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North American Atlantic Region facts for kids

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The North American Atlantic Region is a special area where certain types of plants grow. It's like a huge natural zone identified by scientists Armen Takhtajan and Robert F. Thorne. This region stretches from the Atlantic and Gulf coasts all the way to the Great Plains. It covers a big part of the United States and the southeastern areas of Canada.

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The Blue Ridge, a key part of this region

This plant region borders other natural zones. To the north, it meets the Circumboreal region. To the west, it touches the Rocky Mountain and Madrean regions. And to the south, in Florida, it connects with the Caribbean region.

The plants here are very unique. The region has two plant families found nowhere else: Hydrastidaceae and Leitneriaceae. It also has about one hundred plant genera (groups of similar plants) that are unique to this area. Some examples include Sanguinaria, Leavenworthia, Gillenia, Neviusia, Dionaea, Yeatesia, and Pleea.

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The Liriodendron tulipifera flower, similar to a plant from China

Many plant species here are also found only in this region. A lot of these plants are "relicts." This means they are survivors from a very long time ago, the Tertiary period. They managed to live through the Wisconsin glaciation, which was a time when huge ice sheets covered much of North America. Today, many of these ancient plants are found in the Appalachian Mountains (especially the Blue Ridge Mountains) and The Ozarks.

Some plant groups, like Sarracenia and Uvularia, are shared only with the Canadian plant province to the north. Interestingly, many other ancient plant groups, such as Liriodendron, Hamamelis, and Stewartia, are also found in a far-off place: the Eastern Asiatic Region. This region includes Japan, Korea, and eastern China, and sometimes Southeast Asia. Scientists like Joseph Gerhard Zuccarini and Asa Gray noticed this long ago. R. F. Thorne counted at least 74 plant groups found only in eastern North America and Asia. Fossils show that during the Tertiary period, a warm climate zone connected America to Asia, allowing these plants to spread.

Exploring the North American Atlantic Region's Zones

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The Franklinia alatamaha flower, a plant from Georgia that is now extinct in the wild

The North American Atlantic Region is divided into three main plant zones, called floristic provinces. These are the Appalachian Province, the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Province, and the North American Prairies Province. Each has its own unique features.

Appalachian Mountain Plant Zone

The Appalachian Province covers the high lands of eastern North America. Historically, this area was covered by thick forests with trees that lose their leaves in fall. It's centered around the Appalachian Mountains and The Ozarks. These mountains provided a safe place for plants to survive during the Pleistocene ice ages.

This zone stretches from southern Ontario and Quebec in Canada, down to Arkansas and eastern Texas. It also goes from central Georgia and Alabama up to eastern Iowa and southeastern Minnesota. The wild parts of this zone are mostly covered by forests with trees like oaks, hickories, maples, and Tsuga. This area has the most unique plants within the entire North American Atlantic Region. It includes places like the Appalachian mixed forests and the Piedmont area.

Atlantic and Gulf Coast Plant Zone

The Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Province is a long, narrow strip of flat land along the coast. It lies to the east and south of the Appalachian Province. This zone stretches from southern Nova Scotia in Canada, through Georgia and Florida, and all the way to eastern Texas. It also extends inland into the Mississippi Embayment up to southern Illinois.

Because of floods during the Pleistocene ice ages, most of the plants here are much younger than those in the Appalachian Province. However, this zone still has many unique plant species. The wild areas of this province are mostly covered by forests with evergreen trees like pines, as well as mixed forests. This includes areas like the Northeastern coastal forests and the Atlantic coastal pine barrens. This coastal zone can be divided into smaller parts, such as the Gulf Coastal Plain and the Atlantic Coastal Plain.

North American Prairies Plant Zone

The North American Prairies Province is a large grassland area. It sits between the Appalachian Province and the Rocky Mountains. This zone includes the wide-open prairies of the Great Plains. To the north, it borders the Canadian evergreen forests, and to the southwest, it meets dry desert-like areas.

This province is covered by grasslands, savannas (grasslands with scattered trees), and shrublands. Examples include the Flint Hills tall grasslands and the Sand Hills. This zone has fewer unique plant species compared to the other two, and its exact borders are not always clear. During the Pleistocene ice age, much of this province was covered by glaciers.

Unique Plants of the Region

This section lists some of the plant groups and species that are found only in specific parts of the North American Atlantic Region.

Plants Unique to the Appalachian Mountain Plant Zone

Plants Unique to the Atlantic and Gulf Coast Plant Zone

Plants Unique to the North American Prairies Plant Zone

Plants Unique to Both Appalachian and Atlantic/Gulf Coast Zones

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