What are natives? For specific recommendations and advice about project About the Native Plants for Conservation, Native species evolved within specific regions and dispersed design, consult a landscape or garden design specialist with Restoration and Landscaping Project throughout their range without known human involvement. experience in native plants. This project is a collaboration between the Virginia Depart- They form the primary component of the living landscape ment of Conservation and Recreation and the Virginia Native and provide food and shelter for native animal species. Plant Society. VNPS chapters across the state helped to fund What are non-native plants? Native plants co-evolved with native animals over many the 2011 update to this brochure. Sometimes referred to as “exotic,” “alien,” or “non- thousands to millions of years and have formed complex and indigenous,” non-native plants are species introduced, The following partners have provided valuable assistance interdependent relationships. Our native fauna depend on intentionally or accidentally, into a new region by humans. throughout the life of this project: native flora to provide food and cover. Over time, many plants and animals have expanded their Many animals require specific plants for The Nature Conservancy – Virginia Chapter • Virginia ranges slowly and without human assistance. As people their survival. Tech Department of Horticulture • Virginia Department of began cultivating plants, they brought beneficial and favored Agriculture and Consumer Services • Virginia Department species along when they moved into new regions or traded of Environmental Quality, Coastal Zone Management Benefits of native plants with people in distant lands. Humans thus became a new Program • Virginia Department of Forestry • Virginia Using native species in landscaping pathway, enabling many species to move into new locations. Department of Game and Inland Fisheries • Virginia Native reduces the expense of maintaining Department of Transportation cultivated landscapes and minimizes What are invasive plants? the likelihood of introducing new invasive Invasive plants are introduced species that cause health, species. It may provide a few unexpected economic or ecological damage in their new range. More benefits as well. than 30,000 species of plants have been introduced to Native plants often require less water, fertilizer and the United States since the time of Columbus. Most were Plants pesticide, thus adding fewer chemicals to the landscape introduced intentionally, and many provide great benefits for Conservation, and maintaining water quality in nearby rivers and streams. to society as agricultural crops and landscape ornamentals. Restoration & Landscaping Fewer inputs mean time and money saved for the gardener. Some were introduced accidentally, for example, in ship ballast, in packing material and as seed contaminants. Of Native plants increase the presence of desirable wildlife, these introduced species, fewer than 3,000 have naturalized such as birds and butterflies, and provide sanctuaries for and become established in the United States outside these animals as they journey between summer and winter cultivation. Of the 3,500 plant species in Virginia, more than habitats. The natural habitat you create with native plants 800 have been introduced since the founding of Jamestown. can become an outdoor classroom for children, or a place The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation for you to find peace and quiet after a busy day. currently lists more than 100 of these species as invasive. Native plants evoke a strong sense of place and regional In the United States, invasive species cause an estimated character. For example, live oak and magnolia trees are $120 billion in annual economic losses, including costs to For more information strongly associated with the Deep South. Redwood trees manage their effects. Annual costs and damages arising Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation characterize the Pacific Northwest. Saguaro cacti call to from invasive plants alone are estimated at $34 billion. Natural Heritage Program mind the deserts of the Southwest. 804-786-7951 www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural_heritage/nativeplants.shtml Native plants vs. invasive plants Buying and growing native plants Invasive plants have competitive advantages that allow More gardeners today are discovering the benefits of them to disrupt native plant communities and the wildlife For a list of nurseries that propagate native plants and requesting them at their local garden native species, contact: dependent on them. For example, kudzu (Pueraria montana) centers. Because of this increased demand, retailers are Virginia Native Plant Society grows very rapidly and overtops forest canopy, thus offering an ever-widening selection of vigorous, nursery- 400 Blandy Farm Lane, Unit 2 shading other plant species from the sunlight necessary for propagated natives. Boyce, VA 22620 their survival. A tall invasive wetland grass, common reed 540-837-1600 | [email protected] Once you’ve found a good vendor for native plants, the (Phragmites australis ssp. australis), invades and dominates www.vnps.org next step is choosing appropriate plants for a project. One marshes, reducing native plant diversity and sometimes of the greatest benefits of designing with native plants is eliminating virtually all other species. their adaptation to local conditions. However, it is important For a list of nurseries in a particular Invasive species can marginalize or even cause the loss of to select plants with growth requirements that best match region of Virginia, contact: native species. With their natural host plants gone, many conditions in the area to be planted. The Virginia Nursery and Landscape Association insects disappear. And since insects are an essential part 383 Coal Hollow Road If you’re planning a project using native plant species, of the diet of many birds, the effects on the food web Christiansburg, VA 24073 use the list in this brochure to learn which plants grow in become far reaching. Habitats with a high occurrence of 540-382-0943 | [email protected] your region of Virginia. Next, study the minimum light and invasive plants become To search for species in VNLA member catalogs, visit: moisture requirements for each species, noting that some a kind of “green www.vnla.org/search.asp plants grow well under a variety of conditions. Many of the desert.” Although recommended species are well-suited to more than one of green and healthy Illustrations courtesy of these categories. in appearance, The Flora of Virginia Project. far fewer native For more information, refer to field guides and publications Illustrators: Lara Gastinger, Roy Fuller species of plants on local natural history for color, shape, height, bloom times and Michael Terry. To learn more, visit: and animals are and specific wildlife value of the plants that grow in your www.floraofvirginia.org found in such region. Visit a nearby park, natural area preserve, forest or Virginia Riparian Buffer Zones radically altered wildlife management area to learn about common plant places. associations, spatial groupings and habitat conditions.

9/2011 Recommended Uses W = Wildlife Virginia Riparian Buffer Zones • The canopy created by riparian forests provides shade and H = Horticulture & landscaping controls water temperature, which is essential for instream C = Conservation & restoration organisms and the invertebrate food sources on which they D = Domestic livestock forage depend. Instream, leaf litter and woody debris create food and Riparian forest buffers are areas of trees, shrubs and other habitat vital to the aquatic food web. Region vegetation found next to stream channels and other waterways. M = Mountain The removal of these buffers has contributed to ecological • Riparian forests provide food and habitat for a variety P = Piedmont problems in our waterways and the Chesapeake Bay. Problems of terrestrial wildlife species and serve as safe corridors C = Coastal Plain include sedimentation, nutrient and toxic chemical pollution, and for movement between habitats. Habitat conversion and reduction of fish habitat. fragmentation have reduced wildlife habitat and limited the Minimum Light Requirements ability of animals to move between existing habitats. S = Shade Riparian forest buffers are natural communities such as P = Partial sun bottomland hardwood forest, coastal scrub and upland oak- • Riparian forest buffers offer recreation to fishermen, hunters, F = Full sun hickory-pine forests. They support a variety of plants and animals, birders, hikers, canoeists and picnickers. People enjoy these particularly plants that are adapted to periodic flooding or areas in many different ways because of the diversity of life Moisture Requirements saturated soils. Because of the presence of moving water, more and scenic beauty they provide. L = Low moisture M = Moderate moisture materials are deposited in, and pass through, riparian forests than Drier upland forests adjacent to waterways provide many of the H = High moisture any other wetland ecosystem. same ecosystem values. These ecological functions combine Riparian forest buffers provide important ecosystem services. to make riparian forest buffers critical to ecological and human Riparian Buffer Zones health. Recognizing this, staff at the Chesapeake Bay Program has 1 = Emergent • Vegetation, leaf litter and porous soil slow the flow of water. set a goal to replant riparian buffers along 70 percent of stream 2 = Riverside thicket This helps control the rate and volume of water in streams and miles in the bay watershed. 3 = Saturated forest rivers, greatly influencing flood levels. 4 = Well-drained forest

• Leaf litter filters sediment from upland runoff, as well as Riparian vegetation zones Some species are marked with phosphorus, nitrogen and other nutrients that may be bonded Riparian forest buffers consist of four vegetation zones. Zone 1, the following footnote symbols: to sediment particles. Leaf litter intercepts and stores these the emergent vegetation zone, is permanently to semipermanently + May be aggressive in a polluting nutrients before they can cloud waterways. flooded and often dominated by grasses, sedges, rushes and garden setting other herbaceous plants. Zone 2, the riverside thicket, may be • Leaf litter captures and converts pesticides to nontoxic * Due to the rarity and sensitivity seasonally to temporarily flooded and is often characterized by compounds by various chemical and microbial activities within of habitat in Virginia, these spe- emergent aquatic species, shrubs and a few tree species. Zone 3, the forest buffer. This protects fish and amphibians, which are cies are recommended for horti- the saturated forest, has soils that are saturated to poorly drained. threatened by pesticide pollution. cultural use only. Planting these Zone 4, the well-drained forest, is also known as upland forest and species in natural areas could • Soils store water, and plants in the forest buffer take up that has dry soil. Zones 3 and 4 are dominated by trees but also contain be detrimental to the survival of water and release it into the atmosphere. shrub and herb layers in the understory. native populations.

Scientific Name Common Name Uses Region Light MoistureRiparian Zone Scientific Name Common Name Uses Region Light MoistureRiparian Zone W H C D M P C S P F L M H 1 2 3 4 W H C D M P C S P F L M H 1 2 3 4 Herbs Juncus canadensis Canada rush • • • • • • • • • • • Juncus effusus soft rush • • • • • • • • • • • • Amsonia tabernaemontana blue star • • • • • • • • • Leersia oryzoides rice cutgrass • • • • • • • • • • • • Arisaema triphyllum Jack-in-the-pulpit • • • • • • • • Panicum virgatum switch grass • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Asarum canadense+ wild ginger • • • • • • • • Saccharum giganteum giant plumegrass • • • • • • • • • • • • Asclepias incarnata swamp milkweed • • • • • • • • • • • Scirpus cyperinus woolgrass bulrush • • • • • • • • • • • • • Bidens cernua+ nodding beggar-ticks • • • • • • • • • • • • • Sparganium americanum American bur-reed • • • • • • • • • Boltonia asteroides* aster-like boltonia • • • • • • • Tripsacum dactyloides gama grass • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Caltha palustris marsh marigold • • • • • • • • Typha latifolia broad-leaved cattail • • • • • • • • • Chamaecrista fasciculata+ partridge pea • • • • • • • • Zizania aquatica wild rice • • • • • • • Chelone glabra white turtlehead • • • • • • • • • • Chrysogonum virginianum green and gold • • • • • • • • Vines Conoclinium coelestinum blue mistflower • • • • • • • • • • • Bignonia capreolata crossvine • • • • • • • • • • • • Coreopsis tripteris tall coreopsis • • • • • • • • • • • Celastrus scandens climbing bittersweet • • • • • • • • • • Delphinium tricorne dwarf larkspur • • • • • • • Clematis virginiana virgin’s bower • • • • • • • • • • Dicentra cucullaria Dutchman’s breeches • • • • • • Parthenocissus quinquefolia Virginia creeper • • • • • • • • • • • • Doellingeria umbellata flat-top white aster • • • • • • • • • Equisetum hyemale horsetail • • • • • • • • • • • • Shrubs & Small Trees Eupatoriadelphus fistulosus Joe-pye weed • • • • • • • • • • • • • Alnus serrulata hazel alder • • • • • • • • • • • • • Eupatorium perfoliatum common boneset • • • • • • • • • • • Aronia arbutifolia red chokeberry • • • • • • • • • • • • Helenium autumnale sneezeweed • • • • • • • • • • • • Aronia melanocarpa black chokeberry • • • • • • • • • • • • • Helianthus decapetalus ten-petaled sunflower • • • • • • • • • • • Baccharis halimifolia high tide bush • • • • • • • • • Helianthus divaricatus woodland sunflower • • • • • • • • • Callicarpa americana American beautyberry • • • • • • • • Hibiscus moscheutos Eastern rosemallow • • • • • • • • • • Cephalanthus occidentalis buttonbush • • • • • • • • • • Iris virginica Virginia blue flag • • • • • • • • • Clethra alnifolia sweet pepper-bush • • • • • • • • • Kosteletskya virginica seashore mallow • • • • • • • Cornus amomum silky dogwood • • • • • • • • • • • Lilium superbum Turk’s cap lily • • • • • • • • • • Eubotrys racemosa fetterbush • • • • • • • • • • Lobelia cardinalis cardinal flower • • • • • • • • • • • • Hydrangea arborescens wild hydrangea • • • • • • • • Lobelia siphilitica great blue lobelia • • • • • • • • • • • Ilex decidua deciduous holly • • • • • • • • • • • Maianthemum racemosum false Solomon's seal • • • • • • • • • • Ilex verticillata winterberry • • • • • • • • • • • • • Mertensia virginica Virginia bluebells • • • • • • • • • • Itea virginica Virginia willow • • • • • • • • • Mimulus ringens monkeyflower • • • • • • • • • • Leucothoe axillaris coastal dog-hobble • • • • • • Monarda didyma bee balm • • • • • • • • • Lindera benzoin spicebush • • • • • • • • • • Nymphaea odorata American water lily • • • • • • • • • Myrica cerifera Southern wax myrtle • • • • • • • • • • • • Oenothera fruticosa sundrops • • • • • • • • • • Rhododendron viscosum swamp azalea • • • • • • • • • • • Packera aurea+ golden ragwort • • • • • • • • • • • Rubus allegheniensis Alleghany blackberry • • • • • • • • • • Peltandra virginica arrow arum • • • • • • • • • • Salix sericea silky willow • • • • • • • • • • Phlox divaricata woodland phlox • • • • • • • • • Sambucus canadensis common elderberry • • • • • • • • • • • • Phlox paniculata summer phlox • • • • • • • • • • Spiraea alba narrow-leaved meadowsweet • • • • • • • • Podophyllum peltatum+ mayapple • • • • • • • • • • Spiraea latifolia broad-leaved meadowsweet • • • • • • • • • Polemonium reptans Jacob’s ladder • • • • • • • • Vaccinium corymbosum highbush blueberry • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Pontederia cordata pickerel weed • • • • • • • • Viburnum dentatum Southern arrow-wood viburnum • • • • • • • • • • • • Rhexia virginica Virginia meadow-beauty • • • • • • • • Viburnum prunifolium black-haw viburnum • • • • • • • • • • • Rudbeckia laciniata cut-leaved coneflower • • • • • • • • • • • Medium Trees Sagittaria latifolia broadleaf arrowhead • • • • • • • • • • Amelanchier arborea downy serviceberry • • • • • • • • • • Saururus cernuus lizard’s tail • • • • • • • • • • Amelanchier canadensis Canada serviceberry • • • • • • • • • • • • Solidago rugosa+ rough-stemmed goldenrod • • • • • • • • • • Amelanchier laevis smooth serviceberry • • • • • • • • • Symphyotrichum novae-angliaeNew England aster • • • • • • • • Asimina triloba paw paw • • • • • • • • • • • Symphyotrichum novi-belgii New York aster • • • • • • • • • Cornus alternifolia alternate-leaf dogwood • • • • • • • • • • Verbena hastata blue vervain • • • • • • • • • • Crataegus viridis green hawthorn • • • • • • • • • • • • Vernonia noveboracensis New York ironweed • • • • • • • • • • • • Morus rubra red mulberry • • • • • • • • • • • Viola cucullata marsh blue violet • • • • • • • • • • Ostrya virginiana Eastern hop-hornbeam • • • • • • • • Viola pubescens yellow violet • • • • • • • • • Persea borbonia redbay • • • • • • • • Zephyranthes atamasco Atamasco lily • • • • • • • • • • Rhus glabra smooth sumac • • • • • • • • • • • Ferns & Fern Allies Salix nigra black willow • • • • • • • • • • • Athyrium asplenioides Southern ladyfern • • • • • • • • • • Large Trees Botrychium virginianum rattlesnake fern • • • • • • • • • Acer rubrum red maple • • • • • • • • • • • • Onoclea sensibilis+ sensitive fern • • • • • • • • • • • Betula lenta sweet birch • • • • • • • • • • Osmunda cinnamomea cinnamon fern • • • • • • • • • • • Betula nigra river birch • • • • • • • • • • • Osmunda regalis royal fern • • • • • • • • • • Diospyros virginiana persimmon • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Polystichum acrostichoides Christmas fern • • • • • • • • Fraxinus americana white ash • • • • • • • • • • • Thelypteris palustris marsh fern • • • • • • • • • • • Fraxinus pensylvanica green ash • • • • • • • • • • • Woodwardia virginica+ Virginia chain fern • • • • • • • • • • Juglans nigra black walnut • • • • • • • • • • • Grasses, Sedges & Rushes Liquidambar styraciflua sweetgum • • • • • • • • • • • • • Agrostis perennans autumn bentgrass • • • • • • • • • • • • Liriodendron tulipifera tulip poplar • • • • • • • • • • Andropogon gerardii big bluestem • • • • • • • • • • • • Nyssa aquatica water tupelo • • • • • • • • Andropogon glomeratus bushy bluestem • • • • • • • • • • Nyssa sylvatica black gum • • • • • • • • • • • • Arundinaria gigantea wild cane • • • • • • • • • • • Oxydendrum arboreum sourwood • • • • • • • • Arundinaria tecta switch cane • • • • • • • • • • • • Pinus taeda loblolly pine • • • • • • • • • • • • Carex crinita long hair sedge • • • • • • • • • • • • • Platanus occidentalis sycamore • • • • • • • • • • • Carex lurida sallow sedge • • • • • • • • • • • • Quercus bicolor swamp white oak • • • • • • • • • • Carex stricta tussock sedge • • • • • • • • • • • • Quercus laurifolia swamp laurel oak • • • • • • • • • Chasmanthium latifolium+ river oats, spanglegrass • • • • • • • • • • • • Quercus michauxii swamp chestnut oak • • • • • • • • • • Dichanthelium clandestinum deer-tongue • • • • • • • • • • • • • Quercus nigra water oak • • • • • • • • • • Dichanthelium commutatum variable panicgrass • • • • • • • • • • • Quercus palustris pin oak • • • • • • • • • • • • Dulichium arundinaceum dwarf bamboo • • • • • • • • • • • • Quercus phellos willow oak • • • • • • • • • • • • Elymus hystrix bottlebrush grass • • • • • • • • • • • Taxodium distichum bald cypress • • • • • • Elymus virginicus Virginia wild rye • • • • • • • • • • • •