Rare Plant Information Resources

The Natural Heritage Program Network

In 1974, The Nature Conservancy helped establish the first state natural heritage program and over the next two decades, with the help of many public and private partners, built a network of programs that collects and manages data about the status and distribution of species and ecosystems of conservation concern. NatureServe is the organization that consolidates this data and makes it available on the internet. Every state in the U.S. has a natural heritage program that maintains tracking lists and other information about the state’s rare and endangered plants. Find out more about NatureServe Network resources.

Field Guides, Images, and Other Information about Rare Plants

Natural heritage programs and other agencies and organizations have developed rare and endangered plant field guides, species profiles, image libraries, and other information about the rare and endangered plants in various states and regions. Much of this information is available on the internet. Some information exists only in printed form; contact the agency, organization, or publisher to get copies. Internet and print Information Resources are listed below.

National Information Resources

• Center for Plant Conservation National Collection - The Center for Plant Conservation (CPC) provides excellent profiles of the many rare and endangered plants held at CPC participating institutions.
• NatureServe - NatureServe is a network connecting science and conservation. NatureServe and its network or natural heritage programs are a principal source for information about rare and endangered species and threatened ecosystems.

Regional Information Resources

New England

• Native Plant Trust: Conserving Native Plants

State Information Resources

Alabama

• John D. Freeman Herbarium at Auburn University

Alaska

• Alaska Rare Plant Field Guide (Alaska Natural Heritage Program Environment and Natural Resources Institute)

Arizona

• Arizona Game and Fish Department: Arizona’s Natural Heritage Program: Heritage Data Management System – HDMS
• Arizona Rare Plant Committee. circa 2001. Arizona Rare Plant Field Guide: A Collaboration of Agencies and Organizations. Arizona Heritage Data Management System, Arizona Game and Fish Department, Phoenix.

Arkansas

• Arkansas Heritage Program: Rare Species of Arkansas

California

• California Native Plant Society Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants
• A Field Guide to the Rare Plants of the Angeles National Forest (PDF, 16.2 MB)
• Krantz, Tim. 1990. A Guide to the Rare and Unusual Wildflowers of the Big Bear Valley Preserve. Friends of the Big Bear Valley Preserve.
• Nakamura, Gary and Julie K. Nelson. 2001. Illustrated Field Guide to Selected Rare Plants of Northern California. University of California, Agriculture and Natural Information Resources Publication 3395. 370p.
• Presidio of San Francisco: Rare and Endangered Plants (National Park Service)
• Rare Plants of San Diego County (Sierra Club)

Colorado

• Colorado Natural Heritage Program
• Colorado Rare Plant Field Guide

Connecticut

• Department of Environmental Protection: Endangered Species

Delaware

• Delaware Division of Fish & Wildlife: Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program

Florida

• Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants
• Field Guide to the Rare Plants and Animals of Florida (Florida Natural Areas Inventory)
• Floridata: Endangered Plants of the Florida Scrub - Short profiles of rare and endangered endemics in this vanishing plant community, as well as profiles of other Florida scrub plants.

Georgia

• Threatened and Endangered Species of the Upper Savannah River Basin (US Army Corps of Engineers)
• Chafin, Linda G., H. Nourse and C. Nourse. 2007. Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia. State Botanical Garden of Georgia, Athens, Georgia.

Idaho

• Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Idaho Rare Plants
• BLM Idaho Special Status Plant List - November 4, 2016
• Field Guide to the Special Status Plants of the Bureau of Land Management Lower Snake River District
• Idaho Department of Fish and Game:
  • Idaho Natural Heritage Program
  • Botany Publications - Idaho Natural Heritage Program
• Threatened, Endangered, and Candidate Plant Species of Idaho (PDF, 1.0 MB). TN Plant Materials No. 51. January 2013 Revision. Technical Note. USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, Boise, Idaho.
• USDA Forest Service. circa 1989. Idaho and Wyoming Endangered and Sensitive Plant Field Guide. USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Region, Ogden, Utah.
• Idaho Native Plant Society - Rare Plant List

Illinois

• Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board

Indiana

• Indiana Department of Natural Resources: Division of Nature Preserves - includes Endangered Species lists.

Iowa

• Iowa Department of Natural Resources: Iowa's Threatened and Endangered Species

Kansas

• Kansas Biological Survey: Kansas Natural Heritage Inventory

Kentucky

• Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission: Natural Heritage Program

Louisiana

• Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries: Rare Plant Species

Massachusetts

• Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife: Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program

Michigan

• Michigan Natural Features Inventory

Minnesota

• Minnesota Department of Natural Resources: Endangered, threatened & special concern species

Mississippi

• Mississippi Museum of Natural Science: Natural Heritage Program

Missouri

• Missouri Department of Conservation: Missouri Natural Heritage Program

Montana

• Montana Plant Field Guide (Montana Natural Heritage Program)

Nebraska

• Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: The Nebraska Heritage Program

New Hampshire

• New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands: Rare Native Plants

New Mexico

• Ecosphere Environmental Services. 1995. The Farmington District Endangered, Threatened and Sensitive Plant Field Guide. USDI Bureau of Land Management, Farmington District, Farmington, New Mexico.
• Ecosphere Environmental Services. 1998. Bureau of Land Management Albuquerque and Taos Field Office Endangered, Threatened and Sensitive Plant Field Guide. Pub. BLM/NM/GI-99/004+1150. USDI Bureau of Land Management, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
• Ecosphere Environmental Services. 2002. The Roswell and Carlsbad Bureau of Land Management Field Offices and Lincoln National Forest Endangered, Threatened and Sensitive Plant Field Guide. Pub. BLM/NM/GI-02-012-1920. USDI Bureau of Land Management, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
• New Mexico Rare Plants (New Mexico Rare Plant Technical Council)

New York

• New York State Department of Environmental Conservation: Rare Plant Information

Nevada

• Nevada Rare Plant Atlas (Nevada Natural Heritage Program)

North Carolina

• North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services: Plant Industry - Plant Protection Section - Plant Conservation Program - The Plant Conservation Program is responsible for the listing and protection of North Carolina's endangered plants and threatened plant species.

North Dakota

• North Dakota Parks & Recreation Department: North Dakota State Nature Preserve Program

Ohio

• Ohio Department of Natural Resources: Division of Natural Areas and Preserves: Heritage Database

Oklahoma

• Oklahoma Natural Heritage Inventory

Oregon

• Dimling, J. 1991. Willamette National Forest Sensitive Plant Field Guide. Pub. R6-WILL-004-91. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Portland, Oregon.
• Meinke, R.J. 1982. Threatened and Endangered Vascular Plants of Oregon: An Illustrated Guide. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Region 1, Portland, Oregon. 326 p.
• Oregon Natural Heritage Program. 2001. Rare, Threatened and Endangered Plants and Animals of Oregon. Oregon Natural Heritage Program, Portland, Oregon. 94 p.
• Oregon Department of Agriculture, Plant Division, Native Plant Conservation Program

Pennsylvania

• Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources: Wild Resources Conseravation Program: Endangered and Threatened Species of Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

• Rhode Island Natural History Survey: Rare and Endangered (“natural heritage”) Species

South Carolina

• South Carolina Department of Natural Resources: South Carolina Rare, Threatened, & Endangered Species Inventory

South Dakota

• South Dakota Wildlife Diversity Program

Tennessee

• Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation: Division of Natural Areas

Texas

• Endangered and Threatened Plants in Texas and in the United States (Texas Parks and Wildlife)

Utah

• State of Utah Natural Resources Division of Wildlife Resource: Plants - Profiles for federally listed and candidate plants in Utah.
• Threatened, Endangered, and Candidate Plant Species of Utah (PDF, 4.0 MB). TN Plant Materials No. 52. January 2013 Revision. Technical Note. USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, Boise, Idaho and Salt Lake City Utah.
• Utah Rare Plant Guide (Utah Native Plant Society)

Vermont

• Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department Natural Heritage Inventory

Virginia

• Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services: Regulations for the Enforcement of the Endangered Plant and Species Act (PDF, 11 KB)

Washington

• Rare Plant Field Guide - from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources Natural Heritage Program, this online guide is an adaptation of our Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Washington, which was published in 2011 with the intent to aid amateur and professional botanists in the identification of our state's rare plant species.

West Virginia

• West Virginia Division of Natural Resources: Rare, Threatened And Endangered Species In West Virginia

Wisconsin

• Wisconsin Endangered and Threatened Species Laws & List (PDF)

Wyoming

• U.S. Forest Service. circa 1989. Idaho and Wyoming Endangered and Sensitive Plant Field Guide. USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Region, Ogden, Utah.
• Wyoming Rare Plant Field Guide (U.S. Geological Survey)