The Greenbelt Native Plant Center (GNPC), a facility of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, is a 13–acre greenhouse, nursery, and seed bank complex located on Staten Island, NY.

Sun-Loving Species

The following native species require full sun in order to reach their full flowering and fruiting potential. These species are intolerant to very intolerant of shade, needing an average of six hours direct sunlight a day. The moisture requirements vary from species to species, so it is essential that your chosen planting site is specific not only to the light requirements of each plant but also to the necessary moisture levels of the soil.

Download the Sun-Loving Species List (PDF, 50 KB)

Trees

  • Acer negundo– Boxelder
  • Acer rubrum– Red maple
  • Betula alleghaniensis– Yellow birch
  • Betula nigra– River birch
  • Betula papyrifera– Paper birch
  • Betula populifolia– Gray birch
  • Carya ovata– Shagbark hickory
  • Carya tomentosa– Mockernut
  • Diospyros virginiana– Persimmon
  • Fraxinus americana– White ash
  • Fraxinus pennsylvanica– Green ash
  • Juniperus virginiana– Eastern red cedar
  • Liquidambar styraciflua– Sweetgum
  • Pinus echinata– Shortleaf pine
  • Pinus rigida– Pitch pine
  • Pinus virginiana– Virginia pine
  • Platanus occidentalis– American sycamore
  • Populus deltoides– Eastern cottonwood
  • Populus grandidentata– Big-toothed aspen
  • Populus tremuloides– Quaking aspen
  • Quercus coccinea– Scarlet oak
  • Quercus palustris– Pin oak
  • Quercus stellata– Post oak
  • Sassafras albidum– Sassafras

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Shrubs/Vines

  • Alnus serrulata– Smooth alder
  • Arctostaphylos uva–ursi– Bearberry
  • Aronia arbutifolia– Red chokeberry
  • Aronia melanocarpa– Black chokeberry
  • Baccharis halmifolia– Groundsel tree
  • Cephalanthus occidentalis– Buttonbush
  • Comptonia peregrina– Sweet fern
  • Cornus amomum– Silky dogwood
  • Hudsonia ericoides– Pine barren goldenheather
  • Hudsonia tomentosa– Woolly beachheather
  • Iva frutescens– Saltmarsh–elder
  • Myrica pensylvanica– Bayberry
  • Quercus ilicifolia– Bear oak
  • Rhus aromatica– Fragrant sumac
  • Rhus copallinum– Winged sumac
  • Rhus glabra– Smooth sumac
  • Rhus typhina– Staghorn sumac
  • Rosa carolina– Pasture rose
  • Rosa palustris– Swamp rose
  • Rubus flagellaris– Northern dewberry
  • Spirea alba var. latifolia– Meadowsweet
  • Spirea tomentosa– Steeplebush
  • Vaccinium angustifolium– Lowbush blueberry
  • Vaccinium corymbosum– Highbush blueberry
  • Vitis labrusca– Fox grape

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Herbs

  • Asclepias incarnata– Swamp milkweed
  • Asclepias syrica– Common milkweed
  • Baptisia tinctoria– Wild indigo
  • Chrysopsis falcata– Atlantic golden aster
  • Chrysopsis mariana– Shaggy golden aster
  • Eupatorium maculatum– Spotted joe–pye–weed
  • Eupatorium rugosum– White snakeroot
  • Eurybia divaricata– White wood aster
  • Hibiscus moscheutos– Marsh mallow
  • Iris versicolor– Blueflag
  • Lobelia siphilitica– Indian tobacco
  • Liatris spicata– Blazing star
  • Lysimachia terrestris– Earth loosestrife
  • Monarda fistulosa– Wild bergamot
  • Oenothera biennis– Common evening primrose
  • Opuntia humifusa– Eastern prickly pear
  • Solidago sempervirens– Seaside goldenrod
  • Symphyotrichum ericoides– White wreath aster
  • Symphyotrichum novae–angliae– New England aster
  • Verbena hastata– Blue vervain
  • Vernonia noveboracensis– Ironweed

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Graminoids

  • Andropogon glomeratus– Bunch broom sedge
  • Calamagrostis canadensis– Bluejoint grass
  • Carex comosa– Longhair sedge
  • Carex crinita– Fringed sedge
  • Carex gravida– Heavy sedge
  • Carex lurida– Shallow sedge
  • Carex scoparia– Broom sedge
  • Carex stricta– Upright sedge
  • Carex pensylvanica– Pennsylvania sedge
  • Cyperus echinatus– Globe flatsedge
  • Chasmanthium laxum– Slender spikegrass
  • Danthonia compressa– Northern oat grass
  • Danthonia spicata– Junegrass
  • Deschampsia flexuosa– Common hairgrass
  • Distichlis spicata– Saltgrass
  • Elymus canadensis– Canada wildrye
  • Elymus virginicus– Virginia wildrye
  • Juncus effusus– Smooth rush
  • Juncus gerardii– Blackgrass
  • Leersia oryzoides– Rice cutgrass
  • Panicum clandestinum– Deertongue
  • Panicum virgatum– Switchgrass
  • Scirpus americana– Chairmaker’s bulrush
  • Scirpus pungens– Common threesquare
  • Scirpus cyperinus– Woolgrass
  • Sorghastrum nutans– Indian grass
  • Tripsacum dactyloides– Gamma grass

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Ferns

  • Dennstaedtia punctilobula– Hay–scented fern
  • Onoclea sensibilis– Sensitive fern
  • Pteridium aquilinum– Western brackenfern

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