Understory Plants

Beneath the forest canopy, but above the forest floor, are the plants of the understory. Sometimes referred to as undergrowth or underbrush, these plants receive only a small amount of sunlight. There are a variety of different plants that make their home in the understory. These plants tend to be shade tolerant, but many have adapted to leaf out early in the spring before the trees that form the canopy to take advantage of the better access to sunlight. The understory also tends to be more humid than the canopy, which encourages ferns and mosses to grow.

 

Flowering Dogwood

NPS Photo

Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)
Where to find it: They are typically be found at the forest edge and frequently on dry ridges.
Pollination Season: Mid-April to Mid-May
Does it have a Fruit or Nut: Yes.
Rarity in the Park: Common
Fun Fact: This species has been used in the production of inks, scarlet dyes, and as a substitute for quinine.

 

Mountain Laurel

NPS Photo

Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia)
Where to find it: Typically found on rocky slopes and mountainous forest areas, it thrives in acid soil.
Pollination Season: Late Spring through Early Summer
Does it have a Fruit or Nut: No
Rarity in the Park: Common
Fun Fact: The Cherokee use the plant as an analgesic, placing an infusion of leaves on scratches made over location of the pain.

 

Great Rhododendron

NPS Photo

Great Rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum)
Where to find it: Typically found on hill slopes with deep well drained acid soils high in organic matter.
Pollination Season: Mid-June to August

Does it have a Fruit or Nut: Yes
Rarity in the Park: Uncommon
Fun Fact: Known to form a thick and continuous subcanopy known locally as 'laurel slicks' or 'laurel hells'.

 

Muscadine

NPS Photo

Muscadine (Vitis rotundifolia)
Where to find it: Prefers ho humid weather and areas that drain well Pollination Season: Late spring to early summer
Does it have a Fruit or Nut: Yes
Rarity in the Park: Common
Fun Fact: Berries are used in making artisan wines, juice, hull pie and jelly.

 

Cinnamon Fern

NPS Photo

Cinnamon Fern (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum)
Where to find it: They form large clonal colonies in wet swampy areas
Pollination Season: Cinnamon ferns reproduce through spores from late spring to around the first frost.
Does it have a Fruit or Nut: No
Rarity in Park: Uncommon
Fun Fact: Cinnamon ferns do not actually produce cinnamon they are named for the color of their fertile fronds.

 

Common Bracken Fern

Stefan Lefnaer Wikimedia Commons

Common Bracken Fern (Pteridium aquilinum)
Where to find it: It prefers acidic soil and grows readily in forests and on hillsides
Pollination Season: Reproduction is through spores which it produces in the late Summer.
Does it have a Fruit or Nut: No
Rarity in Park: Common
Fun Fact: Bracken shoots have been used by indigenous peoples in Siberia and North America to brew beer.