Plant Species List

Pinesap is a plant without green leaves that lives off of other plants.  Botanists used to call it by the scientific name "Monotropa hypopitys" but recently switched the name to "Hypopitys monotropa"--how confusing!

NPS Photo

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is home to over 1,800 species of vascular plants (trees, shrubs, wildflowers, ferns, vines, etc.), with names ranging from "Little Sweet Betsy" to "Possumhaw". That number keeps growing annually, as scientists and park staff discover new species in out of the way parts of the park. When a new species is confirmed, the record gets placed in an on-line database. Visit NPSpecies Report Viewer for the most current list of the vascular plants for Great Smoky Mountains National Park. You will be able to download this list if you wish to sort it into a way that works best for you, but be aware that if we discover a new species next month, the next time you download the list it might be different.

On this list, here sorted by plant family, you will find

• the scientific name

• a common name (many plants have many common names)

• how abundant it is in the park (Abd)

• at what elevation you are most likely to find the plant (ER)

• for plants that flower, when you are likely to see the flowers in the park (BLOOM), which can vary with elevation

• the growth form (tree, fern, vine, etc.) of the plant (LF)

• and if the species is found in the park (P)--this list only shows confirmed occurrence