Plants

Collecting Plants

Plants in the Park are protected by law and may not be disturbed or collected. However, there are some exceptions. Find out more about collecting plants and mushrooms in Shenandoah.

 

Shenandoah National Park is home to a wonderful variety of plant life. The park's Mid-Atlantic location straddles conditions of both the Northern and Southern Appalachian mountains allowing everything from lichens to oak trees to thrive. Over 1400 species of vascular plants are found in the park, though fewer than one hundred of these are the familiar trees and shrubs most noticeable to park visitors.

The forests within Shenandoah National Park are generally classified as "oak-hickory", yet they contain far more than just oak and hickory trees to discover. The park's 70 mile length and 3500 foot elevation range create numerous habitats able to support a variety of forest cover types. Some of the strongest influences determining what plants grow in certain areas of Shenandoah National Park are elevation, the available moisture, the bedrock geology, and the directions of slope exposure (slope aspect), and soil conditions. Chestnut and red oak forest are common in the park, but other forest types such tulip poplar, cove hardwood, and even small areas of spruce-fir forest, may also be found when exploring the park's hillsides, sheltered stream valleys, and peaks.

Forest names such as cove hardwood and chestnut oak are only a starting point to describe the variety of plants present within Shenandoah National Park. The forests would be incomplete without the seemingly countless herb, fern, and shrub species found beneath the trees. Trillium, jack-in-the-pulpit, interrupted fern, blueberries, azaleas, and lady slipper orchids are just a few examples of the numerous smaller species that enrich the understory. Explorations into the forests of Shenandoah National Park provide tremendous opportunities for discovery to both the casual and serious botanical enthusiast.

See more on our Virtual Ranger programs.

 

• 

  Ferns & Lycophytes
• 

  Freshwater Plants
• 

  Grasses
• 

  Lichens
• 

  Mosses and Liverworts
• 

  Mushrooms & Fungi
• 

  Trees & Shrubs
• 

  Wildflowers

 

NPSpecies Lists

NPSpecies is a consolidated database where you can find the latest information on any species from any National Park Service unit. This resource lets you search for species information on specific parks and allows you to create your own itemized species lists.

How Does it Work?
Use the dropdown menus below to select the species category that you'd like to view. You can choose to get a checklist or to get the full list, which includes more information about each species. Once you make your selections, click on the view PDF button. This will generate your customized report. From here, you can click on the large Print button at the top of the document to print the report, or save the report by clicking on the blue-and-white floppy disk symbol to save the report.

 

×

Species Attribute Definitions

Definitions

Occurrence

Occurrence values are defined below. One or more Occurrence Tags may be associated with each Occurrence value.

Present: Species occurs in park; current, reliable evidence available.

Probably Present: High confidence species occurs in park but current, verified evidence needed.

Unconfirmed: Species is attributed to park but evidence is weak or absent.

Not In Park: Species is not known to occur in park.

---

Occurrence Tags

Adjacent: Species is known to occur in areas near to or contiguous with park boundaries.

False Report: Species was reported to occur within the park, but current evidence indicates the report was based on misidentification, a taxonomic concept no longer accepted, or other similar problem of error or interpretation.

Historical: Species' historical occurrence in park is documented. Assigned based on judgment as opposed to determination based on age of the most recent evidence.

---

Abundance

Abundant:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, and counted in relatively large numbers.
• Plants: Large number of individuals; wide ecological amplitude or occurring in habitats covering a large portion of the park.

Common:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, but not in large numbers.
• Plants: Large numbers of individuals predictably occurring in commonly encountered habitats but not those covering a large portion of the park.

Uncommon:

• Animals: Likely to be seen monthly in appropriate habitat and season. May be locally common.
• Plants: Few to moderate numbers of individuals; occurring either sporadically in commonly encountered habitats or in uncommon habitats.

Rare:

• Animals: Present, but usually seen only a few times each year.
• Plants: Few individuals, usually restricted to small areas of rare habitat.

Occasional:

• Animals: Occurs in the park at least once every few years, varying in numbers, but not necessarily every year.
• Plants: Abundance variable from year to year (e.g., desert plants).

Unknown: Abundance unknown

---

Nativeness

Native: Species naturally occurs in park or region.

Non-native: Species occurs on park lands as a result of deliberate or accidental human activities.

Unknown: Nativeness status is unknown or ambiguous.

×

List Differences

The Checklist contains only those species that are designated as "present" or "probably present" in the park.

The Full List includes all the checklist species in addition to species that are unconfirmed, historically detected, or incorrectly reported as being found in the park. The full list also contains species that are "in review" because their status in the park hasn't been fully determined. Additional details about the status of each species is included in the full list.

The checklist will almost always contain fewer species than the full list.

Select a Park:

Shenandoah National Park

Select a Species Category (optional):

All Amphibians Birds Fish Mammals Reptiles Vascular Plants

Get Checklist Get Full List List Differences

Species attribute definitions

Search results will be displayed here.

Visit NPSpecies for more comprehensive information and advanced search capability. Have a suggestion or comment on this list? Let us know.