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Michelle Vanstrom, Master Naturalist

Niagara's Native Species

Native Flora of Niagara Falls and the River Region.
Like nature, growth here is constant. Please check back.

Document Library

NameDescription
DocumentPlant Species ListEcological Inventroy - Niagara River Gorge and Rim
DocumentNatural Heritage Report Rare Species and Ecological Commuities
DocumentNatural Heritage ReportHistorical Records
DocumentNatural Heritage ReportUsers Guide

Document Library

NameDescription
DocumentTrees Along the Crest of the Niagara River Gorge P.M. Eckel, Res Botanica, A Missouri Botanical Garden Website
DocumentBotanical Evaluation of the Goat Island Complex, Niagara Falls, NYP.M. Eckel, Buffalo Museum of Science
DocumentPreliminary Review of the Rare Plants of the Niagara River Gorge, USA and CanadaP.M. Eckel, Res Botanica, A Missouri Botanical Garden Web Site (Thanks to M. Drahams, OPRHP)
DocumentFlora of DeVeaux College Woods, Niagara Falls, NYP.M.Eckel, Research Associate, Division of Botany, Buffalo Museum of Science (Thanks to M. Drahams, OPRHP)
Photo Property of P.M. Eckel
Photo Property of P.M. Eckel

Document Library

NameDescription
DocumentPlants Used As CurativesBotanical Museum of Harvard University, 1940
DocumentWinter Sow Native SeedsTrudi Davidoff
DocumentA Guide To Celebrate Niagara Peninusla's Native PlantsNiagara Peninsula Conservation Authority
American Basswood
American Basswood
Tilia americana. Native to eastern North America. Common names: Basswood, American Linden or Lime-Tree. 
Size: large, canopy (75-100 ft.) Foliage: emerges late April, early May; drops - early October; Color: spring - light, lime green; summer - medium green; autumn - golden yellow. Flower: late June-early July after leaves are fully grown; fragrant: sweet arresting scent. Wildlife value: low. Habitat: very shade tolerant, moderately coarse sandy loams to medium loams. Longevity: medium, 150-200 years. 

Species Associates: (northern) American  Beech, American Hophornbeam, Sugar Maple, Northern Red Oak, Yellow Birch, Canada Hemlock. Similar: Black and Sugar Maple. 

Asclepias tuberosa. Butterfly Weed. A species of milkweed native to eastern N. America. Habitat: dry, sand or gravel soil. Larval food plant of the Queen butterfly.
Butterfly weed
Ascelpias tuberosa
Common witchhazel
Hamamelis virginiana
Hamamelis virginiana. Common witchhazel. Size: small understory (20-35 ft.); Foliage: emerges mid-May, drops early Oct. Color: spring - light green; summer - bright green; autumn - clear lemon yellow. Flowers: 1/2-1 inch, bright yellow, spider-like, kinky, clusters of three; Blooms: Late September as leaves drops, persists until early November, commonly to December. Wildlife Value: low. Habitat: very shade tolerant, moderately coarse to moderately fine sandy loams, loamy sands, medium loams. 

Species Associate: Tuliptree, American Hophornbeam, Common Chokecherry, American Linden, Black and Sugar Maple, Carokina  Silverbell, American Beech, White and Northern Red Oaks, rhododendron, serviceberry, dogwood, hickory. Similiar: Large Fothergillia, Vernal Witchhazel.

Sassafras
Sassafras albidum
Sassafras albidum. Native to eastern North America. Size: large, understory (35-50 ft.) forms colonies. Foliage: emerges early May; drops - late September; Color: spring and summer - yellow green; autumn -various yellows, oranges, reds and purple. Flower: late April through early May leaves leaves emerge, bright yellow; Fragrance: sweet smell. Twigs aromatic. Fruit: dark blue berry with right red stem; August through September. Wildlife value: low; songbirds. Habitat: shade intolerant, moderately coarse sandy loams to medium loams. Tolerates fine loamy clays and heavy clays. Longevity: short, 50-75 years. 

Species Associates: pure stands, Common Persimmon, American Sweetgum, Flowering Dogwood, American Elm, Eastern Redcedar, White Ash, Common Pawpaw, American Hophornbeam, American Hornbeam, Black Locust, Sourwood, hickories, oaks. Similar: Pagoda Dogwood, foliage texture, autumn color, fruit color, size and branching habit.

Blue Vervain
Verbena hastata (Blue Vervain)
Blue Verbena or Simpler’s-joy is a 2-5 ft., stout-stemmed perennial with numerous, pencil-like flower spikes branched upwards like the arms of a candelabra. Each flower spike has a ring of blue-purple flowers; the flowers at the bottom of the spike bloom first, and the ring of flowers appears to advance upward to the tips of the spike. Stiff, pencil-like spikes of numerous small, tubular, blue-violet flowers are at the top of a square, grooved stem and its branches. An attractive perennial, it has flowers on showy candelabra-like spikes. Bumblebees are among the important pollinators.

BENEFIT
Use Wildlife: Attracts bees. 
Use Medicinal: This plant has been used for many years as a medicinal herb for treating convalescents and people suffering from depression, headaches, jaundice, cramps, coughs and fevers. Externally, it has been applied to wounds, ulcers and acne. Swamp vervain can, however, interere with blood pressure medication and hormone therapy, and large doses cause vomiting and diarrhea. (Kershaw) 
Conspicuous Flowers: yes
Attracts: Birds , Butterflies 
Larval Host: Common Buckeye 

Eupatorium perfoliatum. Boneset.Tiny, white flowers are arranged in fuzzy clusters top the 3-6 ft. stems of this perennial. Hairy plant with dense flat-topped clusters of many dull-white flowers. Paired leaves, united basally, are perforated by the erect stems.

BLOOM INFORMATION
Bloom Color: White 
Bloom Time: Jun , Jul , Aug , Sep , Oct 

BENEFIT
Use Medicinal: The dried leaves have been used to make a tonic, boneset tea, thought effective in treating colds, coughs, and constipation. (Niering) 
Conspicuous Flowers: yes
Attracts: Birds , Butterflies 
Nectar Source: yes

Boneset
Eupatorium perfoliatum (Boneset)
Spotted Joe Pye Weed
Eupatorium maculatum Spotted Joe Pye Weed
Eupatoriadelphus maculatus. Spotted Joe Pye Weed. Atop a sturdy purple or purple-spotted stem, hairy above, is a large pinkish-purplish, flat-topped cluster of fuzzy flower heads. Spotted joe-pye weed can grow from 2-7 ft. or taller in soils that are moist through the season. Narrow, lance-shaped leaves, up to 10 in. long, are whorled along the purple spotted stem. The huge, domed flower head is composed of several branches bearing tiny, pinkish-lavender florets.

BLOOM INFORMATION
Bloom Color: Red , Purple 
Bloom Time: Jul , Aug , Sep 

BENEFIT
Use Wildlife: An important source of honey, attracting pollinators by the score. 
Use Medicinal: Folklore tells that an Indian, Joe Pye, used this plant to cure fevers and that the early American colonists used it to treat an outbreak of typhus. (Niering) 
Conspicuous Flowers: yes
Fragrant Flowers: yes
Attracts: Birds 

Ceanothus americanus. New Jersey-tea is a low, upright, deciduous shrub that grows to only 3 ft. tall. Pubescent leaves give the entire plant a grayish cast. Small white flowers occur in 2 in., branch-tip clusters. A low shrub with tiny white flowers in oval clusters rising from the leaf axils on the new shoots. The base is woody, while the upper portion of the plant is made up of herbaceous, spreading branches. Fall color is insignificant.

BLOOM INFORMATION
Bloom Color: White 
Bloom Time: Mar , Apr 

BENEFIT
Use Ornamental: Ground cover, Rocky hillside, Low growing, Planned landscape 
Use Food: The dried leaves of this nitrogen-fixing shrub make an excellent tea that was very popular during the Revolutionary War period. (Niering) 
Conspicuous Flowers: yes
Attracts: Birds , Butterflies 
Larval Host: Spring Azure, Summer Azure, Mottled Duskywing 

New Jersey Tea
Ceanothus americanus (New Jersey Tea)
  vanshel400@yahoo.com
P.O. Box 2827 Niagara Falls, N.Y 14302 / 716-913-5324

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