Wildflowers

 

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Wildflowers abound in Shenandoah National Park, providing a beautiful and varied display throughout the growing season. The display begins in early spring (late March) as the hepatica (Anemone americana) and bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) push their way through the forest leaf litter. As the days continue to warm, purple and yellow violets flower (Viola spp.), and the large-flowered trillium (Trillium grandiflorum), pink lady's slippers (Cypripedium acaule), and wild geraniums (Geranium maculatum) appear within the forest.

 

In spring and summer, the small blue and yellow flowers of bluets or Quaker ladies (Houstonia caerulea) line many trails. May is the time for pink azaleas (Rhododendron spp.) to bloom in the forest and along Skyline Drive, followed by the white flowers of mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) in June. Summer is the time for flowers such as columbine (Aquilegia canadensis), milkweed (Asclepias spp), nodding onion (Allium cernuum), ox eye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare), and turk's cap lily (Lilium superbum) to bloom. Also in summer, look for the yellow and orange flowers of touch-me-nots (Impatiens spp.) along streams and near springs, and countless spiked blooms of black cohosh (Actaea racemosa) rising above the forest floor. The Park's growing season concludes with a strong display of goldenrods ( Solidago spp.), asters (Symphyotrichum spp.), and wild sunflowers (Helianthus spp.) into the fall.

Wildflowers comprise 862 species, or greater than half of the 1406 vascular plant species found in Shenandoah National park. Almost 20% of these species are in the aster (Asteraceae) family. The next most abundantly represented wildflower plant families are the pea (Fabaceae), lily (Lilaceae), mint (Lamiaceae) and mustard (Brassicaceae) families. The rich diversity of wildflowers in the park is particularly evident in spring at the lower elevations along streams such as South River, Hughes River, Rose River, and Mill Prong. Later in the season, the banks of Skyline Drive and the Big Meadows area are great places to see summer and fall wildflowers.

View the wildflower calendar for a list of more frequently seen wildflowers and when they bloom, or view the complete species list of 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.

 

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

 

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Related Information

Gupton, O.W. and F.C.Swope. 1979. Wildflowers of the Shenandoah Valley and Blue Ridge Mountains. University of Virginia Press, Charlottesville, Virginia.

Newcomb, L.1977. Newcomb's Wildflower Guide. Little, Brown, and Company, Boston, Massachusetts.

The Virginia Native Plant Society

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