Plants

Whitebark pine cluster perched on the wind-swept summit of Mount Washburn
More than 1,300 plant taxa occur in Yellowstone National Park. The whitebark pine, found in high elevations in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, is an important native species in decline.

NPS/RG Johnsson

 

The vegetation communities of Yellowstone National Park include overlapping combinations of species typical of the Rocky Mountains as well as of the Great Plains to the east and the Intermountain region to the west. The exact vegetation community present in any area of the park reflects the consequences of the underlying geology, ongoing climate change, substrates and soils, and disturbances created by fire, floods, landslides, blowdowns, insect infestations, and the arrival of nonnative plants.

Today, the native taxa in the park represent the species able to either persist in the area or recolonize after glaciers, lava flows, and other major disturbances. Yellowstone is home to three endemic plant species, at least two of which depend on the unusual habitat created by the park’s thermal features. Most vegetation management in the park is focused on minimizing human-caused impacts on their native plant communities to the extent feasible.

 
 

Vegetation Communities

There are several vegetation communities in Yellowstone: higher- and lower-elevation forests and the understory vegetation associated with them, sagebrush-steppe, wetlands, and hydrothermal.

 
Map of Yellowstone showing the different major vegetation communities.
There are several vegetation communities in Yellowstone: higher- and lower-elevation forests and the understory vegetation associated with them, sagebrush-steppe, wetlands, and hydrothermal.

NPS/Yellowstone Spatial Analysis Center

 
 

Source: Data Store Collection 7854. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

 
Lodgepole pine forest growing near the road.
Forests

Forests cover about 80% of Yellowstone National Park.

Close-up view of sagebrush in Lamar Valley.
Sagebrush-steppe

This shrubby community is found in the northern range of Yellowstone National Park.

Wetlands growing along the edge of a lake, with mountains visible in the background.
Wetlands

Yellowstone’s wetlands include lakes, rivers, ponds, streams, seeps, marshes, fens, wet meadows, forested wetlands, and hydrothermal pools.

Grasses growing and dead trees standing in a watery meadow.
Hydrothermal Plant Communities

Fascinating and unique plant communities have developed in the expanses of thermally heated ground.

 
Purple wildflowers in bloom.
Wildflowers

Wildflowers can grow under the forest canopy, but the most conspicuous displays occur in open meadows and sagebrush-steppe.

 

Rare Plants

The Greater Yellowstone region has few endemic plant species, or species that occur only in Yellowstone and nowhere else in the world. Endemic species occur in unusual or specialized habitats such as hydrothermal areas. Within Yellowstone, only three endemic species occur: Ross’s bentgrass (Agrostis rossiae), Yellowstone sand verbena (Abronia ammophila), and Yellowstone sulfur wild buckwheat (Eriogonum umbellatum var. cladophorum).

Several other unusual species live in the Greater Yellowstone Area: warm springs spike rush, which grows in warm water; and Tweedy’s rush, sometimes the only vascular plant growing in acidic hydrothermal areas.

 
Close-up view of the leaves and seeds of Ross's bentgrass
Ross's Bentgrass

Ross’s bentgrass grows only in the geyser basins in the Firehole River drainage and at Shoshone Geyser Basin.

The white flowers of Yellowstone sand verbena grow in a ball shape.
Rare Plants

Yellowstone sand verbena occurs along the shore of Yellowstone Lake.

Pale green stems and bright yellow flowers of the Yellowstone Sulphur Flower.
Yellowstone Sulphur Flower

Yellowstone sulphur flower is only found in the Firehole River drainage.

 

Source: Data Store Collection 7863. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

 
A crew of three sprays invasive plants in a meadow.
Invasive Plants

Invasive plants can displace native plant species, change vegetation communities, affect fire frequency, impact wildlife.

Restored field of plants protected by a wildlife fence.
Restoring Native Plants

Park managers are restoring native vegetation to this area, following recommendations of arid land restoration specialists.

Close-up view of green gentian flowers.
Herbarium

The herbarium specimens document the presence of plants in the park over time and the history of plant collecting in the park.

Alpine scene showing trees, grasses, and distant mountains.
Vegetation & Resources Management Branch

Park employees inventory, monitor, manage, and research the vast array of plant communities in the park.

Photo of a bull elk bugling
Nature

Discover the natural wonder of Yellowstone and our role in the conservation of wildlife.

 

Last updated: February 2, 2021

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Contact Info

Mailing Address:

PO Box 168
Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190-0168

Phone:

307-344-7381

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