A rock shelter is a shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff. In contrast to solutional caves (karst), which are often many miles long or wide, rock shelters are almost always modest in size and extent.
Minuartia is a genus of flowering plants commonly known as sandworts in the family Caryophyllaceae.
Isotria medeoloides, commonly known as small whorled pogonia or little five leaves, is a terrestrial orchid found in temperate Eastern North America.
The blackside dace is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is endemic to the Cumberland River drainage in Kentucky and Tennessee as well as the Powell River drainage in Virginia in the United States. It is a federally listed threatened species.
Eremogone ursina is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common name Bear Valley sandwort.
Geocarpon groenlandicum, the Greenland stitchwort or mountain stitchwort, Appalachian stitchwort, mountain sandwort, smooth mountain sandwort, and smooth sandwort is a rare perennial which grows low to the ground in clumps linked together at the bottom. It has three to five pairs of leaves in a linear opposite pattern along the length of the slender stem. The main stem breaks into one to thirty cymes which each flower separately. The flowers are white and arise five to ten centimeters above the thick foliage. The white flower petals are six to ten millimeters long. The petals are, in turn, surrounded by five green sepals.
Fimbristylis vahlii is a species of sedge known by the common name Vahl's fimbry. It is native to much of Central America and the southern half of North America, where it grows in wet habitat. This is a small, clumping sedge producing rounded stems just a few centimeters high surrounded by curling, thready leaves. At the top of the stem is an inflorescence which is a cluster of several cylindrical, pointed spikelets surrounded by long, narrow, twisting bracts. The fruit is a tiny achene about half a millimeter wide.
Monardella beneolens is a rare species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common name sweet-smelling monardella.
Packera ganderi is a rare species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name Gander's ragwort. It is endemic to southern California, where it is known from a few occurrences in San Diego and Riverside Counties.
Streptanthus longisiliquus is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common name long-fruit jewelflower. It was first described to science in 2007. It is endemic to northern California, where it is known from Butte, Tehama, and Shasta Counties. It can be found in forest and woodland habitat in mountains and foothills. It is a short-lived perennial herb producing a few-branched stem up to 1.2 to 1.5 meters in maximum height. It is mostly hairless except for some light hairs on the inflorescences and sometimes the leaf petioles. The basal leaves have oval or spoon-shaped blades up to 10 centimeters long, usually with smooth edges. Leaves higher on the stem are oval or oblong and lack petioles, their bases often clasping the stem. Flowers occur at intervals along the upper stem. Each flower has a bell-shaped calyx of sepals which yellow-green at the base and purplish at the tip, measuring under a centimeter in length. The petals emerging from the end are brownish or purplish with greenish bases. The fruit is a flattened, curving silique that can be quite long even for the genus, measuring up to 15 centimeters in length.
Borodinia perstellata, commonly known as Braun's rockcress and Nevada rockcress, is a rare species of flowering plant in the mustard family. It is native to Kentucky and Tennessee, where it is known from perhaps 25 total populations. Most of the occurrences have few individuals, and all are deteriorating in quality. The plant grows in shady forest habitat on limestone substrates, usually near streams or rivers. This is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.
Borodinia serotina is a rare species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common name shale barren rockcress. It is native to eastern West Virginia and western Virginia in and around the Shenandoah Valley, where it is known from 62 populations. It is endemic to the shale barrens, a type of habitat characterized by steep slopes of bare shale, an exposed, rocky habitat type that is subject to very dry and hot conditions. Shale barrens host a number of endemics, such as Allium oxyphilum and Taenidia montana, and this rockcress is among the rarest. It is a federally listed endangered species.
Clematis morefieldii is a rare species of flowering plant in the buttercup family known by the common names Morefield's leather flower and Huntsville vasevine.
Clematis socialis is a rare species of flowering plant in the buttercup family known by the common name Alabama leather flower. It is native to the US states of Alabama and Georgia, where it is known from only five populations. The species is seriously threatened by habitat destruction. It is a federally listed endangered species.
Geocarpon is a genus of flowering plants in the carnation family, Caryophyllaceae. It includes seven species native to North America, from the eastern subarctic through the eastern, southeastern, and central United States.
Solidago albopilosa is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name whitehair goldenrod. It is a perennial herb that is endemic to the state of Kentucky in the southeastern United States. It is threatened by recreational activities in its habitat and is a federally listed threatened species of the United States.
Xyris tennesseensis is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Xyridaceae known by the common name Tennessee yellow-eyed grass. It is native to a small section of the Southeastern United States, including parts of the states of Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee. A federally listed endangered species, it is threatened by the loss and degradation of its habitat.
Silene regia is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common name royal catchfly. It is native to the central United States. A perennial herb, it grows from a fleshy taproot and has several erect stems growing up to 1.6 meters tall. The leaves are lance-shaped to oval and up to 12 centimeters (4.7 in) long, becoming smaller farther up the stem. The inflorescence is an array of many flowers at the top of the stem. The elongate tubular calyx of sepals is up to 2.5 centimeters (0.98 in) long and has 10 longitudinal veins. The lobes of the bright red corolla are 1 to 2 centimeters long.
Castilleja kerryana is a species of flowering plant in the family Orobanchaceae. It is commonly known as Kerry's Indian paintbrush or Kerry’spaintbrush. It was formally described in 2013 and so far it is known only from a small population in the state of Montana, in the Northwestern United States.
Solidago arenicola is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name Locust Fork goldenrod. It has been found only in the states of Tennessee and Alabama in the United States. It is endemic to riverside scour areas on the Cumberland Plateau, where it is often locally abundant.
