Flora of Pocahontas County

 

Pocahontas County has a diverse flora, including a variety of trees, shrubs, and flowering plants, and has been noted for its unique plant life.

Trees:

• Red spruce (Picea rubens) is confined to high mountains and plateaus, growing at elevations from 2,500 feet to over 4,000 feet. Approximately 70,000 acres of red spruce are found in Pocahontas County.
• Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) is a common timber tree found in nearly all parts of the state and is most abundant in Pocahontas County.
• Balsam fir (Abies fraseri) is found scattered along the East Fork of the Greenbrier River.
• White pine was once plentiful in the county, but much of it has been cut.
• Other trees found in the county include:
  • Pitch pine (Pinus rigida)
  • Jersey pine (Pinus virginiana)
  • Bitternut (Hicoria minima)
  • Shellbark hickory (Hicoria ovata)
  • Pignut (Hicoria glabra)
  • Aspen (Populus tremuloides)
  • Red birch (Betula nigra)
  • Beech (Fagus americana)
  • Chestnut (Castanea dentata)
  • Mountain magnolia (Magnolia fraseri)
  • Yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera)
  • Sweet buckeye (Aesculus octandra)
  • Linden (Tilia americana)
  • Tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica)
  • Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida)
  • Alternate-leaved dogwood (Cornus alternifolia)

Shrubs:

• Mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia), also known as "ivy," is abundant in thickets. Many carloads of this shrub are collected annually and shipped to eastern nurseries.
• Other shrubs found in the county include:
  • Hazelnut (Corylus americana)
  • Beaked hazelnut (Corylus rostrata)
  • Smooth alder (Alnus rugosa)
  • Hoary alder (Alnus incana)
  • Pipe vine (Aristolochia macrophylla)
  • Spice-bush (Benzoin aestivale)
  • Wild hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens)
  • Prickly gooseberry (Ribes cynosbati)
  • Nine-bark (Physocarpus opulifolius)
  • Meadow-sweet (Spiraea salicifolia)
  • Hard-hack (Spiraea tomentosa)
  • Black chokeberry (Pyrus melanocarpa)
  • Oblong-fruited juneberry (Amelanchier oligocarpa)
  • Swamp rose (Rosa Carolina)
  • Low or pasture rose (Rosa humilis)
  • Choke cherry (Prunus virginiana)
  • Dwarf sumach (Rhus copallina)
  • Smooth sumach (Rhus glabra)
  • Poison ivy (Rhus toxicodendron var. radicans)
  • Large-leaved holly (Ilex monticola)
  • Black alder (Ilex verticillata)
  • Shrubby St. John's-wort (Hypericum prolificum)
  • St. John's-wort (Hypericum densiflorum)
  • Leatherwood (Dirca palustris)
  • Dwarf cornel (Cornus canadensis)
  • Silky cornel (Cornus amomum)
  • Great laurel (Rhododendron maximum)
  • Clammy azalea (Rhododendron viscosum)
  • Purple azalea (Rhododendron nudiflorum)
  • Flame azalea (Rhododendron calendulaceum)
• Bog rosemary (Andromeda glaucophylla)
• Mountain fetter-bush (Andromeda floribunda)
• Dockmackie (Viburnum acerifolium)
• Arrow-wood (Viburnum dentalum)
• Common elder (Sambucus canadensis)
• Red-berried elder (Sambucus racemosa)

Flowering Plants:

• The dogwood and service blooms are considered an "Indian sign" for planting corn.
• The Shawnee flower rivals the magnolia.
• There is a notable variety of honeysuckle blooms.
• Rhododendron and ivy are also present, along with many other curious flowering plants.
• Exotic flowers have been cultivated with success.

Other Notable Points:

• Mosses are used by wild birds for nests and by children for pillows.
• The spice-wood bush or spice bush is an ornamental shrub of the laurel family, and was used to name Spice Run.
• The Cranberry Glades area is home to unique plant life.
• The Monongahela National Forest is attempting to reforest burned-over areas.
• The county is known for its abundance of springs and pure water.

Fungi:

• Destructive fungi found in Pocahontas County include:
  • Coriolus abietinus on red spruce
  • Coriolus versicolor on birch
  • Plowrightia morbosa
  • Pycnoporus cinnabrinus

Fossil Plants:

• Fossil plants are found in the county .
  • The Pocono Series contains plant fossils.
  • The Chemung Series has fossil tree horizons and smaller plants.
• Other fossils found are carbonized plants, and plant impressions.