Flora of the United States facts for kids

The native flora of the United States includes about 17,000 different kinds of vascular plants. These are plants with special tissues to carry water and nutrients, like trees, flowers, and ferns. There are also thousands more species of other plants and plant-like living things, such as algae, lichens, fungi, and mosses.

About 3,800 other kinds of vascular plants that are not native have also started growing wild in the U.S. The United States has one of the most varied plant collections in the world for a temperate climate, similar to China.

Many things help make the U.S. flora so rich and diverse. Most of the United States has a temperate climate, meaning it has four distinct seasons. However, Alaska has huge arctic areas, and the southern part of Florida is tropical. Hawaii also has tropical areas and high mountains. The U.S. also has territories in the Caribbean and Pacific with tropical climates. Many western mountains have very high, cold alpine areas.

The U.S. coastline touches three oceans: the Atlantic (which includes the Gulf of Mexico), the Arctic, and the Pacific. Also, the U.S. shares long borders with Canada and Mexico. It is also close to the Bahamas, Cuba, other Caribbean islands, and eastern Asia. This wide range of locations means the U.S. has everything from rainforests to some of the driest deserts in the world.

The native plants of the United States have given the world many important garden and farm plants. Most of these are ornamental plants, which are grown for their beauty. Examples include flowering dogwood, redbud, mountain laurel, bald cypress, southern magnolia, and black locust. These are now grown in temperate areas all over the world.

The U.S. has also provided many food plants like blueberries, black raspberries, cranberries, maple syrup and sugar, and pecans. Important timber trees like Monterey pine also come from the U.S.

Sadly, some native U.S. plants, like Franklinia alatamaha, have completely disappeared from the wild or are now extinct. Others, such as Micranthemum micranthemoides, haven't been seen in many years but might still exist. Thousands of other native U.S. vascular plants are considered rare, threatened, or endangered. This means they are at risk of disappearing, either worldwide or in specific states.

Plant Regions of the U.S.

Scientists who study plants and geography, like Armen Takhtajan and Robert F. Thorne, divide the United States (including Hawaii and Alaska) into different plant regions. These regions are called floristic kingdoms, floristic regions, and floristic provinces. They are special because certain plants grow only in those areas, which is called endemism.

Here are the main plant kingdoms and regions found in the U.S.:

• Holarctic Kingdom
  • Circumboreal Region (includes Arctic and Canadian areas)
  • North American Atlantic Region (includes Appalachian, Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, and North American Prairies areas)
  • Rocky Mountain Region (includes Vancouverian and Rocky Mountain areas)
  • Madrean Region (includes Great Basin, Californian, and Sonoran areas)
• Neotropical Kingdom
  • Caribbean Region (includes West Indian areas)
• Paleotropic Kingdom
  • Hawaiian Region (includes Hawaiian areas)

These divisions help scientists understand how plants are spread out and why certain plants grow in specific places.

See also

In Spanish: Flora de Estados Unidos para niños