Most Abundant Plant Species

Denali National Park and Preserve is home to nearly 2000 species of vascular and nonvascular plants!  These species are the foundation of the Park’s many diverse ecosystems.  Located in the northern boreal forest biome, the landscape can be divided into three elevational zones: lowlands, subalpine, and alpine—each with a unique set of species that thrive there.

 

Spruce trees are common in the lowland boreal forest.

NPS Photo / Claire Abendroth

Lowlands

Below 650 m (2,133 ft), this zone is predominantly forested, with black spruce forests and woodlands in areas underlain by permafrost, and white spruce and paper birch forests in well-drained uplands. Abundant species include:

• Vaccinium uliginosum – bog blueberry
• Alnus viridis – green alder
• Betula neoalaskana – resin birch
• Picea glauca – white spruce
• Picea mariana – black spruce
• Betula nana – dwarf birch
• Calamagrostis canadensis – bluejoint grass
• Empetrum nigrum – black crowberry
• Eriophorum vaginatum – tussock cottongrass
• Salix pulchra – tealeaf willow
• Rubus chamaemorus – cloudberry
• Rhododendron tomentosum ssp. decumbens – marsh Labrador tea

 

In the fall, subalpine hillsides covered in dwarf birch turn shades of red and orange.

NPS Photo / Tim Rains

Subalpine

Between 650–950 m (2,132–3,117 ft), this zone is a mosaic of scrub vegetation, spruce woodland, and meadows. Abundant species include:

• Betula nana – dwarf birch
• Vaccinium uliginosum – bog blueberry
• Alnus viridis – green alder
• Empetrum nigrum – black crowberry
• Picea glauca – white spruce
• Vaccinium vitis-idaea – lingonberry
• Salix pulchra – tealeaf willow
• Carex bigelowii – Bigelow’s sedge
• Salix alaxensis–  feltleaf willow
• Calamagrostis canadensis – bluejoint grass
• Rhododendron tomentosum ssp. decumbens – marsh Labrador tea

 

Mountain avens

NPS Photo / Jacob W. Frank

Alpine

Above 950 m (3,117 ft), the alpine zone reaches the upper growth limit for plants yet still harbors the highest plant diversity in Denali. The alpine zone contains high numbers of endemic and rare species. Abundant species include:

• Betula nana – dwarf birch
• Vaccinium uliginosum – bog blueberry
• Empetrum nigrum – black crowberry
• Salix glauca – greyleaf willow
• Dryas octopetala – eightpetal mountain-avens
• Salix reticulata – netleaf willow
• Salix pulchra – tealeaf willow
• Vaccinium vitis-idaea – lingonberry
• Alnus viridis – green alder
• Festuca altaica – Altai fescue
• Carex bigelowii – Bigelow’s sedge
• Cassiope tetragona – white arctic mountain heather
• Mertensia paniculata – tall bluebells
• Rhododendron tomentosum ssp. decumbens – marsh Labrador tea
• Dryas alaskensis – Alaskan mountain avens
• Salix alaxensis – feltleaf willow