Kansas has native grasses of 194 species covering one-third area of Kansas. Bluestem, buffalo grass, blue and hairy gramas are grasses which are found in Kansas. Native conifer, eastern red cedar, is found throughout the state. Hackberry, black walnut, and sycamore grow in the east while box elder and cottonwood predominate in western Kansas. The wild native sunflower is found throughout the state. Other characteristic wildflowers include wild daisy, ivy-leaved morning glory, and smallflower verbena.

Native mammals of Kansas include the common cottontail, black-tailed jackrabbit, black-tailed prairie dog, muskrat, opossum, and raccoon. The white-tailed deer is the state's only big-game animal. There are 12 native species of bat, 2 varieties of shrew and mole, and 3 types of pocket gopher. The US Fish and Wildlife Service named 123 Kansas animal species as threatened or endangered in 2003. Among these are the Indiana and gray bats, bald eagle, whooping crane, Eskimo curlew, and black-footed ferret.