New Hampshire Native Plants, State Flower & State Bird

Hello native plant enthusiasts! In the list below, you will find popular native plants and wildflower seeds, available from American Meadows, that have a native distribution in your state. You’ll also find information about your state bird, state flower, and state wildflower!

• The links will take you to a single plant or seed selection for the plant listed -- but in many cases, we offer multiple cultivars for each plant, and we may offer both seeds and potted plants to grow the plant on your list. This list is a work in progress as we expand our native plant educational resources. 
• The list for your state is a great place for getting started with native plants - but it is by no means a comprehensive listing of the hundreds of native plants growing in each state. 

Grow our Native Northeast Wildflower Seed Mix

Showy Goldenrod (Solidago speciosa)

Wrinkleleaf Goldenrod (Solidago rugosa)

Perennial Lupine (Lupinus perennis)

Black Eyed Susan or Gloriosa Daisy (Rudbeckia hirta)

Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)

Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)

Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)

White Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum)

Red Trillium (Trillium erectum)

Painted Trillium (Trillium undulatum)

Hepatica (Hepatica acutiloba)

Long Beaked Sedge (Carex sprengelii)

White Tinged Sedge (Carex albicans)

Appalachian Sedge (Carex appalachia)

Firewheel (Gaillardia pulchella)

Blanket Flower (Gaillardia aristata)

Lanceleaf Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata)

Bee Balm (Monarda didyma)

Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)

Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum)

Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis)

Phlox subulata (Creeping Phlox)

Obedient Plant (Physostegia virginiana)

Red Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)

Meadow Anemone (Anemone canadensis)

Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)

Bottlebrush Grass (Elymus hystrix)

Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii)

Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)

Tufted Hair Grass (Deschampsia cespitosa)

Yellow Prairie Grass (Sorghastrum nutans)

Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)

Lowbush Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium)

Smooth Blue Aster (Symphyotrichum laeve)

New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus)

Common White Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

Heliopsis (Heliopsis helianthoides)

Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium purpureum)

Common Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum)

Purple Finch ~ Carpodacus purpureus
Not purple at all, the male Purple Finch looks like a large-billed sparrow with a glowing red head. The brownish female is boldly streaked and wears white facial stripes. These small, conical-billed birds are usually most abundant at New England feeding stations in spring, when the red maples are in bloom. The writer Thoreau, who scattered crumbs for these birds at Walden Pond, loved to hear the Purple Finch's rich strains of music and their sharp call note. "The hearing of this note," he wrote, "implies great improvement in the acoustics of the air."

Lilac ~ Syringa vulgaris
If sentiment alone determined the most popular flowering shrub, it might well be the Lilac. There is hardly a person whose memory is not stirred by it, and its scent is one of the most familiar of all perfumes associated with flowers. Lilac flowers grow in panicles, or pyramid-shaped clusters. The panicles grow at the end of the small branches of a shrub or small tree which may reach twenty feet in height. In the spring, Lilac bushes are laden with fragrant clusters of flowers. They prefer rich soil but are strong enough to survive almost anywhere.

From The Wildflowers of the 50 States U.S. stamps issued July 24, 1992:

• Native plants are essential for healthy ecosystems and habitat. They have evolved over time with local wildlife and climate conditions. Many pollinators have special relationships with native plants that they rely on for survival. For instance, some bees are specialists and require nectar and pollen from specific native plants to survive; and butterflies and moths often have specific host plants needed to nourish their caterpillars. For example, Asclepias (Milkweed or Butterfly Weed) is the host plant required for Monarch caterpillars to survive and grow into Monarch Butterflies!
• It’s OK to grow native plants in your yard that may not be native to your state or region. Remember – just because a plant is not native, does not necessarily mean that it is invasive or harmful. In fact, growing well-behaved introduced plants that are suited to your growing conditions can still provide many benefits to your yard (especially when compared to a traditional turf lawn).  
• Know before you grow – It's always a good idea to learn what plants are native, well-behaved, and invasive or aggressive in your region before digging in.
• Learn More: All About Native Plants

Explore our full selection of native plants and seeds