Natural Features & Ecosystems

Flowering Dogwood

The most common topographic features of the park are the rocky mountain slopes with their novaculite outcrops and lush creek valleys. These areas support mixed stands of oak and hickory interspersed with shortleaf pine on the more exposed slopes and ridgetops. The forest understory contains flowering shrubs, a wide variety of wildflowers, a rare local chinquapin species (Castanea ozarkensis), and occasionally the rare Graves spleenwort (Asplenium gravesei).