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Yellowstone
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ID, MT, WY


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  Plants
 Whitebark pine cluster perched on the wind-swept summit of Mount WashburnMore than 1,300 plant taxa occur in Yellowstone National Park. The whitebark pine, found in high elevations in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, is an important native species in decline. NPS/RG Johnsson

The vegetation communities of Yellowstone National Park include overlapping combinations of species typical of the Rocky Mountains as well as of the Great Plains to the east and the Intermountain region to the west. The exact vegetation community present in any area of the park reflects the consequences of the underlying geology, ongoing climate change, substrates and soils, and disturbances created by fire, floods, landslides, blowdowns, insect infestations, and the arrival of nonnative plants.
Today, the native taxa in the park represent the species able to either persist in the area or recolonize after glaciers, lava flows, and other major disturbances. Yellowstone is home to three endemic plant species, at least two of which depend on the unusual habitat created by the park’s thermal features. Most vegetation management in the park is focused on minimizing human-caused impacts on their native plant communities to the extent feasible.

Number in Yellowstone
Native plant taxa: more than 1,160:
Hundreds of wildflowers.
Trees: nine conifers (lodgepole pine, whitebark pine, Engelmann spruce, white spruce, subalpine fir, Douglas-fir, Rocky Mountain juniper, common juniper, limber pine) and some deciduous species, including quaking aspen and cottonwood.
Shrubs: include common juniper, sagebrush (many species), Rocky Mountain maple.
Three endemic species (found only in Yellowstone): Ross's bentgrass, Yellowstone sand verbena, Yellowstone sulfur wild buckwheat.
Nonnative plant species: 225.Characteristics
Vegetation in Yellowstone is typical of the Rocky Mountains.
Elements of the Great Plains and Great Basin foras mix with Rocky Mountain vegetation in the vicinity of Gardiner and Stephen’s Creek.
Hydrothermal areas support unique plant communities and rare species.Management Issues
Controlling nonnative species which threaten native species, especially near developed areas; some are spreading into the backcountry.
Park partners are monitoring whitebark pine and forest insect pests.
Biologists survey areas for sensitive or rare vegetation before a disturbance such as constructing a new facility.
Park managers are restoring areas of disturbance.

Vegetation Communities
There are several vegetation communities in Yellowstone: higher- and lower-elevation forests and the understory vegetation associated with them, sagebrush-steppe, wetlands, and hydrothermal.

Map of Yellowstone showing the different major vegetation communities.There are several vegetation communities in Yellowstone: higher- and lower-elevation forests and the understory vegetation associated with them, sagebrush-steppe, wetlands, and hydrothermal. NPS/Yellowstone Spatial Analysis Center

Map Key
Key for the Yellowstone vegetation communities map.
**Green:** Lodgepole pine forests
Dominate more than 80% of the total forested area.
Can be seral (developing) or climax.
Climax forests underlain by rhyolite.**Pink:** Spruce-fir forests
Engelmann spruce/subalpine fir dominate older forests.
Usually found on moist and/or fertile substrates.
Climax forests underlain by andesitic soils.**Yellow:** Whitebark pine forests
Major overstory component above 8,400 feet.
Major understory component of lodgepole-dominated forests from 7,000 to 8,400 feet.
Seeds are ecologically important food for a variety of wildlife species.**Purple:** Douglas-fir forests
Associated with the Lamar, Yellowstone, and Madison River drainages below 7,600 feet
Often less than 20 inches annual precipitation.
More frequent historic fire interval (25­­–60 year) than other forest communities in the park.**White:** Non-forest
Includes grasslands, sagebrush, alpine meadows, talus, and hydrothermal environments.
Encompasses the moisture spectrum from dry sagebrush shrublands to wet alpine meadows.
Provides the winter and summer forage base for ungulates.**Other communities:** Not shown on map
Aspen—found in small clones interspersed among the sagebrush/forest ecotone (transition zone) along the Yellowstone, Madison, and Snake river drainages.
Wetland—includes wet meadows, forested wetlands, springs, and seeps comprised of woody vegetation, forbs, rushes, and grasses. Some are thermally influenced.
Riparian—typically streamside vegetation includes cottonwoods, willows, and various deciduous shrubs.

ResourcesSource: Data Store Collection  7854. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Lodgepole pine forest growing near the road.Forests
Forests cover about 80% of Yellowstone National Park.
Close-up view of sagebrush in Lamar Valley.Sagebrush-steppe
This shrubby community is found in the northern range of Yellowstone National Park.
Wetlands growing along the edge of a lake, with mountains visible in the background.Wetlands
Yellowstone’s wetlands include lakes, rivers, ponds, streams, seeps, marshes, fens, wet meadows, forested wetlands, and hydrothermal pools.
Grasses growing and dead trees standing in a watery meadow.Hydrothermal Plant Communities
Fascinating and unique plant communities have developed in the expanses of thermally heated ground.

Purple wildflowers in bloom.Wildflowers
Wildflowers can grow under the forest canopy, but the most conspicuous displays occur in open meadows and sagebrush-steppe.

Rare Plants
The Greater Yellowstone region has few endemic plant species, or species that occur only in Yellowstone and nowhere else in the world. Endemic species occur in unusual or specialized habitats such as hydrothermal areas. Within Yellowstone, only three endemic species occur: Ross’s bentgrass (*Agrostis rossiae*), Yellowstone sand verbena (*Abronia ammophila*), and Yellowstone sulfur wild buckwheat (*Eriogonum umbellatum var. cladophorum*).
Several other unusual species live in the Greater Yellowstone Area: warm springs spike rush, which grows in warm water; and Tweedy’s rush, sometimes the only vascular plant growing in acidic hydrothermal areas.

Close-up view of the leaves and seeds of Ross's bentgrassRoss's Bentgrass
Ross’s bentgrass grows only in the geyser basins in the Firehole River drainage and at Shoshone Geyser Basin.
The white flowers of Yellowstone sand verbena grow in a ball shape.Rare Plants
Yellowstone sand verbena occurs along the shore of Yellowstone Lake.
Pale green stems and bright yellow flowers of the Yellowstone Sulphur Flower.Yellowstone Sulphur Flower
Yellowstone sulphur flower is only found in the Firehole River drainage.

Resources (Rare Plants)Source: Data Store Collection  7863. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

A crew of three sprays invasive plants in a meadow.Invasive Plants
Invasive plants can displace native plant species, change vegetation communities, affect fire frequency, impact wildlife.
Restored field of plants protected by a wildlife fence.Restoring Native Plants
Park managers are restoring native vegetation to this area, following recommendations of arid land restoration specialists.
Close-up view of green gentian flowers.Herbarium
The herbarium specimens document the presence of plants in the park over time and the history of plant collecting in the park.
Alpine scene showing trees, grasses, and distant mountains.Vegetation & Resources Management Branch
Park employees inventory, monitor, manage, and research the vast array of plant communities in the park.
Photo of a bull elk buglingNature
Discover the natural wonder of Yellowstone and our role in the conservation of wildlife.
 Last updated: February 2, 2021
 Park footer Contact Info Mailing Address: PO Box 168
Yellowstone National Park,
WY
82190-0168
 Phone: 307-344-7381 Contact Us
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