Plants
 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 algae to oaks to thrive. Over
1300 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 the available moisture, growing season length, temperature,
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 peaks, steep hillsides, and sheltered stream
valleys.
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..
Freshwater
Plants
Freshwater plant species are rare
within Shenandoah National Park. Most parkland is located near the
crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains amid steep rocky terrain,
providing few opportunities for wetland formation. The several
wetlands that occur are small and found in the flatter areas such as
Bearwallow, Big Meadows, and Pond Ridge.
Freshwater plants are highly
adapted to living in water. They have few roots, less water
conducting tissue, and have a weak structure because they grow in
such a way that water provides them some mechanical support. The
wetlands of Shenandoah tend to contain pools of standing water
during the winter and spring, but become dry in the summer and fall.
Freshwater plants in Shenandoah are
limited to species that can tolerate seasonal drying. Some common
species include numerous grasses, sedges, and rushes, and more showy
species such as cardinal flowers (Lobelia cardinalis), marsh
willow herb (Epilobium palustre), and blue flag iris (Iris
versicolor).
Grasses
Grass and grass-like species
(sedges and rushes) account for 13% of the vascular plants within
Shenandoah National Park. Despite this relative abundance, these
species are often overlooked because of their small wind-pollinated
flowers and nondescript linear leaves.
Many grass flowers mature in the
late spring to early summer. The wind-pollinated nature of these
flowers necessitates producing large quantities of pollen, making
them particularly common culprits for seasonal allergies.
In Shenandoah National Park grasses
can be easily viewed at Big Meadows where red top (Agrostis
perennans) and tall oat grass (Arrhenatherum elatius) are
particularly common. The troublesome invasive species Japanese stilt
grass (Microstegium vimineum) can be seen throughout the
Elkwallow picnic area where it is outcompeting virtually all other
forest understory herbs.
Grasses possess a subtle beauty and
provide a worthy botanical challenge to those interested in
determining individual species. Take a moment next time you pass
some grass to bend down and take a closer look.
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