Top native plants
44 species, native to the US, ranked by caterpillars, then bees and other hosts, food, flowers and shelter.
-
White Oak
Quercus alba
keystone
caterpillars
383
hosts
104
food
163
flowers
49
shelter
6
-
Scarlet Oak
Quercus coccinea
keystone
caterpillars
361
hosts
88
food
115
flowers
26
shelter
2
-
Black Cherry
Prunus serotina
keystone
caterpillars
361
hosts
15
food
114
flowers
183
shelter
2
-
Shumard Oak
Quercus shumardii
keystone
caterpillars
360
hosts
95
food
111
flowers
33
shelter
2
-
Swamp Chestnut Oak
Quercus michauxii
keystone
caterpillars
344
hosts
88
food
112
flowers
24
shelter
5
-
Yellow Birch
Betula alleghaniensis
keystone
caterpillars
312
hosts
17
food
61
flowers
6
shelter
1
-
Sweet Birch
Betula lenta
keystone
caterpillars
282
hosts
21
food
49
flowers
10
shelter
1
-
Carolina Laurelcherry
Prunus caroliniana
keystone
caterpillars
209
hosts
11
food
59
flowers
74
-
White Spruce
Picea glauca
caterpillars
172
hosts
6
food
34
flowers
9
-
Douglas-fir
Pseudotsuga menziesii
caterpillars
134
hosts
15
food
26
flowers
19
shelter
7
-
Basswood
Tilia americana
caterpillars
129
hosts
15
food
44
flowers
65
shelter
3
-
Eastern White Pine
Pinus strobus
caterpillars
127
hosts
17
food
87
flowers
7
shelter
7
-
Washington Hawthorn
Crataegus phaenopyrum
caterpillars
123
hosts
6
food
29
flowers
14
-
American Beech
Fagus grandifolia
caterpillars
121
hosts
23
food
57
flowers
15
shelter
4
-
Balsam Fir
Abies balsamea
caterpillars
119
hosts
5
food
30
flowers
5
-
Green Ash
Fraxinus pennsylvanica
caterpillars
112
hosts
29
food
39
flowers
8
shelter
4
-
Bitternut Hickory
Carya cordiformis
caterpillars
106
hosts
60
food
36
flowers
20
shelter
2
-
Shortleaf Pine
Pinus echinata
caterpillars
106
hosts
8
food
43
flowers
7
shelter
5
-
Red Spruce
Picea rubens
caterpillars
101
hosts
5
food
26
flowers
4
-
Western Ponderosa Pine
Pinus ponderosa
caterpillars
98
hosts
27
food
33
flowers
20
shelter
14
-
Blue Spruce
Picea pungens
caterpillars
95
hosts
4
food
27
flowers
3
-
Western Hemlock
Tsuga heterophylla
caterpillars
94
food
6
flowers
2
shelter
2
-
Sitka Spruce
Picea sitchensis
caterpillars
83
hosts
3
food
18
flowers
2
-
Western White Pine
Pinus monticola
caterpillars
82
hosts
4
food
17
flowers
1
shelter
6
-
White Fir
Abies concolor
caterpillars
74
hosts
8
food
19
-
Subalpine Fir
Abies lasiocarpa
caterpillars
72
hosts
3
food
11
flowers
3
-
Eastern Hemlock
Tsuga canadensis
caterpillars
71
hosts
7
food
21
flowers
4
shelter
1
-
Winged Elm
Ulmus alata
caterpillars
55
hosts
4
food
52
flowers
14
-
Western Redcedar
Thuja plicata
caterpillars
47
hosts
6
food
9
flowers
4
shelter
3
-
Northern Whitecedar
Thuja occidentalis
caterpillars
39
hosts
1
food
22
flowers
15
-
Fraser Fir
Abies fraseri
caterpillars
37
hosts
2
food
10
-
American Persimmon
Diospyros virginiana
caterpillars
33
hosts
2
food
19
flowers
45
shelter
2
-
Carolina Hemlock
Tsuga caroliniana
caterpillars
31
hosts
1
food
9
flowers
1
-
Black Tupelo
Nyssa sylvatica
caterpillars
23
hosts
3
food
41
flowers
15
shelter
2
-
American Tuliptree
Liriodendron tulipifera
caterpillars
20
hosts
11
food
7
flowers
48
shelter
6
-
American Holly
Ilex opaca
caterpillars
16
bees
3
hosts
4
food
31
flowers
59
-
Baldcypress
Taxodium distichum
caterpillars
15
hosts
8
food
9
flowers
3
-
Southern Magnolia
Magnolia grandiflora
caterpillars
11
food
34
flowers
19
-
Common Pawpaw
Asimina triloba
caterpillars
11
food
8
flowers
57
-
Lawson's Cypress
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana
caterpillars
4
hosts
2
food
2
flowers
3
-
Carolina Silverbell
Halesia carolina
caterpillars
2
flowers
4
-
Coast Redwood
Sequoia sempervirens
caterpillars
1
hosts
4
food
4
flowers
6
shelter
3
-
Giant Sequoia
Sequoiadendron giganteum
food
1
-
Florida Torreya
Torreya taxifolia