Research Guides: Butterfly Gardens: Native Plants for Common Butterflies

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail photo courtesy of Flickr cc/John Flannery

Some common butterflies that you will find in the New York City area include Black Swallowtail, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Clouded Sulphur, Buckeye, Spring Azure, Monarch and Pearl Cresent. Using native plants, you can create a garden that our native butterflies can't resist.

Native Butterfly Host Plants

Trees and Shrubs

Botanical Name

Common Name

Betula

birch

Fraxinus

ash

Prunus

flowering cherries, chokeberry

Quercus

oak

Vaccinium

blueberry

Perennials

Botanical Name

Common Name

Antennaria

pussy-toes

Aster

aster

Baptisia

false indigo

Carex

sedge

Helianthus

sunflower

Panicum

switch grass

Scizachyrium

little blue stem

Viola

violet

Native Butterfly Nectar Plants

Trees and Shrubs

Botanical Name

Common Name

Amelanchier

serviceberry or spicebush

Clethra

spicebush

Rhododendron

rhododendron or azalea

Viburnum

viburnum

Perennials

Botanical Name

Common Name

Baptisia

false indigo

Coreopsis

tickseed

Echinacea

coneflower

Eupatorium

Joe-Pye weed

Helianthus

sunflower

Liatris

blazing star

Phlox

phlox

Rudbeckia

black-eyed Susan

Solidago

goldenrod

Veronia

ironweed

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Noteworthy Books on Butterfly Gardens

Raising Butterflies in the Garden by Brenda Dziedzic
Call Number: QM 544.6 .D95 2019
ISBN: 9780228102250
Publication Date: 2019-09-14
Butterfly Gardening by Xerces Society Staff; Smithsonian Institution Staff; E. O. Wilson (Introduction by)
Call Number: QM 544.6 .B87 1998
ISBN: 0871569752
Publication Date: 1998-11-10
Butterfly Gardens by Brooklyn Botanic Garden Botanists Staff (Editor); Alcinda C. Lewis (Editor)
Call Number: QM 544.6 .B88 1995
ISBN: 0945352883
Publication Date: 1995-09-01
The Butterfly Gardener's Guide by Claire Hagen Dole (Editor)
Call Number: QM 544.6 .B877 2003
ISBN: 1889538582
Publication Date: 2003-05-28