Upper Grades Ecosystem Investigation: Alabama's Native Plants

Investigate Alabama's Native Plants

(Endangered) Green Pitcher Plant
Wikimedia – Noah Elhardt
Click image to enlarge it

Biodiversity refers to the number of different species (kinds) of living things that live in an area.

Alabama has some of the greatest native plant biodiversity in the United States with over 3,000 different native plant species and ranking #9 in overall plant diversity in the United States. The great variety of terrestrial (land) habitats and waterways running through the state provides a wide range of habitats for plants including some that cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

Click on the categories below to learn more about Alabama's native plants.
What Does Native Mean?	Alabama's Native Plant Species	Why Plant Natives?	Why are Non-natives and Invasives Bad?

Native and Non-native

What is a native plant? A species (type) of plant that naturally exists in an area without humans introducing it there.
What is a non-native plant? A species of plant that humans introduced (on purpose or by accident) to a new area where it would not be found naturally.
What is an invasive plant? A non-native species that aggressively reproduces and invades native plant communities, taking away the food, water, and space that the native plants need to survive.

Alabama's Native Plant Species

Classification:
Classification is the process of organizing organisms into groups based on similarities. Scientists use basic traits to group organisms into taxonomic classes (groups). These groupings start broad and are further broken down into more specific groups within the larger group. A species is the most specific category within the classification system. All plants are classified in the Kingdom Plantae.

Characteristics:
While all plants are made up of similar parts that are essential in maintaining their survival (i.e. roots, stem, leaves, etc.), they often look and behave differently in other ways. These differences in characteristics are used to group plants further into phyla, classes, orders, etc. This chart shows some of the main characteristics that are considered when classifying plants into groups.
Diversity:
Alabama is home to over 3,000 species of native plants. 28 of those species are endemic (found only in Alabama) #9 in overall plant diversity in the United States! #2 in carnivorous (meat-eating) plant diversity in the United States! #1 in pitcher plant diversity in the United States! There are roughly 200 species of trees in Alabama, making it a hotspot for tree diversity in the United States.	Tree Diversity in the United States (2015) “U.S. protected lands mismatch biodiversity priorities,” by Clinton N. Jenkins, Kyle S. Van Houtan, Stuart L. Pimm, and Joseph O. Sexton. Published April 6, 2015, in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Click on image to enlarge it
Use the resources below to find which plant species are native to your area. Dig Into Plants Webpages – learn about the native plants that are growing in your Outdoor Classroom. NWF Native Plant Finder – enter your zip code and see what plant species are native to your area as well as which butterfly species use the plant as a host for their caterpillars. Audubon Society Native Plants Database – enter your zip code and see plant species native to your area as well as what kinds of birds they attract.

Notable Plants of Alabama:
Longleaf Pine Tree The Longleaf Pine is Alabama's state tree. It was once the dominant pine species across the southeastern United States but is now present in only 4% of its historic range. The majority of longleaf forests in Alabama occur in the Southeastern and Southern Coastal Plains, with some presence in the Piedmont and Ridge and Valley areas. These ecosystems is home to over 100 threatened and endangered wildlife species, some of which can not exist in other ecosystems. Longleafs depend on fire for survival and have special adaptations throughout their life cycle that allow them to survive fire. To read more about longleafs, visit our Dig Into Plants: Longleaf Pine webpage.	Mature Longleaf Pines Flickr – Scott Zona Click on image to enlarge it
Alabama Canebreak Pitcher Plant The Alabama canebreak pitcher plant is one of Alabama's two endangered pitcher plant species. This means they are at high risk of extinction and are protected by the federal government. Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants (plants that capture and eat insects and other animals) and Alabama has more species of them than any other state! This species can only be found at 11 sites across Chilton and Autauga counties in central Alabama. They have tubed-shaped leaves that are yellow-green in color with red veins and look like old-fashioned milk pitchers. The pitchers attract and trap insects. Nectar is produced just inside the top of the pitcher, luring prey (food) in. Once an insect or other prey drinks some nectar, it falls down into a liquid inside of the pitcher. The inside walls of the pitcher are smooth and waxy with downward-pointing projections, making it very difficult for prey to escape. The prey then dies and is digested by the plant.	Alabama Canebreak Pitcher Plant Wikiemedia – Brian Gratwicke Click on image to enlarge it

Why Plant Natives?

Native plants are very important! When we plant native plants, we provide habitat for wildlife. Native plants are important for butterflies and moths because they only lay their eggs on specific types of native plants. These "host" plants are the only plants that the caterpillars will eat. Many species (kinds) of native songbirds eat the berries and seeds of native plants. Pollinators like bees, butterflies and hummingbirds eat the pollen and nectar in flowers of native plants.	Southeastern Blueberry Bee on Native Flower Kristen Irions Click on image to enlarge it
Native plants also provide shelter from predators for birds and other wildlife. The nuts, berries, seeds, acorns, flowers, and leaves of native plants also provide a source of food for other native wildlife like the Eastern gray squirrel, cottontail rabbit, and box turtle. Native plants require less water than non-native plants because they have lived here for a long time and have adapted to the local climate (seasonal weather and temperature).

Why are Non-natives and Invasives Bad?

We should remove non-native plants! They are not supposed to be here. Humans brought them here (either on-purpose or accidentally). Non-native plants have diseases that can kill our native plant species. Non-native plants can invade and take over the habitat including the food (nutrients in the soil), water and space that the native plants need to survive,		Invasive Kudzu kills native species. Click on image to enlarge it
Non-native plants are not a good source of food for native wildlife. Non-natives typically require more water than natives. Water is a precious resource we should use wisely. If the non-native plants reduce the native plant populations (number of native plants in the area) then the native wildlife populations will also decline (or be smaller) due to a lack of healthy food.

Top 15 Non-native Plant Species to Remove & Avoid Planting
1. Autumn Olive	4. Chinese Privet	7. Kudzu	10. Nandina	13. Tree of Heaven
2. Bamboo	5. Cogongrass	8. Mahonia	11. Princess Tree	14. Tropical Soda Apple
3. Bradford Pear	6. Japanese Climbing Fern	9. Mimosa	12. Tallowtree	15. Wisteria

SOURCES USED FOR THIS PAGE:

Alabama Plant Atlas		Sciencing
Alabama Forestry Commission

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