Native Plant Related Publications and Videos

  • Wildflowers and Trees of West Virginia

    By Christopher M. Gatens and Emily Grafton, Illustrations by Erin Turner

    Purchase on Amazon

  • West Virginia Forest Plants Video

    Join Chris Gatens on a nature hike through Kanawha State Forest as he identifies some of the common plants you're likely to see during a walk through the West Virginia woods.

    Watch on You Tube

  • Edible Mountain by WVPBS

    Edible Mountain is a bite-sized, digital series from WVPB that showcases some of Appalachia’s overlooked and underappreciated products of the forest while highlighting their mostly forgotten uses.

    Edible Mountain on WVPBS

  • Vascular Flora of Pocahontas County WV

    By Michael Baranski

    The checklist is the result of 18 years of recent casual explorations in the landscape of Pocahontas County, West Virginia.

    Flora of Pocahontas County

  • Wildflowers of Appalacha

    By Keith A Bradley.

    This guide to 105 of the area’s most beautiful and widespread species covers the region of Appalachia. Available in many State Parks and through Amazon.

  • Flora of West Virginia

    By P.D. Strausbaugh and E.L. Core, 2nd Edition, 1977.

    Considered by most to be the “bible” of WV botany, the book is currently out of print, but can be found on several used book sites, and occasionally at the WVU bookstore. A must for all students of WV botany.

  • The PLANTS Database

    https://.plants.usda.gov

    Provided by the National Plant Data Center, located in Baton Rouge LA.

    The database provides comprehensive information about the vascular plants, mosses, liverworts, hornworts and lichens of the U.S. and its territories.

  • Carex of West Virginia

    The genus Carex (commonly known as Sedges) can be difficult and confusing to identify. Here are some great resources compiled by Jim Vanderhorst, an ecologist with the WV DNR.

    Caring About Carex

    Carex of WV

    Carex List by Sections

Additional Links and Bibliography:

Flora of the Southeastern United States, by Alan Weakley (2022) Link Here

Field Guide To Common Wetland Plants of West Virginia - WVDEP Link Here

Rare Plants tracked by the West Virginia Natural Heritage Program (2020) Link Here

Old Growth in the East: A Survey. Revised edition by Mary Byrd Davis (2003) Link Here

Field Guide to Native Oak Species of Eastern North America (2003) Link Here

US Forest Service - Celebrating Wildflowers Link Here

Plants and Fungi - WVDNR Link Here

Hightshoe, Gary. 1987. Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines for Urban and Rural America: A Planting Design Manual for Environmental Designers. John Wiley & Sons

Cullina, William. 2000. Wildflowers: A Guide to Growing Native Flowers of North America. (The New England Wild Flower Society). Houghton Miffin Co. 322 p.

Phillips, Harry R., Dorothy S. Wilbur, J. Kenneth Moore, and C. Ritchie Bell. 1985. Growing and Propagating Wildflowers. University of North Carolina Press.

Burrell, C. Colston, 1997. A Gardenerʼs Encyclopedia of Wildflowers - An Organic Guide to Choosing and Growing over 150 Beautiful Wildflowers. Rodale Press, Inc., Emmaus, Pennsylvania 192 p.

Burrell, C. Colston, Janet Marinelli, and Bonnie Harper-Lore. 2006 Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants, Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, Inc., 1000 Washington Ave., Brooklyn, New York 11225 239 p