Endangered, Threatened, & Rare Plant Species
of the Southeastern United States

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) mandates that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) establish listings of species of animals and plants that require protection by the Federal government. In many states, state listed species, those which may be rare in the state in question but common across its range, may not have Federal protection. GSRC botanists and ecologists are extremely knowledgeable in the ecology and identification of Federal and state endangered plants and animals.

While only Federally recognized endangered and threatened species are protected under the ESA, many projects require that surveys for both Federal and state listed rare species be surveyed. Candidates for Federal protection under the ESA are not protected by Federal law. In the case of plants, surveys for Federally endangered, threatened, and candidate species as well as state protected species requires an in-depth knowledge of species' habitat, flowering/fruiting periods, and identification. Many of these rare plant species are often difficult to identify, their geographic range of occurrence is generally limited, require specific habitat conditions, and their habitats are often reduced. When conducting surveys, considerations for the seasonal activity or occurrence must be taken into account as many Federal, candidate, and state listed plants must be in either flower or fruit stage for precise identification.

see the May 2004 USFWS list of Candidates (PDF) for Federal protection published in the Federal Register

GSRC ecologists and botanists have extensive experience conducting surveys for Federally endangered, threatened, and candidate floral species as well as state listed flora throughout the United States. The following database represents only a fraction of those species for which GSRC ecologists and botanists have conducted surveys. The represented images (unless specified otherwise) are those photographed by GSRC's botanists and ecologists during protected species surveys in the southern United States.