Trillium is a genus of about fifty flowering plant species in the family Melanthiaceae. Trillium species are native to temperate regions of North America and Asia, with the greatest diversity of species found in the southern Appalachian Mountains in the southeastern United States.
The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They once reached elevations similar to those of the Alps and the Rocky Mountains before experiencing natural erosion. The Appalachian chain is a barrier to east–west travel, as it forms a series of alternating ridgelines and valleys oriented in opposition to most highways and railroads running east–west.
Lithospermum is a genus of plants belonging to the family Boraginaceae. The genus is distributed nearly worldwide, but most are native to the Americas and the center of diversity is in the southwestern United States and Mexico. Species are known generally as gromwells or stoneseeds.
A calcareous glade is a type of ecological community that is found in the central eastern United States. Calcareous glades occur where bedrock such as limestone occurs near or at the surface, and have very shallow and little soil development. Because of the shallow soil and the extreme conditions created by it, trees are often unable to grow in the glades. This creates a habitat that is usually sunny, dry, and hot. Calcareous glade vegetation is more similar to that of a desert habitat than a grassland, being dominated by small spring annuals with occasional geophytic or succulent perennials.
Eurybia surculosa, commonly known as the creeping aster, is an herbaceous perennial in the composite family that was previously treated in the genus Aster. It is native to the eastern United States where it is found in sandy soils along the coastal plain, though when E. compacta is also present, it exists farther inland in the southern Appalachian Mountains and the Cumberland Plateau. Although the species is not seriously threatened, it is locally endangered in Virginia and Alabama. The flowers, which have bluish violet ray florets and pale yellow disc florets that eventually turn purplish, emerge in summer and persist into the fall.
The stripetail darter is a species of darter endemic to the eastern United States. It is found in small rivers and streams in the states of Tennessee, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi. Males are a golden-orange color with black barring on the fins, and grow to a length of about 2.8 in (7 cm). This fish feeds on midge larvae and other small invertebrates. It breeds in the spring; eggs are attached to the substrate, often under slab rocks, where they are guarded by the male. The population trend of this fish seems to be stable and it is a common species with numerous sub-populations over a wide range, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".
Silene ovata, the Blue Ridge catchfly or ovate-leaved catchfly, is a herbaceous plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. This perennial plant grows up to 1.5 m tall and has large opposite leaves without petioles which are 5–12 cm long and taper to a long point, 2–5 cm wide and numerous finely fringed white flowers with a tube.
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 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 long and has 10 longitudinal veins. The lobes of the bright red corolla are 1 to 2 centimeters long.
Delphinium exaltatum is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family known by the common name tall larkspur. Other Delphinium species may be called tall larkspur, such as Delphinium barbeyi. D. exaltatum is native to the central and eastern United States, where it can be found in Kentucky, Maine, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, and Missouri.
Viola egglestonii, commonly known as glade violet, is a species herbaceous plant in the violet family. It is native to a small area of eastern North America, only being found in limestone cedar glades of the Interior Low Plateau and Ridge and Valley ecoregions of Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
Clitoria mariana, is a perennial forb.
Schisandra glabra, the bay star-vine, is the only American species of this primarily Asian genus. It is native to the southeastern United States and northern Mexico. It grows in Louisiana, eastern Arkansas, southwestern Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, northwestern Florida, and Georgia, with isolated populations in Kentucky, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Hidalgo. Despite its wide range, it is considered a vulnerable species. Few populations are secure due to competition from invasive species and habitat loss.
Clinopodium glabellum, the glade calamint, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family. It is native to the Nashville Basin of Tennessee, the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky, and two counties in Alabama. Within this range, it is found only on wet cedar glades and in seeps along limestone creekbeds. Due to its narrow range and specific habitat requirements, this species is considered vulnerable.
Helianthus silphioides is a North American species of sunflower known by the common names rosinweed sunflower or Ozark sunflower. It is native to the central United States, primarily in the Ozarks and the Tennessee Valley with additional populations north into Kentucky and Illinois and south as far as Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
Aureolaria patula, commonly known as spreading yellow false foxglove or Cumberland oak-leach, is a species of plant in the family Orobanchaceae. It is native to the upper Southeastern United States, where it is found in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Due to its limited geographic range, this species in considered vulnerable, and is listed as rare in every state it is found. It is often found in populations consisting of only a few plants. Its habitat is rich alluvial forests and limestone slopes along major rivers.
Gratiola quartermaniae, commonly known as the limestone hedge-hyssop, is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family. It is native to eastern North America.
Lithospermum parviflorum, commonly called Eastern Prairie Marbleseed, is a species of flowering plant in the forget-me-not family. It is native to the eastern North America.
Penstemon brevisepalus, commonly known as short-sepaled beardtongue, is an herbaceous plant in the plantain family. It is a perennial that produces pale lavender flowers in late spring.
Viburnum molle, commonly called softleaf arrowwood, is a species of flowering plant in the moschatel family (Adoxaceae). It is native to the eastern United States, where it restricted to the Midwest and Upper South. Its distribution is scattered, and populations occur in disjunct clusters. Its natural habitat is in rocky bluff forests over calcareous soil, and in adjacent bottomlands.
Podostemum ceratophyllum, commonly known as the hornleaf riverweed, is a species of submerged aquatic plant in the family Podostemaceae. It is native to eastern North America where it grows on hard bottoms in swiftly flowing rivers and streams and is considered a foundation species.
