Highlands Botanical Garden & Nature Center
Native Plant Profiles
Discover the woody flora, wildflowers, and vines of the Highlands Plateau — a global biodiversity hotspot in the southern Blue Ridge.
Native Plant Profiles
25 featured species
Appalachian Turtlehead
Chelone lyonii
Rosy-pink, turtle-shaped blooms and glossy foliage thriving in moist, partly shaded habitats of the southern Appalachians.
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Bee Balm
Monarda didyma
Showy native perennial with vibrant red tubular flowers that attract hummingbirds and pollinators in moist, sunny habitats.
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Blazing Star
Liatris spicata
Tall spikes of feathery purple flowers that bloom top to bottom, attracting pollinators in sunny meadows and prairies.
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Blue Lobelia
Lobelia siphilitica
Bold native wildflower with vibrant blue tubular blooms brightening moist meadows and streambanks from late summer into fall.
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Butterfly Milkweed
Asclepias tuberosa
Vibrant native milkweed with bright orange blooms that attract butterflies, thriving in dry sunny meadows and prairies.
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Cutleaf Coneflower
Rudbeckia laciniata
Tall native wildflower with deeply lobed leaves and bright yellow daisy-like blooms lighting up moist meadows in late summer.
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Dwarf Crested Iris
Iris cristata
Low-growing native with delicate violet-blue blooms and golden crests, often carpeting the forest floor in early spring.
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Foxglove Beardtongue
Penstemon digitalis
Graceful native perennial with tall spikes of tubular white flowers attracting pollinators in sunny meadows and open woodlands.
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Golden Ragwort
Packera aurea
Cheerful native groundcover with clusters of bright yellow spring flowers thriving in moist woodlands and along streambanks.
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Grass-of-Parnassus
Parnassia asarifolia
Delicate native wildflower with striking white veined petals, found in wet boggy areas of the southern Appalachians.
Hollowstem Joe-Pye Weed
Eutrochium fistulosum
Towering native perennial with clusters of fragrant pink-purple flowers attracting pollinators in moist meadows and woodland edges.
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Mountain Mint
Pycnanthemum muticum
Fragrant native perennial with soft silvery bracts and pale pink flowers, beloved by pollinators in sunny meadows.
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Oconee Bell
Shortia galacifolia
Rare and delicate native wildflower with nodding white bell-shaped blooms and glossy evergreen foliage in shaded Appalachian forests.
Pitcher Plant
Sarracenia purpurea var. montana
Fascinating native carnivorous plant with deep red pitcher-shaped leaves that trap insects, thriving in nutrient-poor boggy habitats.
Rough Goldenrod
Solidago rugosa
Sturdy native perennial with coarse leaves and vibrant yellow flower clusters lighting up late-summer meadows with pollinator activity.
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Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
Graceful native perennial with fragrant pink flowers attracting butterflies, thriving in moist soils along streams and wetlands.
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Three-Leaved Coneflower
Rudbeckia triloba
Bushy native biennial with masses of small bright yellow flowers and dark centers, thriving in sunny meadows and garden edges.
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Tufted Hairgrass
Deschampsia cespitosa ssp. glauca
Graceful native bunchgrass with fine arching blades and airy golden flower panicles, thriving in moist meadows and open woodlands.
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Native Trees
65 species- Allegheny Chinkapin (Castanea pumila)
- Alternate-leaf Dogwood (Cornus alternifolia)
- American Basswood (Tilia americana)
- American Beech (Fagus grandifolia)
- American Chestnut (Castanea dentata)
- American Elm (Ulmus americana)
- American Holly (Ilex opaca)
- American Hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana)
- American Plum (Prunus americana)
- Arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum)
- Bayleaf Willow (Salix pentandra)
- Bitternut Hickory (Carya cordiformis)
- Black Cherry (Prunus serotina)
- Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)
- Black Oak (Quercus velutina)
- Black Walnut (Juglans nigra)
- Black Willow (Salix nigra)
- Blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica)
- Butternut (Juglans cinerea)
- Catawba Rhododendron (Rhododendron catawbiense)
- Carolina Hemlock (Tsuga caroliniana)
- Carolina Silverbell (Halesia carolina)
- Chestnut Oak (Quercus montana)
- Chickasaw Plum (Prunus angustifolia)
- Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana)
- Clammy Locust (Robinia viscosa)
- Cucumber-tree (Magnolia acuminata)
- Devil's Walkingstick (Aralia spinosa)
- Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)
- Eastern Redcedar (Juniperus virginiana)
- Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)
- Fraser Magnolia (Magnolia fraseri)
- Hawthorn (Crataegus punctata)
- Hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana)
- Horse-sugar (Symplocos tinctoria)
- Honey-locust (Gleditsia triacanthos)
- Mockernut Hickory (Carya tomentosa)
- Mountain Ash (Sorbus americana)
- Mountain Camellia (Stewartia ovata)
- Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia)
- Mountain Maple (Acer spicatum)
- Mountain Winterberry (Ilex montana)
- Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra)
- Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana)
- Pignut Hickory (Carya glabra)
- Pin Cherry (Prunus pensylvanica)
- Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida)
- Post Oak (Quercus stellata)
- Red Maple (Acer rubrum)
- Redbud (Cercis canadensis)
- River Birch (Betula nigra)
- Rosebay Rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum)
- Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)
- Scarlet Oak (Quercus coccinea)
- Shagbark Hickory (Carya tomentosa)
- Shortleaf Pine (Pinus echinata)
- Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum)
- Slippery Elm (Ulmus rubra)
- Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra)
- Sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum)
- Southern Red Oak (Quercus falcata)
- Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina)
- Striped Maple (Acer pensylvanicum)
- Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum)
- Sweet Birch (Betula lenta)
- Sweet Pepperbush (Clethra acuminata)
- Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)
- Table Mountain Pine (Pinus pungens)
- Tulip-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera)
- Umbrella Magnolia (Magnolia tripetala)
- Virginia Pine (Pinus virginiana)
- White Ash (Fraxinus americana)
- White Oak (Quercus alba)
- White Pine (Pinus strobus)
- Wild Crabapple (Malus angustifolia)
- Witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)
- Winged Sumac (Rhus copallina)
- Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis)
- Yellow Buckeye (Aesculus flava)
- Maple-leaved Viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium)
Native Shrubs
45 species- American Elder (Sambucus canadensis)
- Arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum)
- Beaked Hazelnut (Corylus cornuta)
- Black Alder (Ilex verticillata)
- Black Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa)
- Blackhaw (Viburnum prunifolium)
- Blue Ridge St. John's Wort (Hypericum buckleyi)
- Bristly Locust (Robinia hispida)
- Buckberry (Gaylussacia ursina)
- Buckleya (Buckleya distichophylla)
- Buffalo Nut (Pyrularia pubera)
- Bush-Honeysuckle (Diervilla sessilifolia)
- Bush Hypericum (Hypericum densiflorum)
- Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
- Calycanthus (Sweetshrub) (Calycanthus floridus)
- Carolina Buckthorn (Rhamnus caroliniana)
- Carolina Rhododendron (Rhododendron minus)
- Deerberry (Vaccinium stamineum)
- Dog-hobble (Leucothoe fontanesiana)
- Flame Azalea (Rhododendron calendulaceum)
- Fringe Tree (Chionanthus virginicus)
- Granite Dome Locust (Robinia hartwigii)
- Ground Juniper (Juniperus communis)
- Male-berry (Lyonia ligustrina)
- Maple-leaved Viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium)
- Meadow-sweet (Spiraea alba)
- Minnie-bush (Menziesia pilosa)
- Mountain Honeysuckle (Lonicera dioica)
- New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus)
- Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius)
- Pinxter-Flower (Rhododendron periclymenoides)
- Prickly Gooseberry (Ribes cynosbati)
- Red Chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia)
- Redtwig Leucothoe (Leucothoe recurva)
- Sand-myrtle (Leiophyllum buxifolium)
- Scentless Mock-orange (Philadelphus inodorus)
- Sheep Laurel (Kalmia angustifolia)
- Silverleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea radiata)
- Smooth Azalea (Rhododendron arborescens)
- Strawberry-bush (Euonymus americanus)
- Swamp Azalea (Rhododendron viscosum)
- Swamp Rose (Rosa palustris)
- Sweet-fern (Comptonia peregrina)
- Upland Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium simulatum)
- Upland Low Blueberry (Vaccinium pallidum)
- Wild Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens)
- Wild Rose (Rosa carolina)
- Yellowroot (Xanthorhiza simplicissima)
Native Woody Vines
9 species- Bristly Greenbrier (Smilax hispida)
- Common Catbrier (Smilax rotundifolia)
- Dutchman's Pipe (Aristolochia macrophylla)
- Fox Grape (Vitis labrusca)
- Leather-flower (Clematis viorna)
- Poison-ivy (Toxicodendron radicans)
- Sawbrier (Smilax glauca)
- Summer Grape (Vitis aestivalis)
- Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)
- Virgin's-bower (Clematis virginiana)
Non-native Exotics
23 species- Bayleaf Willow (Salix pentandra)
- Bridal Wreath Spirea (Spiraea japonica)
- Common Apple (Malus sylvestris)
- Common Barberry (Berberis vulgaris)
- Common Lilac (Syringa vulgaris)
- Common Peach (Prunus persica)
- English Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens)
- English Ivy (Hedera helix)
- European Privet (Ligustrum vulgare)
- Japanese Quince (Chaenomeles lagenaria)
- Kudzu (Pueraria lobata)
- Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora)
- Norway Spruce (Picea abies)
- Oriental Bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus)
- Oriental Forsythia (Forsythia spp.)
- Paulownia (Paulownia tomentosa)
- Snowball (Viburnum opulus)
- Tree-of-Heaven (Ailanthus altissima)
- Weeping Willow (Salix babylonica)
- White Poplar (Populus alba)
- Wisteria (Wisteria frutescens)