A Peek at the Plants
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Get to know Rock Creek Park's native plants! Being able to identify plants can add a new dimension of enjoyment to your visits.
Explore this page:
Meet the Plants of Rock Creek Park
You can come to know the plants you see in the woods or beside the stream by name. Here's how:
- Browse the photo album of Rock Creek Park's native plants (link below)
- Check out the interactive list of commonly seen native plants below
- Join nature walks and events with the Rock Creek Conservancy, DC Audubon Society, or Rock Creek Park rangers.
List of Native Plants of Rock Creek Park
Here are some of the commonly seen native plants you may encounter at Rock Creek Park, alphabetized by common name. The list is not comprehensive (about 200 out of 500 native plants). Click highlighted names to explore more.
(Note: This list does NOT include non-native plants. For a List of Commonly Seen Non-Native Plants, visit Non-Native Invasive Plants of Rock Creek Park.)
| Common Name | Scientific Name |
|---|---|
| alumroot see American alumroot | |
| American alumroot | Heuchera americana |
| American basswood | Tilia americana |
| American beech | Fagus grandifolia |
| American bladdernut | Staphylea trifolia |
| American cancer-root | Conopholis americana |
| American chestnut | Castanea dentata |
| American elm | Ulmus americana |
| American golden-saxifrage | Chrysosplenium americanum |
| American hazelnut | Corylus americana |
| American hog-peanut | Amphicarpaea bracteata |
| American holly | Ilex opaca |
| American hornbeam | Carpinus caroliniana |
| American linden see American basswood | |
| American squawroot see American cancer-root | |
| American strawberry-bush | Euonymus americanus |
| American sycamore | Platanus occidentalis |
| American water-willow | Justicia americana |
| American witch-hazel | Hamamelis virginiana |
| arrow-woods see viburnums | |
| ash see also white ash, green ash, pumpkin ash | Fraxinus spp. |
| azalea see pink azalea or swamp azalea | |
| basswood see American basswood | |
| bear corn see American cancer-root | |
| beech see American beech | |
| beechdrops | Epifagus virginiana |
| big bluestem | Andropogon gerardii |
| birches see also river birch | Betula spp. |
| bitternut hickory | Carya cordiformis |
| black cherry | Prunus serotina |
| black huckleberry | Gaylussacia baccata |
| black oak | Quercus velutina |
| black tupelo see blackgum | |
| black walnut | Juglans nigra |
| blackgum | Nyssa sylvatica |
| blackhaw | Viburnum prunifolium |
| blackhaw viburnum see blackhaw | |
| blackjack oak | Quercus marilandica |
| bladdernut see American bladdernut | |
| bloodroot | Sanguinaria canadensis |
| bluebells see Virginia bluebells | |
| blueberries see also hillside blueberry | Vaccinium spp. |
| bluestem see big bluestem or little bluestem | |
| box-elder | Acer negundo |
| broad beechfern | Phegopteris hexagonoptera |
| broadleaf enchanter's-nightshade | Circaea lutetiana ssp. canadensis |
| butternut | Juglans cinerea |
| Canadian clearweed | Pilea pumila |
| Canadian honewort | Cryptotaenia canadensis |
| Canadian wood-nettle [don’t touch] | Laportea canadensis |
| cancer-root see American cancer-root | |
| cardinal flower | Lobelia cardinalis |
| cattails | Typha spp. |
| cherry see also black cherry (See also cherry* under Non-Native Plants) | Prunus spp. (some native, some not) |
| chestnut oak | Quercus montana |
| chestnut see American chestnut | |
| chickweed see star chickweed | |
| Christmas fern | Polystichum acrostichoides |
| cinnamon fern | Osmunda cinnamomea |
| clammy azalea see swamp azalea | |
| clearweed see Canadian clearweed | |
| common pawpaw see pawpaw | |
| common serviceberry | Amelanchier arborea |
| common winterberry | Ilex verticillata |
| cranefly orchid | Tipularia discolor |
| crested woodfern | Dryopteris cristata |
| crippled cranefly see cranefly orchid | |
| cucumber-root see Indian cucumber | |
| cutleaf toothwort | Cardamine concatenata |
| dogtooth violet see yellow trout-lily | |
| dogwood see flowering dogwood or silky dogwood | |
| drooping sedge | Carex prasina |
| Dutchman’s breeches | Dicentra cucullaria |
| eastern poison-ivy [don’t touch] | Toxicodendron radicans |
| eastern redbud | Cercis canadensis |
| eastern waterleaf | Hydrophyllum virginianum |
| eastern white pine | Pinus strobus |
| elms see also American elm, slippery elm | Ulmus spp. |
| false Solomon's seal see Solomon’s plume | |
| feathery false lily-of-the-valley see Solomon’s plume | |
| fern see broad beechfern, Christmas fern, cinnamon fern, crested woodfern, marginal woodfern, New York fern, sensitive fern | |
| five-leaved ivy see Virginia creeper | |
| flowering dogwood | Cornus florida |
| fowl mannagrass | Glyceria striata |
| fringetree see white fringetree | |
| golden ragwort | Packera aurea |
| golden saxifrage see American golden-saxifrage | |
| grape | Vitis spp. |
| grasses | Poaceae |
| green ash | Fraxinus pennsylvanica |
| greenbriers see also roundleaf greenbrier | Smilax spp. |
| hairy sweet-cicely | Osmorhiza claytonii |
| halberd-leaf tearthumb | Polygonum arifolium |
| hazelnut see American hazelnut | |
| hearts-a-bustin’ see American strawberry-bush | |
| Heath Family | Ericaceae |
| hepatica see liverleaf | |
| hickories see also mockernut hickory, bitternut hickory, pignut hickory | Carya spp. |
| hillside blueberry | Vaccinium pallidum |
| hog-peanut see American hog-peanut | |
| holly see American holly | |
| honewort see Canadian honewort | |
| hophornbeam | Ostrya virginiana |
| hornbeam see American hornbeam | |
| horse-balm see richweed | |
| huckleberries see also black huckleberry | Gaylussacia spp. |
| hydrangea see wild hydrangea | |
| Indian cucumber | Medeola virginiana |
| Indian-pipe | Monotropa uniflora |
| ironwood see American hornbeam | |
| ivy see Virginia creeper (See also ivy* under Non-Native Plants) | |
| Jack-in-the-pulpit | Arisaema triphyllum |
| jewelweed see orange jewelweed | |
| jumpseed | Polygonum virginianum |
| knotweed see halberd-leaf tearthumb or swamp smartweed (See also knotweed* under Non-Native Plants) | |
| laurel see mountain laurel | |
| linden see American basswood | |
| little bluestem | Schizachyrium scoparium |
| liverleaf | Hepatica nobilis |
| loblolly pine | Pinus taeda |
| mapleleaf viburnum | Viburnum acerifolium |
| maples see also red maple, silver maple, box-elder, and sugar maple (See also maples* under Non-Native Plants) | Acer spp. (some native, some not) |
| marginal woodfern | Dryopteris marginalis |
| marsh seedbox | Ludwigia palustris |
| mayapple | Podophyllum peltatum |
| mockernut hickory | Carya tomentosa |
| monkeyflowers | Mimulus spp. |
| mountain laurel | Kalmia latifolia |
| mulberry see red mulberry (See also white mulberry* under Non-Native Plants) | |
| musclewood see American hornbeam | |
| nettle see Canadian wood-nettle [don’t touch] or small-spike false nettle | |
| New York fern | Thelypteris noveboracensis |
| northern red oak | Quercus rubra |
| northern spicebush | Lindera benzoin |
| oaks see also white oak, black oak, chestnut oak, northern red oak, southern red oak, scarlet oak, shingle oak, overcup oak, post oak, blackjack oak, pin oak, willow oak | Quercus spp. |
| orange jewelweed | Impatiens capensis |
| overcup oak | Quercus lyrata |
| partridgeberry | Mitchella repens |
| pawpaw | Asimina triloba |
| pignut hickory | Carya glabra |
| pin oak | Quercus palustris |
| pine see also Virginia pine, loblolly pine, pitch pine, shortleaf pine, Table Mountain pine, or eastern white pine | Pinus spp. |
| pink azalea | Rhododendron periclymenoides |
| pinxterbloom azalea see pink azalea | |
| pipsissewa see striped prince's-pine | |
| pitch pine | Pinus rigida |
| plane tree see American sycamore | |
| poison-ivy see eastern poison-ivy | |
| post oak | Quercus stellata |
| poverty oatgrass | Danthonia spicata |
| pumpkin ash | Fraxinus profunda |
| ragwort see golden ragwort | |
| red maple | Acer rubrum |
| red mulberry | Morus rubra |
| red oak see northern red oak or southern red oak | |
| redbud see eastern redbud | |
| rhododendron | Rhododendron spp. |
| richweed | Collinsonia canadensis |
| river birch | Betula nigra |
| roundleaf greenbrier | Smilax rotundifolia |
| sassafras | Sassafras albidum |
| scarlet oak | Quercus coccinea |
| sedges see also drooping sedge, twisted sedge | Carex spp. |
| sensitive fern | Onoclea sensibilis |
| serviceberry see common serviceberry | |
| shingle oak | Quercus imbricaria |
| shortleaf pine | Pinus echinata |
| silky dogwood | Cornus amomum |
| silver maple | Acer saccharinum |
| skunk-cabbage | Symplocarpus foetidus |
| slippery elm | Ulmus rubra |
| small-spike false nettle | Boehmeria cylindrica |
| smartweed see knotweed | |
| smooth blackhaw see blackhaw | |
| smooth hydrangea see wild hydrangea | |
| smooth Solomon’s seal | Polygonatum biflorum |
| snakeroot see white snakeroot | |
| Solomon’s plume | Maianthemum racemosum |
| Solomon's seal see smooth Solomon's seal | |
| southern arrow-wood | Viburnum dentatum |
| southern red oak | Quercus falcata |
| spicebush see northern spicebush | |
| spotted water-hemlock [don’t touch] | Cicuta maculata var. maculata |
| spotted wintergreen see striped prince's-pine | |
| springbeauty see Virginia springbeauty | |
| squawroot see American cancer-root | |
| star chickweed | Stellaria pubera |
| starved witchgrass | Dichanthelium depauperatum |
| strawberry-bush see American strawberry-bush | |
| striped pipsissewa see striped prince’s-pine | |
| striped prince's-pine | Chimaphila maculata |
| sugar maple (Ecobit: Maple Tree Mystery) | Acer saccharum |
| swamp azalea | Rhododendron viscosum |
| swamp smartweed | Polygonum hydropiperoides |
| sweet-cicely see hairy sweet-cicely | |
| sweetgum | Liquidambar styraciflua |
| switchgrass | Panicum virgatum |
| sycamore see American sycamore | |
| Table Mountain pine | Pinus pungens |
| tearthumb see knotweed | |
| toothwort see cutleaf toothwort | |
| trout-lily see yellow trout-lily | |
| tulip poplar see tuliptree | |
| tuliptree | Liriodendron tulipifera |
| tupelo see blackgum | |
| twisted sedge | Carex torta |
| umbrella-tree see umbrella magnolia | |
| umbrella magnolia | Magnolia tripetala |
| viburnums see also mapleleaf viburnum, southern arrow-wood, blackhaw (See also viburnums* under Non-Native Plants) | Viburnum spp. (some native, some not) |
| violets | Viola spp. |
| Virginia bluebells | Mertensia virginica |
| Virginia creeper | Parthenocissus quinquefolia |
| Virginia pine | Pinus virginiana |
| Virginia springbeauty | Claytonia virginica |
| Virginia wildrye | Elymus virginicus |
| water-hemlock see spotted water-hemlock | |
| water-willow see American water-willow | |
| waterleaf see eastern waterleaf | |
| white ash | Fraxinus americana |
| white avens | Geum canadense |
| white fringetree | Chionanthus virginicus |
| white oak | Quercus alba |
| white pine see eastern white pine | |
| white snakeroot | Ageratina altissima |
| white walnut see butternut | |
| white wood-aster | Eurybia divaricata |
| whitegrass | Leersia virginica |
| wild grapes see grape | |
| wild hydrangea | Hydrangea arborescens |
| wild rye see Virginia wildrye | |
| wild yam | Dioscorea villosa |
| willow oak | Quercus phellos |
| willows | Salix spp. |
| wingstem | Verbesina alternifolia |
| winterberry see common winterberry | |
| witch-hazel see American witch-hazel | |
| woodfern see crested woodfern or marginal woodfern | |
| yam see wild yam (See also Chinese yam* under Non-Native Plants) | |
| yellow poplar see tuliptree | |
| yellow trout-lily | Erythronium americanum |
"*" means non-native plant
Native plant collage: Partridgeberry – Matt Jones; Mountain laurel – Sam Sheline; Virginia bluebells, American beech, Tuliptree, and Pink azalea – Gary Fleming