pulpit Arisaema triphyllum · 35 states
- Jacob's ladder Polemonium reptans · 31 states
- Large-flowered bellwort Uvularia grandiflora · 27 states
- Longbract wild indigo (cream false indigo) Baptisia bracteata var. leucophaea · 19 states
- Marsh marigold Caltha palustris · 28 states
- Michigan lily Lilium michiganense · 16 states
- Nannyberry Viburnum lentago · 25 states
- Northern maidenhair fern Adiantum pedatum · 37 states
- Old man's whiskers Geum triflorum · 9 states
- Paper birch Betula papyrifera · 28 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
- Purple meadow-rue Thalictrum dasycarpum · 17 states
- Quaking aspen Populus tremuloides · 39 states
- Red baneberry Actaea rubra · 29 states
- Red-osier dogwood Cornus sericea · 36 states
- Showy goldenrod Solidago speciosa · 28 states
- Silver maple Acer saccharinum · 37 states
- Smooth Solomon's seal Polygonatum biflorum · 34 states
- Smooth sumac Rhus glabra · 42 states
- Staghorn sumac Rhus typhina · 28 states
- Sugar maple Acer saccharum · 34 states
- Virginia creeper Parthenocissus quinquefolia · 40 states
- Virginia mountain mint Pycnanthemum virginianum · 27 states
- White meadowsweet Spiraea alba · 22 states
- Wild blue phlox Phlox divaricata · 36 states
- Wild geranium Geranium maculatum · 33 states
- Wood lily Lilium philadelphicum · 28 states
Native plants for shade in South Dakota: what to know
68 of the 146 plants native to South Dakota in this directory fit this need: 47% of the state's list, close to the 47% share across all species.
Between them they flower from February through October, with the most in bloom in May. Mixing early and late bloomers keeps the planting useful all season.
Many do double duty: 54 are also good for pollinators, 46 are also good for birds, 36 are also drought-tolerant.
43 of them grow in full or partial sun and 68 tolerate shade, so there are options for open beds and woodland edges alike. Sizes run from low plants like Bloodroot and Creeping Oregon grape to trees such as American basswood and American bittersweet. For wildlife, 54 support pollinators, 46 provide food or cover for birds and 22 are caterpillar host plants.
64 of the 68 have a seed or plant listing we verified as the wild species. Be careful buying Eastern hop-hornbeam, Harebell, 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.
- Chokecherry Prunus virginiana · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms Apr-Jul
- Cutleaf coneflower Rudbeckia laciniata · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms Jul-Oct
- Green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms Apr-Jun