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About The Park

Plants

Discover the Beauty and Biodiversity of Adirondack Plants

From wetlands to alpine zones and everywhere in between, the Adirondack Park is awash in incredible plant life. There are plants that eat insects, plants that are the tallest in the state of New York, and plants that can only be found on mountain tops.

From our famed pines and maples to flowers with brilliant colors, the Adirondack Park is home to a fascinating and ecologically critical diversity of plant life.

Native Adirondack Plants

Native plants are indigenous to a given area in geologic time. They have occurred naturally without human introduction in a region, ecosystem, or habitat.

A few examples of iconic native plants in the Adirondacks include:

  • Cardinal Flower
  • Blue flag Iris
  • Violet
  • Eastern (Canadian) hemlock
  • Balsam fir
  • Black elderberry
  • White birch
  • Sugar maple
  • Tamarack
  • Ostrich fern

Alpine Plants

The Adirondack 46 High Peaks draw both locals and tourists from near and far, as people hope to see the spectacular views from the summits. While the High Peaks are a great challenge for hikers, as well as fun to climb and explore, they are also the natural habitat for many alpine organisms. Despite the vastness and number of the High Peaks, the “alpine zone” occurs on just a few of the mountains and covers only 11 acres of the Adirondack Park’s six million acres.

A mountain top is a very hard place for any plant organism to survive. Species must combat a very short growing season and soil that is acidic and lacks important nutrients. Plus, they must battle snow, ice and wind for the majority of the year, then intense sunshine in the summer.

Alpine plants, like Bootts’s Rattlesnake Root, Dwarf Willow, and Alpine Azalea, have evolved to survive these brutal and ever-changing conditions. Many alpine plants have a short yearly life cycle and are small and cushiony to avoid the fierce winds and to stay warm.

Invasive Plants

Unfortunately, not all plants in the Adirondack Park are native to the area. Invasive species such as Eurasian Water Milfoil, Garlic Mustard, and Purple Loosestrife can out-compete native species and disrupt natural ecological processes. Learn more about invasive species and how you can help prevent their spread.

Resources