Pollinator Plants of East Tennessee
A guide to the native plants useful as nectar and/or host plants in East Tennessee pollinator gardens. Created for Knoxville Zoo's Classroom Pollinator Project.
American Beautyberry
Callicarpa americana (American beautyberry) is an open-habit, native shrub of the Southern United States which is often grown as an ornamental in gardens and yards. American beautyberries produce large clusters of purple berries, which birds and deer eat, thus distributing the seeds.
New Jersey Tea
Ceanothus americanus is a species of shrub native to North America. Common names include New Jersey tea, Jersey tea ceanothus, variations of red root (red-root; redroot), mountain sweet (mountain-sweet; mountainsweet), and wild snowball.New Jersey Tea was a name coined during the American Revolution, because its leaves were used as a ...more ↓
Virginia Sweetspire
Itea virginica (Virginia sweetspire or Virginia willow) is a plant in the Iteaceae.
Common Spicebush
Lindera benzoin (wild allspice,spicebush,common spicebush,northern spicebush or Benjamin bush) is a flowering plant in the family Lauraceae, native to eastern North America, ranging from Maine to Ontario in the north, and to Kansas, Texas and northern Florida in the center and south.
Big Bluestem
Andropogon gerardii, known commonly as big bluestem, turkeyfoot,tall bluestem, and bluejoint, is a tall grass (family Poaceae) native to much of the Great Plains and prairie regions of central North America.
Little Bluestem
Schizachyrium scoparium, commonly known as little bluestem or beard grass, is a North American prairie grass. Little bluestem is a perennial bunchgrass and is prominent in tallgrass prairie, along with big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans) and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum). It is a warm-season species, meaning it ...more ↓
Switchgrass
Panicum virgatum, commonly known as switchgrass, is a perennial warm season bunchgrass native to North America, where it occurs naturally from 55°N latitude in Canada southwards into the United States and Mexico. Switchgrass is one of the dominant species of the central North American tallgrass prairie and can be found in remnant prairies, in native grass pastures, and ...more ↓
Indiangrass
Sorghastrum nutans, commonly known as Yellow Indiangrass, is a North American prairie grass found in the central and eastern United States and Canada, especially in the Great Plains and tallgrass prairies.
Northern Dropseed
Sporobolus heterolepis, commonly known as Prairie dropseed, is a species of prairie grass native to the tallgrass and mixed grass prairies of central North America from Texas to southern Canada. It is also found further east, all the way to the Atlantic coast of the United States and Canada, but is much less common beyond the Great Plains and is restricted to specialized ...more ↓
Showy Milkweed
Asclepias speciosa is a species of milkweed known commonly as the showy milkweed. It is native to the western half of North America.
Butterfly Milkweed
Asclepias tuberosa is a species of milkweed native to eastern North America. It is a perennial plant growing to 0.3–1 metre (10 in–3 ft 3 in) tall, with clustered orange or yellow flowers from early summer to early fall. The leaves are spirally arranged, lanceolate, 5–12 cm long, and 2–3 cm broad.
Whorled Milkweed
Asclepias verticillata (whorled milkweed, eastern whorled milkweed, horsetail milkweed) is a species of milkweed native to most all of eastern North America and parts of western Canada and the United States.
Blue False Indigo
Baptisia australis, commonly known as blue wild indigo or blue false indigo, is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae (legumes). It is native to much of central and eastern North America and is particularly common in the Midwest, but it has also been introduced well beyond its natural range. Naturally it can be found growing wild at the borders of woods, along ...more ↓
Mouse-eared Coreopsis
Coreopsis auriculata (Mouse-ear Tickseed) is a plant species of the genus coreopsis in Asteraceae. Coreopsis species are commonly called Tickseeds. This species is perennial growing from 10–30 cm (4-12 inches) tall and sometimes to 60+ cm (30 inches). Pants with rounded yellow colored flowers bloom in spring and early summer. They are often stoloniferous, forming long ...more ↓
Large-flowered Tickseed
Coreopsis grandiflora is a perennial plant species of the tickseed genus, Coreopsis, in Asteraceae. The common name is large-flowered tickseed.
Lance-leaved Tickseed
Coreopsis lanceolata, the Lance-leaved coreopsis, is a species of coreopsis (Tickseed).
Tall Coreopsis
Coreopsis tripteris is a species of flowering plant in the aster family, Asteraceae. It is native to eastern North America. Its common names include tall tickseed, tall coreopsis, and Atlantic coreopsis.
Threadleaf Tickseed
Coreopsis verticillata (thread-leaf coreopsis) is a species of flowering plant of the genus Coreopsis in the family Asteraceae, native to the southeastern United States. The common names are whorled coreopsis, thread-leaved tickseed, thread leaf coreopsis, and pot-of-gold.
Purple Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea (eastern purple coneflower or purple coneflower) is a species of flowering plant in the genus Echinacea of the family Asteraceae. Its cone-shaped flowering heads are usually, but not always, purple in the wild. It is native to eastern North America and present to some extent in the wild in much of the eastern, southeastern and midwest ...more ↓
Wandflower
Oenothera lindheimeri, formerly Gaura lindheimeri, and commonly known as Lindheimer's Beeblossom, White Gaura, Pink Gaura, Lindheimer's Clockweed, and Indian Feather, is a species of Oenothera.
Common Sneezeweed
Helenium autumnale is a flowering plant native to North America. Common names include common sneezeweed and large-flowered sneezeweed.
Purple-headed Sneezeweed
Helenium flexuosum is a species of annual herb in the daisy family known by the common name purple sneezeweed. It is native to the eastern half of North America.
Blazing Star
Liatris spicata, the dense blazing star or prairie gay feather, is an herbaceous perennial plant native throughout most of eastern North America.
Great Blue Lobelia
The Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) is a species within the Campanulaceae family. It is an herbaceous, perennial dicot native to eastern and central Canada and United States. Growing up to three feet tall, it lives in zones 4 to 9 in moist to wet soils. It produces a spike of zygomorphic flowers in the late summer.
Wild Bergamot
Wild bergamot or bee balm (Monarda fistulosa) is a wildflower in the mint family (Lamiaceae) widespread and abundant as a native plant in much of North America. This plant, with showy summer-blooming white flowers, is often used as a honey plant, medicinal plant, and garden ornamental. The species is quite variable, and several subspecies or varieties have been recognized ...more ↓
Spotted Bee Balm
Monarda punctata is a herbaceous plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae, that is native to the United States and northeastern Mexico. Common names include Spotted Beebalm and Horsemint. It is a thyme-scented plant with purple-spotted tubular yellow flowers. The plant contains thymol, an antiseptic and fungicide. It was historically used to treat upset stomachs, colds, ...more ↓
Wild Quinine
Parthenium integrifolium is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names wild quinine, American feverfew, and eastern feverfew. It is native to the eastern United States.
Foxglove Beardtongue
Penstemon digitalis (foxglove beard-tongue or talus slope penstemon) is a plant in the plantain family, Plantaginaceae. The flowers are white and are borne in summer. It is native to eastern Canada and eastern and southeastern United States.
Moss-Phlox
Phlox subulata (creeping phlox, moss phlox, moss pink, or mountain phlox) is a species of flowering plant in the family Polemoniaceae, native to eastern and central USA, and widely cultivated. Growing to 15 cm (6 in) high and covering a 50 cm (20 in) wide area, it is an evergreen perennial forming mats or cushions of hairy, linear leaves. The small, ...more ↓
Narrowleaf mountainmint
Pycnanthemum tenuifolium ( narrowleaf mountainmint, slender mountainmint, common horsemint, Virginia thyme) is a plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to eastern North America.
Black-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia fulgida (orange coneflower) is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to eastern North America.
Black-eyed-Susan
Rudbeckia hirta, black-eyed Susan, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to the central United States. It is one of a number of plants with the common name black-eyed Susan. Other common names for this plant include: brown-eyed Susan, brown Betty, gloriosa daisy, golden Jerusalem, Poorland daisy, ...more ↓
Frostweed
Verbesina virginica is a species of flowering plant in the aster family. It is native to the Southeastern United States, where it is found in calcareous soil, often in bottomland thickets and edges of woods....
