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Native Plants of the North American Temperate Forest

Temperate deciduous forests can be found across the eastern U.S. and southern Canada. Their deep, nutrient-rich soils are home to a variety of plants, ranging from massive trees to shrubs, herbs, moss and mushrooms. The biting cold of winter facilitated the development of special adaptations that allow these plants to survive. Trees, for example, are able to store enough solar energy in the summer to go into a "dormant" phase for up to six months.

Trees
- Deciduous trees experience four distinct seasons, losing their leaves in autumn and blooming again in spring. The American Beech can grow to be 100 feet tall with a canopy of up to 70 feet. The beech is used for furniture and in paper production and offers food and shelter to deer, bears, rabbits, squirrels and other animals. The linden tree, also known as the lime tree, is common throughout the eastern U.S. and Britain. Lindens can grow to 130 feet and live for 500 years, and their lightweight wood is used for carvings, piano sounding boards and as artist's charcoal. During the Middle Ages the wood was used to make carvings of the Virgin Mary and was referred to as lignum sacrum, or "sacred wood." Oak trees grow in a range of climates, from shorelines to high mountains, and can reach 100 feet tall with an 80-foot spread. Oak wood is used in construction, furniture, flooring and a range of other applications. Oaks also produce acorns, which feed a variety of wildlife.
Plants
- Plants in the temperate deciduous forest include herbs such as berries and wildflowers, arrowwood, azaleas and rhododendrons. Ferns -- most prominently the lady fern -- are abundant in North American forests and provide a valuable source of food for grizzly bears and other animals. Arrowwood shrubs got their name from the fact that Native Americans often used the shoots as arrow shafts. The plant is a vital food source for deer and insects.
Mosses and Mushrooms
- The forest floor is carpeted with mosses, which are rootless evergreen plants usually found on stream beds, the bases of trees, or other areas with ample moisture. Mosses aid surrounding flora by soaking up excess moisture in the soil. They are used in gardening as a ground cover and used to be utilized as mattress stuffing. A variety of mushrooms, which are not actually plants but fungi, also can be found in the temperate forest. One of the most common is the tawny milkcap, an edible yellow-orange mushroom that can grow to be five inches wide and is coveted by mushroom hunters for its mild flavor.

Nature