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Great places to botanize

In the northeast tier of the flora area

Looking for state: Virginia

50 matched.

Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge

City of Virginia Beach , Virginia, Coastal Plain. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

This national wildlife refuge encompasses several miles of beach, dune grasslands, scrub, and interdune wetlands along its eastern side. The western part of the area is dominated by Back Bay and its extensive flanking wind-tidal marshes. Some upland and wetland forest is also present, particularly on the mainland west of Back Bay. Behind the dunes is a series of large waterfowl impoundments that contain many interesting aquatic plants.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 3,542 ha (8,752 acres)

Blackwater Ecological Preserve and Antioch Pines State Natural Area Preserve

Isle of Wight County , Virginia, Coastal Plain. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

These adjacent natural area preserves are part of a belt of inner Coastal Plain sandhills lying along the east side of the Blackwater River from near Zuni on the north to Walters on the south. Most of the natural vegetation of this area was destroyed long ago. However, many remnant sandhill species were able to persist in the area of these preserves, which are being managed by prescribed fire for the restoration of Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) woodlands. In addition to an array of sand-loving xerophytic plants associated with the sandhills, the preserve contains impressive old-age stands of Coastal Plain bottomland hardwoods and Baldcypress-tupelo swamps in the broad floodplain along the Blackwater.

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation; 541 ha (1,336 acres)

Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge

Accomack County , Virginia, Coastal Plain. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge is located at the southern end of Assateague Island and contains maritime vegetation and flora representative of the mid-Atlantic region stretching from the Chesapeake Bay to New Jersey. Much of the area has been disturbed and altered by humans, but outstanding natural areas can be found in the northern part of the site, along the high dunes on the Bay side and in the southern part of the site near the Hook, which has extensive and dynamic overwash habitats. A full cross section of natural vegetation is present, from dune communities and maritime forests to salt marshes.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 5,510 ha (136,15 acres)

Chub Sandhill State Natural Area Preserve

Sussex County , Virginia, Coastal Plain. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

Chub Sandhill Natural Area Preserve contains one of Virginia’s northernmost sandhills, located along the east side of the Nottoway River. Despite sand quarrying and silvicultural conversion, several rare sandhill species have persisted in this area, which is being managed by prescribed fire for the restoration of Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) woodlands. Sand-loving plants are prevalent on the uplands, while the old quarry pits support many wetland and draw-down species. The preserve also includes some 7 km (4.5 mi) of river frontage and associated bottomland forests and flora.

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation; 431 ha (1,066 acres)

Crows Nest State Natural Area Preserve

Stafford County , Virginia, Coastal Plain. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

Crows Nest occupies a high peninsular ridge between Accokeek and Potomac creeks and is representative of steep, stream-dissected inner Coastal Plain landscapes in northern Virginia. Slopes and ravines of various aspects support a variety of forest communities, of which mesic mixed hardwood forest is the most extensive. Most noteworthy is the occurrence of basic mesic forests and dry calcareous forests on ravine slopes that have downcut into Tertiary shells and lime sand; associated with these are numerous calciphilic species uncommon or rare in the Coastal Plain. Much of the forest is impressively mature and is bordered by high-quality freshwater tidal swamps and marshes, located along the two creeks.

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation; 1,162 ha (2,872 acres)

Cypress Bridge State Natural Area Preserve

Sussex County , Virginia, Coastal Plain. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

The Cypress Bridge preserve includes a large stand of 100-year-old bottomland hardwoods but is most notable for a 15-ha (38-acre) stand of Water Tupelo (Nyssa aquatica) and Bald-cypress (Taxodium distichum) that somehow escaped cutting. This stand contains trees that are hundreds of years old and reaching 9 m (30 ft) in circumference, including several current and former national and state champions. Probably no other forest in Virginia more closely resembles its presettlement condition. For much of the year, this area is flooded and can be accessed by canoe or kayak. But the best time to visit is when the habitat is drawn down, in late summer and fall; it is then accessible by foot, and the massive, flaring bases of the trees are fully exposed. Much of the herbaceous flora, and even smaller trees, are rooted on the buttresses of the tupelos, where they can stay above the water level.

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation; 154 ha (380 acres)

False Cape State Park and State Natural Area Preserve

City of Virginia Beach, Virginia, Coastal Plain. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

State lands at False Cape contain the most extensive representation in Virginia of southern Atlantic maritime vegetation and flora. The roughly 1.6-km-wide (1 mi) barrier peninsula contains a virtually complete cross section of natural communities, from dune grasslands, scrub, woodlands, and wetlands, through maritime forests of Live Oak (Quercus virginiana) and Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda), to maritime swamp forests and wind-tidal marshes bordering Back Bay. Much of the area was disturbed historically but has recovered to form a large and outstanding natural area.

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation; 1,556 ha (3,844 acres)

First Landing State Park

City of Virginia Beach, Virginia, Coastal Plain. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

First Landing State Park is a large oasis of natural maritime habitats within the highly developed Virginia Beach area. Although it has a small section of beach and dune vegetation, it is most notable for the occurrence of three globally rare natural communities: a dune woodland dominated by Live Oak (Quercus virginiana) and Bluejack Oak (Quercus incana); a maritime swamp forest dominated by Bald-cypress (Taxodium distichum), and an extensive maritime upland forest dominated by a mixture of deciduous trees with some Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda). These communities are endemic to a small region that includes extreme southeastern Virginia and the Outer Banks of northeastern North Carolina. In the southern part of the park, which is more protected from salt spray, a large stand of nonriverine swamp forest occupies the peat-filled hollows of an ancient dune system.

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation; 1,099 ha (2,716 acres)

Grafton Ponds State Natural Area Preserve

York County , Virginia, Coastal Plain. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

This preserve protects a large complex of Coastal Plain seasonal ponds, most of them supporting open woodland vegetation dominated by Swamp Tupelo (Nyssa biflora). The flora is dominated by species tolerant of seasonal flooding and adapted to irregularly fluctuating water levels. The late summer and fall, when the ponds are most likely to be drawn down, are the best times to observe the herbaceous pond flora.

City of Newport News; 152 ha (375 acres)

Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge

Cities of Chesapeake and Suffolk , Virginia, Coastal Plain. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

Despite its large size, the National Wildlife Refuge comprises only a fraction of the former extent of the Great Dismal Swamp, much of which has been ditched, drained, cleared for agriculture, or developed. Thick, shrubby and viny, nonriverine swamp forests, pocosins, and Atlantic White-cedar forests are characteristic of the deeper peat deposits in the heart of the swamp, while nonriverine wet hardwood forests and successional pine-hardwood stands with dense Switch Cane (Arundinaria tecta) understories are prevalent on shallow peats and saturated mineral soils around the edges. Part of the refuge is accessible via roads that follow an old system of canals; travel off-road is extremely difficult, dangerous, and not recommended. Lake Drummond, a 1287-ha (3180-acre) body of water in the interior of the swamp, is one of two natural lakes in Virginia.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 34,436 ha (85,093 acres) in Virginia

Northwest River Park

Cities of Chesapeake and Suffolk, Virginia, Coastal Plain. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

The Northwest River is one of two tributaries of Currituck Sound in the Embayed Region of far southeastern Virginia. Due to the closure of inlets along the Outer Banks, they now lie above the limits of diurnal tidal flooding, but they are subject to frequent wind-tidal variations. Northwest River Park is a municipal facility that contains fine stands of mature upland and nonriverine wet hardwood forests, swamps, wind-tidal marshes, and ruderal vegetation typical of this region. This is a very good site at which to see a wide range of flora of the southern, outer Coastal Plain.

City of Chesapeake; 310 ha (765 acres)

Savage Neck Dunes State Natural Area Preserve

Northampton County , Virginia, Coastal Plain. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

This state natural area preserve contains the largest dunes on the Chesapeake Bay side of Eastern Shore. On the highest and most xeric portions of these great dunes is a globally rare woodland of widely spaced Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda) over scattered Woolly Beach-Heather (Hudsonia tomentosa) and other drought-tolerant maritime species. Depressions between the dunes are filled with groundwater most of the year and support a variety of wetland species. Reforesting agricultural fields, maritime forest, and a narrow band of dune scrub and grasslands occupy the remainder of the preserve.

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation; 121 ha (298 acres)

York River State Park

James City County , Virginia, Coastal Plain. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

York River State Park is predominantly a steep, stream-dissected inner Coastal Plain landscape. Ridges and ravines bordering the York River and its tributary Taskinas Creek contain a mosaic of forest communities, the most extensive of which is mesic mixed hardwood forest; oak-beech forests with dense evergreen understories of Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia) and American Holly (Ilex opaca) occupy many of the sheltered slopes and bluffs. Although the uplands are acidic, swamps in the ravine bottoms are saturated by calcareous groundwater moving through shell deposits and contain many calciphilic plants unusual for the Coastal Plain. Oligohaline and mesohaline tidal marshes line the two major streams.

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation; 1,026 ha (2,536 acres)

Blue Ridge Parkway and George Washington National Forest: Apple Orchard Mountain–Thunder Ridge area

Bedford and Botetourt counties , Virginia, Mountains. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

Reaching an elevation of 1288 m (4225 ft), Apple Orchard Mountain and Thunder Ridge comprise the highest area of the Northern Blue Ridge. The predominant bedrock of calc-alkaline granites and gneisses has weathered into deep, fertile soils. The prevalent vegetation of the area is a mesophytic montane oak-hickory forest with a luxuriant herb layer that resembles that of a rich cove forest. The higher, convex landforms support Northern Red Oak forests, while steep, boulder-strewn north slopes support northern hardwood forests dominated by gnarled, old-age Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis). Rich cove forests and seepage wetlands occur lower on the flanks in hollows along stream headwaters.

National Park Service AND U.S. Forest Service; about 1,300 ha (3,200 acres)

Blue Ridge Parkway and George Washington National Forest: Humpback Mountain–Laurel Springs Gap area

Augusta and Nelson counties , Virginia, Mountains. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

The Humpback Mountain–Laurel Springs Gap area is representative of medium- to high-elevation Northern Blue Ridge sites underlain by Catoctin metabasalt. Base-rich soils weathered from this rock support diverse vegetation, predominantly a mesophytic montane oak-hickory forest. Smaller patches of Northern Red Oak forests, oak/ heath forests, rich cove forests, outcrop barrens, and seepage wetlands are embedded in the oak-hickory matrix. The overall flora is quite species-rich and easily accessible via the Appalachian Trail and other trails.

National Park Service AND U.S. Forest Service; about 800 ha (2,000 acres)

Breaks Interstate Park

Dickenson County , Virginia, Mountains. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

Located in Virginia and Kentucky, Breaks Interstate Park features a spectacular sandstone river gorge formed by the passage of Russell Fork through Pine Mountain. Because of its diverse topography, the park contains the full range of typical low- to medium-elevation, acidic montane and riparian vegetation characteristic of this part of the Cumberland Mountains.

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation AND Kentucky Department of Parks; 374 ha (946 acres) in Virginia

Buffalo Mountain State Natural Area Preserve

Floyd County , Virginia, Mountains. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

Buffalo Mountain is a monadnock that rises to an elevation of almost 1200 m (4000 ft)—almost 360 m (1200 ft) higher than the general elevation of the Southern Blue Ridge plateau. Underlain by resistant amphibolite, the mountain harbors complexes of globally rare outcrop barrens on the slopes and globally rare mafic seepage wetlands along stream headwaters at the lower elevations. Several montane forest communities cover the remainder of the area.

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation; 461 ha (1,140 acres)

Cleveland Barrens State Natural Area Preserve

Russell County, Virginia, Mountains. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

This natural area preserve features a 3-mile hiking trail from the foot of Tank Hollow Falls near the town of Cleveland. Underlain by limestone and dolomite, this trail winds through a variety of calciphilic habitats with a rich, native flora. Portions of the area are steep and shady with lush cove forests while other areas are much drier featuring woodlands with heliophytic vegetation.

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation; 521 ha (1,287 acres)

Clinch Mountain Wildlife Management Area

Smyth, Washington, Russell, and Tazewell counties , Virginia, Mountains. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

This expansive wildlife management area contains nearly the full range of low- to high-elevation natural communities and flora characteristic of the long and imposing ridge of Clinch Mountain in southwestern Virginia. Vegetation ranging from rich and acidic cove forests to high-elevation Red Spruce forests, as well as numerous clearings and a lakeshore, offers habitats of a notable array of plant species, native and nonnative. The overall flora has a strong Southern Appalachian flavor.

Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries; 10,310 ha (25,477 acres)

Cumberland Gap National Historical Park

Lee County , Virginia, Mountains. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

This national park occupies a substantial section of Cumberland Mountain in Virginia and Kentucky. It contains varied Cumberlandian montane forests on both acidic and basic substrates, as well as examples of calcareous woodlands and barrens associated with a midslope band of Greenbrier Limestone.

National Park Service; 3,055 ha (7,550 acres) in Virginia

Douthat State Park and Beards Mountain

Bath County , Virginia, Mountains. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

This state park and the adjoining national forest lands contain vegetation and flora representative of the Central Appalachian shale region. The low-elevation slopes support large stands of secondary acidic oak-hickory, oak/ heath, and White Pine–oak forest. The higher ridges (especially Beards Mountain) are capped with somewhat richer sandstone and siltstone and support montane oak-hickory forest, including some old-age stands. Special habitats scattered throughout include shale barrens and montane alluvial forests along Wilson Creek.

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation AND U.S. Forest Service; 1,840 ha (4,546 acres)

G. Richard Thompson Wildlife Management Area

Fauquier and Warren counties , Virginia, Mountains. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

The Thompson Wildlife Management Area contains a variety of habitats and flora but is notable for containing two of Virginia’s most outstanding natural community occurrences. The upper slopes and summit of the Blue Ridge here support one of our richest montane forests, a mesophytic community with a continual succession of forest wildflowers from early spring through fall and a massive population of Large-flowered Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) estimated at more than 28 million individuals. At the headwaters of Wildcat Hollow, numerous seeps and headwater branches converge to form a 25-acre seepage swamp with base-rich soils and an impressive wetland flora.

Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries; 1,604 ha (3,963 acres)

George Washington National Forest: Big Levels–Maple Flats area

Augusta County , Virginia, Mountains. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

Big Levels is an imposing, gentle-crested ridge that juts off the western flank of the central Virginia Blue Ridge. Underlain by acidic metasedimentary rocks, the ridge is overwhelmingly vegetated by oak/heath forests and pine-oak/ heath woodlands, broken on the steep flanks by extensive open boulder fields of large-block quartzite. The St. Marys River has cut a high-gradient gorge on the southwest side of the ridge, while, on the gentle summit, sagging of underlying landslide masses has produced Green Pond, a 1-acre natural wetland. At the foot of the ridge are several complexes of Shenandoah Valley sinkhole ponds containing unique vegetation and flora, including numerous rare and disjunct species.

U.S. Forest Service; about 9,000 ha (22,000 acres)

George Washington National Forest: Blowing Springs Campground area

Bath County , Virginia, Mountains. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

This relatively small area of the national forest contains a limestone gorge with diverse, mesic to dry calcareous upland habitats and high-energy riparian habitats along Back Creek. Rich cove forests abound on the lower slopes, grading to dry-mesic and dry calcareous forests on the ridges. A small area of more acidic soils and vegetation occurs at the western end of the site on interbedded sandstone. The overall flora is lush and species-rich.

U.S. Forest Service; about 300 ha (740 acres)

George Washington National Forest: Elliott Knob

Augusta County , Virginia, Mountains. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

At 1360 m (4463 ft), Elliott Knob is the highest mountain in the Virginia portion of the Central Appalachians. The lower slopes support vegetation and flora typical of the Ridge and Valley, but the main attractions are the upper slopes and crest, which harbor large stands of Northern Red Oak forest, northern hardwood forest, and, on the northwest flank, an extensive high-elevation boulder-field forest. A lush flora with higher-elevation and northern affinities is prevalent over most of the area.

U.S. Forest Service; about 1,500 ha (3,700 acres)

George Washington National Forest: Hidden Valley

Bath County , Virginia, Mountains. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

Hidden Valley is a broad limestone river valley with flanking sandstone ridges and tributary hollows. Much of the favorable bottomland has been cleared and farmed extensively; vegetation of the ridges varies from rich cove forest on the lower, limestone slopes to oligotrophic oak/heath forest on the upper, sandstone slopes. This site contains one of the most species-rich floras among national forest sites because of the presence of extensive alluvial and seepage wetlands in the valleys. Fields and other disturbed areas provide habitats for many nonnative plants common to the western Virginia Ridge and Valley region.

U.S. Forest Service; about 600 ha (1,500 acres)

George Washington National Forest: Laurel Fork area

Highland County , Virginia, Mountains. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

The Laurel Fork area is a high-elevation Central Appalachian landscape supporting vegetation and flora with northern affinities. The matrix vegetation on this part of Allegheny Mountain is a second-growth northern hardwood forest, with patches of Red Spruce forest, oak forest, and varied wetlands in environmentally discrete habitats. Rare and unusual plants abound in this federally designated special biological area of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests.

U.S. Forest Service; about 4,200 ha (10,400 acres)

George Washington National Forest: South Sister Knob area

Bath County , Virginia, Mountains. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

The South Sister Knob area of Shenandoah Mountain is well known for several large shale barrens, representing the rare shale-ridge–prairie variant that occurs on more stable slopes and crests. But the Shenandoah Mountain Trail in this area also passes through a variety of typical Central Appalachian oak/heath, mixed oak, White Pine– oak, and montane oak-hickory forests.

U.S. Forest Service; about 450 ha (1,100 acres)

George Washington National Forest: The Priest/Spy Rock area

Nelson County , Virginia, Mountains. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

This area of the national forest is similar to the Apple Orchard Mountain–Thunder Ridge area but is not quite as high. Lush, medium- to high-elevation forests are prevalent. On the north face of the Priest, a bouldery northern hardwood forest contains several disjunct northern species. At the summit of Spy Rock is a globally rare high-elevation outcrop barren community. Seeps and seepage swamps are scattered through the area along stream headwaters.

U.S. Forest Service; 900 ha (2,200 acres)

Grayson Highlands State Park

Grayson County , Virginia, Mountains. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

Grayson Highlands State Park lies within the Southern Blue Ridge’s Balsam Mountains, Virginia’s highest-elevation landscape. In most of the park the elevation is more than 1200 m (4000 ft), and small areas on Wilburn Ridge and Haw Orchard Mountain are above 1524 m (5000 ft). Southern Appalachian vegetation and flora characteristic of cool, high sites are prevalent. Rare and noteworthy natural communities such as bogs, high-elevation outcrop barrens, shrub balds, and Red Spruce forests, as well as extensive anthropogenic meadows, occur amid the matrix of northern hardwood forest cover.

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation; 1,951 ha (4,822 acres)

Highland Wildlife Management Area

Highland County , Virginia, Mountains. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

This wildlife management area encompasses very diverse habitats on both calcareous and acidic soils. The southern tract is dominated by a limestone gorge cut by the Bullpasture River and flanked by mostly calcareous ridges supporting a variety of forest communities. The northern tract, on Jack Mountain, reaches an elevation of 1329 m (4360 ft) at Sounding Knob, where a disjunct stand of Red Spruce forest and high-elevation sandstone boulder fields occur.

U.S. Forest Service; 11,574 ha (28,601 acres)

Jefferson National Forest: Dismal Creek area

Bland, Giles counties , Virginia, Mountains. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

The Dismal Creek valley is a popular recreation area easily accessible by a Forest Service road. Much of the area is underlain by sandstone and forested with acidic cove and oak forests typical of southwestern Virginia. Nestled within these forests, however, are small patches of several rare natural communities, including calcareous fens, seepage swamps, and Northern White-cedar slope forests influenced by calcareous soils and groundwater in local interbeds of limestone. A sizeable number of rare and unusual plants are found here.

U.S. Forest Service; about 1,000 ha (2,500 acres)

Jefferson National Forest: Mount Rogers and Whitetop Mountain

Grayson, Smyth, and Washington counties , Virginia, Mountains. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

Mount Rogers and Whitetop are adjacent peaks of the Balsam Mountains and contain Virginia’s only substantial landscape above 1524 m (5000 ft) elevation. Outstanding examples of high-elevation Southern Appalachian habitats, vegetation, and flora abound and offer extensive opportunities for exploration and study, even by skilled botanists. Mount Rogers, which reaches 1746 m (5729 ft), supports Virginia’s only occurrence of Red Spruce–Fraser Fir forest on and around its summit, while Whitetop harbors our only example of a Southern Appalachian grassy bald. A medium- to old-age northern hardwood forest occupies most of the slopes, with smaller inclusions of high-elevation cove forests, seeps, and other specialty communities. This area contains a large number of plants listed as rare for Virginia, many of which reach or approach their northern range limit here.

U.S. Forest Service; about 7,700 ha (19,000 acres)

Jefferson National Forest: Potts Mountain

Craig and Alleghany counties , Virginia, Mountains. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

Potts Mountain is a 23-km (14-mi) medium-elevation ridge in the central Ridge and Valley region northwest of Roanoke. It is notable for the very extensive and species rich, montane oak-hickory forests that cover its crest and southeastern flank. On the mountain’s northwest flank are sandstone outcrops, cliffs, and extensive boulder-field woodlands. Toward the northeastern end of the ridge is Potts Pond, one of Virginia’s most pristine and floristically significant natural ponds. To the southwest, at the head of Cove Branch, are bogs and beaver wetlands with many unusual wetland plants.

U.S. Forest Service; about 1,500 ha (3,700 acres)

Jefferson National Forest: Raven Cliff–Collins Cove area

Wythe County , Virginia, Mountains. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

Forest Service land stretching from the Raven Cliff Recreation Area to the Collins Cove Horse Camp is an exceptionally rich and varied area in which limestone, sandstone, and shale habitats occur near one another. In addition to many of the common Southern Appalachian forest communities, the site contains a shale barren, a Carolina Hemlock forest, and extensive riparian habitats along Cripple Creek. The lower part of Collins Cove is underlain by limestone and contains a complex of luxuriantly vegetated sinkholes, some of them 200 m (600 ft) long and 30 m (100 ft) deep. This is an outstanding area in which to see calcium-loving flora and limestone forests of both moist and dry habitats.

U.S. Forest Service; about 530 ha (1,300 acres)

Jefferson National Forest: Staunton Creek/Sulphur Spring area

Scott County , Virginia, Mountains. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

This site, located near the boundary between the Cumberland Mountains and Ridge and Valley, contains a small stream gorge and flanking ridges supporting very rich and diverse limestone habitats and flora.

U.S. Forest Service; about 200 ha (500 acres)

Jefferson National Forest: Stone Mountain/High Knob area

Wise County , Virginia, Mountains. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

The High Knob area of Stone Mountain south of Norton is one of the higher sites in the Cumberland Mountains, reaching elevations of more than 1280 m (4200 ft) and containing a good representation of medium- to high-elevation habitats and flora. Small pockets of northern hardwood forest and Northern Red Oak forest occur here, among more extensive stands of montane oak and oak-hickory forest and rich cove forest.

U.S. Forest Service; about 350 ha (865 acres)

Natural Tunnel State Park

Scott County , Virginia, Mountains. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

Natural Tunnel State Park features a limestone gorge with a good range of calciphilic habitats and flora. Natural communities and habitats that are readily accessible along park trails include rich cove forests, dry-mesic calcareous forests, dry calcareous woodlands, and cliffs. The most spectacular cliffs are in the vicinity of Natural Tunnel itself, formed by the breaching of a limestone ridge by Stock Creek.

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation; 368 ha (909 acres)

New River Trail State Park

Carroll, Grayson, Pulaski, and Wythe counties , Virginia, Mountains. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

The New River Trail is a converted railroad bed that follows the New River for about 63 km (39 mi) from its passage through the Blue Ridge well into the Ridge and Valley. The trail passes through diverse upland, riparian, and disturbed habitats, offering opportunities for observing a correspondingly wide range of flora. It is a fine way to experience the transition of landforms, vegetation, and flora from the Blue Ridge to the Ridge and Valley. Much of the Ridge and Valley section is dominated by limestone and dolomite habitats, from rich cove forests to dry cliffs. Much of the Southern Blue Ridge section has a gorge-like character and a diversity of acidic and basic metamorphic rocks, producing dramatic transitions of vegetation and flora from one slope to the next. Although the river has been impounded, some remnant floodplain forests and flood-scoured rocky riparian habitats are found, particularly at the southern and northern ends of the area.

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation; 561 ha (1,387 acres)

Pinnacle State Natural Area Preserve

Russell County , Virginia, Mountains. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

This natural area preserve has more than 4 km (2.5 mi) of frontage on the Clinch River and a deep, winding gorge cut by Big Cedar Creek. Much of the site is underlain by dolomite and supports a calciphilic flora of exceptional species richness. The topographic complexity of the area is dramatic, and nearly the full range of Southern Appalachian calciphilic natural communities, from rich floodplains and breathtakingly lush cove forests to sparse vegetation on sheer pinnacle-like cliffs of dolomite, is present.

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation; 288 ha (712 acres)

Shenandoah National Park: Hawksbill–Crescent Rocks area

Madison and Page counties , Virginia, Mountains. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

Hawksbill and the adjacent Crescent Rocks constitute one of Shenandoah National Park’s highest-elevation landscapes, reaching 1237 m (4060 ft) at the Hawksbill summit. At this latitude in northern Virginia, climatic conditions are equivalent to those of much higher elevations in the southern part of the state. Outstanding features of this site include a large stand of very bouldery, old-age northern hardwood forest on the north flank of the ridge; a globally rare high-elevation boulder-field woodland; and high-elevation metabasalt outcrop barrens and lichen-dominated boulder-field communities that are apparently endemic to this region. Plants of northern and high-elevation affinities, including a number of northern disjuncts and species listed as rare in Virginia, are prevalent.

National Park Service; about 850 ha (2,100 acres)

Bull Run Mountain State Natural Area Preserve

Fauquier and Prince William counties , Virginia, Piedmont. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

Bull Run Mountain is a western Piedmont monadnock with primarily acidophilic vegetation and flora. The portion managed as a state natural area preserve contains a trail system providing access to a range of mature, mesic to dry forest communities, seeps and seepage swamps, and large quartzite cliffs and boulder fields. The vegetation and flora of Bull Run Mountain have more affinities with those of the main Blue Ridge, located some 32 km (20 mi) to the west, than to those of the surrounding Piedmont.

Virginia Outdoors Foundation; 1,006 ha (2,486 acres)

Cumberland State Forest

Cumberland and Buckingham counties , Virginia, Piedmont. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

Situated in the central Virginia Piedmont just south of the James River, the Cumberland State Forest is underlain by intermediate to basic metamorphic and intrusive igneous rocks. Much of the land is devoted to production of Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda) and hardwood timber, but good examples of mature acidic and basic oak-hickory forest, mesic mixed hardwood forest, and basic mesic forest can be found throughout the area. The Turkey Ridge Natural Area, established here in the 1970s, contains an outstanding 23-acre old-age stand of Piedmont hardpan forest, with some trees more than 200 years old. Excellent examples of several floodplain forest and swamp communities can be found along the Willis River and other streams.

Virginia Department of Forestry; 6,569 ha (16,233 acres)

Difficult Creek State Natural Area Preserve

Halifax County , Virginia, Piedmont. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

This state natural area preserve is located on basic hardpan soils weathered from Virgilina Greenstone. It is an excellent site at which to observe the herbaceous flora characteristic of basic soils in the southern Virginia Piedmont. Before it was a preserve, much of the area had been clearcut and converted to Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda) plantation, but many rare and unusual plants had found refuge in a powerline right-of-way that crosses the area. It is gradually being restored, with prescribed fire, to an open woodland condition and now contains a dense and continuous display of native wildflowers and grasses from spring through fall.

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation; 331 ha (819 acres)

Elklick Woodland State Natural Area Preserve

Fairfax County , Virginia, Piedmont. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

In the northern Virginia Triassic Basin, large diabase dikes once supported extensive, species-rich oak-hickory forests adapted to alternately wet and dry, shrink-swell, montmorillonite soils. Most of these hardpan forests have been destroyed by development or degraded by repeated clearcutting, but a relatively large and mature stand has been preserved at this site, which is owned and managed by the Fairfax County Park Authority. The herbaceous flora features a species-rich assemblage of drought-tolerant, nutrient-loving grasses and forbs.

Fairfax County; 644 ha (1,592 acres)

Fairystone State Park and Philpott Lake

Franklin and Patrick counties, Virginia, Piedmont. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

Fairystone State Park and the adjacent U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land around Philpott Lake are located just east of the Blue Ridge in the foothills of the southwestern Virginia Piedmont. Although typical southern Piedmont vegetation and flora are present, the area also has many montane affinities marked by the intrusion of Southern Appalachian flora. Most of the area is underlain by acidic rocks, has strongly acidophilic flora, and supports community types such as oak/heath forests and acidic cove forests. However, Stuarts Knob, a prominent ridge within the state park, is a mafic monadnock that supports basic-soil plants and vegetation of a strikingly different character. Other mafic outcrops with woodland/barren vegetation and plants occur on steep bluffs along the Philpott Reservoir and are best reached by boat.

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation AND U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; 4,067 ha (10,050 acres)

Kerr Reservoir: Bluestone Wildlife Management Area

Mecklenburg County , Virginia, Piedmont. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

This wildlife management area, located on stream-dissected slopes along the north side of the John H. Kerr Reservoir (Roanoke River), supports a good range of mature, southern Piedmont upland forests growing on intermediate to basic soils weathered from granitic rocks. An outstanding feature is a series of unusual dry, basic hardpan woodlands growing on south-facing “noses” along the river and containing a number of species more characteristic of western Virginia limestone habitats.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; 279 ha (689 acres)

Kerr Reservoir: Hogan Creek Wildlife Management Area

Charlotte County , Virginia, Piedmont. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

Another wildlife management area within the lands of the John H. Kerr Reservoir, the Hogan Creek area comprises a flatwoods underlain by gabbro. Pronounced hardpan subsoils that impede drainage have developed here, resulting in the formation of several upland depression swamps. Except for several wildlife clearings, most of the area supports relatively mature stands of Piedmont hardpan forest and (in better drained soils) basic oak-hickory forest. The adjacent Staunton View Recreation Area provides access to the reservoir shore, which late in the season typically has extensive sand, gravel, and mud flats colonized by a notable diversity of draw-down plants.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; 213 ha (526 acres)

Manassas National Battlefield Park

Prince William County , Virginia, Piedmont. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

Manassas National Battlefield Park has become an oasis in the highly developed northern Virginia landscape. Here, a wide range of flora characteristic of the northern Virginia Triassic Basin forests, fields, clearings, and floodplains can still be seen. Much of the park is underlain by siltstone, with several large diabase dikes also present. Natural communities here include acidic and basic oak-hickory forests, upland depression swamps, floodplain forests, and alluvial swamps. Extensive fields in the park support many of the native and introduced grasses and weeds found in the region.

National Park Service; 2,038 ha (5,037 acres)

Potomac Gorge: Riverbend Park, Great Falls Park, Scotts Run Nature Preserve, and Turkey Run Park

Fairfax County , Virginia, Piedmont. Submitted by Gary Fleming, Virginia Natural Heritage Ecologist, retired, Used with permission of Flora of Virginia Project

The valley formed by the 24-km (15 mi) reach of the Potomac River west of Washington, D.C., contains one of the most diverse floras and assemblages of plant communities in the mid-Atlantic Piedmont. Over time, the Potomac River has served as a major corridor for the migration of plants, and the gorge now contains numerous populations of rare and disjunct species characteristic of other regions. The river is unimpeded by high dams and impoundments and, its flooding regime thus intact, has scoured the massive bedrock around Great Falls into a series of terraces unique to Atlantic-slope rivers. Because of its geological and topographic diversity, the site contains nearly the full range of acidic and basic, terrestrial and palustrine Piedmont vegetation, including several rare riparian communities associated with frequently floodscoured outcrops and depositional bars. The Virginia portion of the Potomac Gorge is best reached in Riverbend Park, Great Falls Park, Scotts Run Nature Preserve, or Turkey Run Park. Scotts Run and Turkey Run contain extensive examples of mature, basic mesic forests growing on north-facing bluffs, while Great Falls and Riverbend contain the most extensive examples of riparian vegetation.

National Park Service AND Fairfax County Park Authority; 932 ha (2,302 acres)

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