South Dakota in bloom

South Dakota bloom calendar

Darker = more flowering sightings that month. Based on iNaturalist research-grade observations in South Dakota marked “Flowering,” as of October 17–23, 2026. Garden flowers have few records because research-grade data leaves out planted ones.

Families on this list

The plant families with the most flowers on this list, from iNaturalist taxonomy. Within each family, the most-observed flowers come first.

• Asteraceae (22): Common yarrow, White snakeroot, Black-eyed Susan, Bull thistle, Common dandelion, Creeping thistle, Upright prairie coneflower, Cutleaf coneflower and 14 more
• Fabaceae (16): White clover, Red clover, Purple crownvetch, Bird's-foot trefoil, White sweetclover, Yellow sweetclover, Leadplant, Purple prairie clover and 8 more
• Rosaceae (13): Roses (genus Rosa), Chokecherry, Virginia strawberry, Prairie smoke, Common ninebark, American plum, Downy serviceberry, Prairie rose and 5 more
• Boraginaceae (6): Virginia waterleaf, Narrowleaf puccoon, Hound's-tongue, Hoary puccoon, Prairie bluebells, Western false gromwell
• Apocynaceae (4): Common milkweed, Swamp milkweed, Showy milkweed, Spreading dogbane
• Lamiaceae (4): Wild bergamot, Common motherwort, Catnip, Russian sage
• Liliaceae (4): Gunnison's mariposa lily, Wood lily, Sego lily, Garden tulip
• Plantaginaceae (4): Butter-and-eggs (common toadflax), Large-flowered beardtongue, White-flower beardtongue, Lilac penstemon
• Asparagaceae (3): Star-flowered lily-of-the-valley, Great Plains yucca, Common starlily
• Solanaceae (3): Bittersweet nightshade, Buffalo-bur, Long-leaved groundcherry
• Cactaceae (3): Plains pricklypear, Brittle pricklypear, Grassland pricklypear
• Onagraceae (3): Fireweed, Fragrant evening primrose, Scarlet beeblossom
• Verbenaceae (3): Blue vervain, Hoary vervain, Bigbract verbena
• Oleaceae (3): Purple lilac, Japanese tree lilac, Meyer lilac
• Hydrangeaceae (3): Sweet mock orange, Bigleaf hydrangea, Panicle hydrangea

Shortlists by growing conditions

Flowers on this list whose USDA PLANTS characteristics data gives the rating shown. USDA only rates some species, so these lists are not complete.

• High drought tolerance (20): Purple crownvetch, White sweetclover, Cutleaf coneflower, Yellow sweetclover, Plains pricklypear, Yellow salsify, Creeping mahonia, Bearberry, Common snowberry, Leadplant, Dotted gayfeather, Great Plains yucca and 8 more
• High moisture use (suits wet spots) (8): Fireweed, Wild bergamot, Common cowparsnip, Bird's-foot trefoil, Swamp milkweed, Western blue flag, Richardson's geranium, Wild licorice
• Rapid growth rate (21): Red clover, Black-eyed Susan, Common dandelion, Dame's rocket, Fireweed, White sweetclover, Cutleaf coneflower, Yellow sweetclover, Common sunflower, Plains pricklypear, Chokecherry, Yellow salsify and 9 more

How we picked these flowers

We started from iNaturalist's research-grade sightings in South Dakota, most-observed first, left out grasses, sedges, trees and other plants with tiny or wind-pollinated flowers (plus poison ivy), kept at most three species per genus, and added South Dakota's official flowers, plus flowering shrubs and trees with at least 3 garden or 10 wild iNaturalist records in South Dakota and popular garden flowers that iNaturalist users record growing in South Dakota. Every flower needs a CC0 or CC BY photo.

Rare plant list: South Dakota's endangered and threatened list (ARSD 41:10:02) covers animals only, so we show NatureServe's South Dakota ranks for plants.
Invasive plant list: South Dakota statewide noxious weeds (ARSD 12:62:03:01.06)