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Flora of Door County, Wisconsin facts for kids

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Select plants, fungi, and algae found in the county
Abies balsamea, balsam fir, Peninsula State Park
Picea glauca, white spruce, Peninsula State Park
Larix laricina, tamarack, Washington Island
Thuja occidentalis, eastern white cedar or arborvitae, Peninsula State Park
Juniperus communis var. depressa, common juniper, Potawatomi State Park
Juniperus horizontalis, creeping juniper, Washington Island
Rhus typhina, staghorn sumac, Potawatomi State Park
Cornus sericea, redosier dogwood, Potawatomi State Park
Cornus canadensis, bunchberry dogwood, Newport State Park
Vaccinium myrtilloides, velvetleaf huckleberry, Potawatomi State Park
Primula mistassinica, Mistassini primrose, The Ridges
Aralia nudicaulis, wild sarsaparilla, Newport State Park
Clintonia borealis, bluebead, Newport State Park
Uvularia grandifloria, large-flowered bellwort, Ellison bluff
Polygonatum biflorum, smooth Solomon's seal, Rock Island State Park
Maianthemum canadense, Canada mayflower, Ellison bluff
Maianthemum stellatum, starry false Solomon's seal, Europe Bay woods
Convallaria majalis, European lily of the valley, Mud lake vicinity
Trillium grandiflorum, white trillium, Ellison bluff
Cypripedium parviflorum, yellow lady's-slipper, Ellison bluff
Phragmites australis, common reed, North Bay
Cynoglossum boreale, northern wild comfrey, Ellison bluff
Galium aparine, stickywilly, White Cliff Fen and Forest
Myosotis sylvatica, woodland forget-me-not, Peninsula State Park
Lysimachia borealis, American starflower, Newport State Park
Gentianopsis procera, lesser fringed gentian, Moonlight Bay vicinity
Spiranthes cernua, nodding lady's tresses, Moonlight Bay vicinity
Fragaria vesca, woodland strawberry, Washington Island
Fragaria virginiana, wild strawberry, Whitefish Dunes State Park
Duchesnea indica, Indian strawberry, Moonlight Bay vicinity
Mitchella repens, partridgeberry, Mink River Estuary
Rosa multiflora, multiflora rose, Moonlight Bay vicinity
Argentina anserina, silverweed cinquefoil, Moonlight Bay vicinity
Geum aleppicum, yellow avens, Peninsula State Park
Geum canadense, white avens, Peninsula State Park
Caltha palustris, yellow marsh marigold, The Ridges
Aquilegia canadensis, red columbine, Ellison bluff
Actaea pachypoda, white baneberry, Peninsula State Park
Polygala paucifolia, fringed milkwort, Peninsula State Park
Veronica americana, American speedwell, Moonlight Bay vicinity
Campanula rotundifolia, bluebell bellflower, Peninsula State Park
Campanula aparinoides, marsh bellflower, Ellison bluff
Campanula aparinoides, great blue lobelia, Washington Island
Silene vulgaris, maidenstears campion, Europe Bay Woods
Silene latifolia, bladder campion, undescribed location
Persicaria amphibia, water smartweed, Washington Island
Hypericum perforatum, common St. Johnswort, Potawatomi State Park
Hypericum kalmianum, Kalm's St. Johnswort, Moonlight Bay vicinity
Asclepias syriaca, common milkweed, Peninsula State Park
Mentha canadensis, Canadian or field mint, location unknown
Prunella vulgaris, common selfheal, Peninsula State Park
Iris lacustris, dwarf lake iris, Peninsula State Park
Viola canadensis, Canada violet, Kangaroo Lake vicinity
Viola adunca, hookedspur violet, Moonlight Bay vicinity
Viola nephrophylla, northern bog violet, Newport State Park
Viola pubescens, downy yellow violet, Ellison bluff
Viola rostrata, longspur violet, Mink River Estuary
Leucanthemum vulgare, oxeye daisy, Potawatomi State Park
Lactuca canadensis, Canada lettuce, Peninsula State Park
Sonchus oleraceus, common sowthistle, Mink River Estuary
Cichorium intybus, common chicory, undescribed location
Centaurea stoebe, spotted knapweed, Washington Island
Erigeron strigosus, prairie fleabane, Potawatomi State Park
Erigeron annuus, eastern daisy fleabane, White Cliff Fen and Forest
Solidago riddellii, Riddell's goldenrod, Rock Island State Park
Tragopogon pratensis, Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon goatsbeard, Thorp Pond vicinity
Symphyotrichum laeve, smooth blue aster, Washington Island
Cirsium arvense, Canada thistle, Moonlight Bay vicinity
Cirsium vulgare, bull thistle, Fish Creek vicinity
Pilosella aurantiaca, orange hawkweed, Potawatomi State Park
Rudbeckia hirta, blackeyed Susan, Washington Island
Eutrochium maculatum, spotted Joe Pye weed, Moonlight Bay vicinity
Achillea millefolium, common yarrow, Potawatomi State Park
Antennaria neglecta, field pussytoes, Peninsula State Park
Anaphalis margaritacea, western pearly everlasting, Rock Island State Park
Arctium minus, lesser burdock, Peninsula State Park
Arabidopsis lyrata, lyrate rockcress, Europe Bay woods
Arabis ×divaricarpa, spreadingpod rockcress, Peninsula State Park
Oenothera biennis, Common evening primrose, Moonlight Bay vicinity
Comandra umbellata, bastard toadflax, Washington Island
Lathyrus ochroleucus, cream pea, Bayshore Blufflands
Vicia caroliniana, Carolina vetch, Bayshore Blufflands
Geranium bicknellii, Bicknell's cranesbill, Potawatomi State Park
Geranium robertianum, Robert geranium, Moonlight Bay vicinity
Agalinis paupercula, smallflower false foxglove, Washington Island
Pedicularis canadensis, wood betony, Ellison bluff
Castilleja coccinea, scarlet Indian paintbrush, Moonlight Bay vicinity
Corallorhiza striata, hooded coralroot, Toft point
Lobelia kalmii, Ontario lobelia, Sister Bay
Sanicula marilandica, Maryland sanicle, Gardner
Cornus racemosa, northern swamp dogwood, Union
Berteroa incana, hoary alyssum, Union
Acer spicatum, mountain maple, Cave Point County Park
Aralia racemosa, American spikenard, Sister Bay
Cirsium pitcheri, Pitcher's thistle, Lily Bay
Sambucus racemosa, red elderberry, Baileys Harbor
Ranunculus bulbosus, St. Anthonys turnip, Egg Harbor
Rosa blanda, Smooth rose, Little Sturgeon
Crataegus punctata, dotted hawthorn, Washington Island
Shepherdia canadensis, bristle-leaf sedge, Potawatomi State Park
Sedum acre, golden carpet, Nasewaupee
Arceuthobium pusillum, eastern dwarf mistletoe, Baileys Harbor
Calamagrostis canadensis, bluejoint, Peninsula State Park
Festuca trachyphylla, hard fescue, Ephraim
Poa compressa, Canada bluegrass, Hotz Memorial Town Park
Poa saltuensis, oldpasture bluegrass, Sevastopol
Elymus lanceolatus subsp. psammophilus, Great Lakes wheatgrass, Clay Banks
Schizachne purpurascens, swallen false melic, Cave Point Spring
Carex castanea, chestnut sedge, Mud Lake State Wildlife Area
Carex communis, fibrousroot sedge, Peninsula State Park
Carex deweyana, Dewey sedge, Peninsula State Park
Carex eburnea, bristle-leaf sedge, Potawatomi State Park
Carex hystericina, bottlebrush sedge, Peninsula State Park
Carex intumescens, greater bladder sedge, Sevastopol
Triglochin maritima, seaside arrowgrass, northeast side of Arbter Lake
Equisetum arvense, field horsetail, weedy field
Equisetum variegatum, variegated scouringrush, Baileys Harbor
Equisetum hyemale, rough horsetail, Sevastopol
Equisetum x ferrissii, a hybrid of the scouringrush and smooth horsetails, Lake Michigan shore north of the Coast Guard Station Sturgeon Bay
Equisetum scirpoides, dwarf scouringrush, Jacksonport
Lycopodium annotinum, synonym Spinulum annotinum, stiff clubmoss, Newport State Park
Selaginella selaginoides, club spikemoss, Ridges
Selaginella eclipes, hidden spikemoss, Ridges
Adiantum pedatum, northern maidenhair, Peninsula State Park
Thelypteris palustris, eastern marsh fern, vicinity of Ephraim
Botrychium multifidum, leathery grapefern, Garrett Bay
Botrypus virginianus, rattlesnake fern, Garrett Bay
Gymnocarpium robertianum, scented oakfern, North Bay
Laetiporus sulphureus, sulphur polypore, Peninsula State Park
Pholiota aurivella, golden scalycap, unspecified campground
Evernia mesomorpha, Boreal oakmoss, The Ridges
Chara contraria, opposite stonewort, Europe Lake

The flora of Door County, Wisconsin comprise a variety of plant species. Geobotanically, Door County belongs to the North American Atlantic Region.

Plant species lists

As of 2019, 1201 species and hybrids of vascular plants have been identified in the county, including the yellow lady's-slipper Cypripedium parviflorum, the official county flower. 255 unique taxa of mosses, liverworts, and hornworts have been identified in Door County.

Islands

In 2001, species lists were compiled for the county's islands. Snake Island had 156 species, Cana Island had 111, Hat Island 22, Chambers Island 398, Adventure Island 58, Little Strawberry Island 44, Jack Island 28, Horseshoe Island 49, Sister Island 6, Spider Island 42, Plum Island 259, Detroit Island 25, Pilot Island 40, Washington Island 626, Hog Island 34, Rock Island 333, and Gravel and Fish islands were devoid of plant life. In particular, Washington Island is one of only two places in Wisconsin where the fern Asplenium viride (green spleenwort) is found.

Lakes

In 2006, 60 species of aquatic plants or macrophytic algae were found in Clark Lake and nearby upstream, including spotted pondweed, Potamogeton pulcher, which is endangered in Wisconsin. In 2017, 9 species of aquatic plants were found in the Forestville Millpond, also called the Forestville Dam or Forestville Flowage.

Rare plants

Along with nearby Marinette and Delta (see Garden Peninsula) counties, Door County is home to endemic plants and disjunct populations, such as those protected at Plum Island, Coffee Swamp, Cave Point County Park, the adjacent Whitefish Dunes State Park, and The Ridges Sanctuary. The Grand Traverse islands have some of Wisconsin's richest rare plant reserves.

Invasive species

In 2019, 25 miles of roadsides were surveyed for invasive species. A county-wide electronic map of Japanese knotweed, Phragmites, teasel, and wild parsnip infested locations is updated annually. Locations of other problem species have also been documented.

Plant communities unique to the area

The county is home to a variety of plant communities, including some unique to the area. Boreal rich fen is called "rich" because the dolomite makes the soil more fertile. Calcicole plants growing in these fens depend on minerals which the dolomite contributes to the soil. The southernmost boreal forests in the state are on the eastern side of the peninsula. In white cedar variant forests, white cedar coexists with hardwoods and balsam fir in upland stands that ordinarily would not support cedar. This forest cover is likely due to the alkaline soil and mostly grows on the Niagara Escarpment along the Green Bay side of the peninsula or near the Lake Michigan shoreline. A combination of high humidity, high levels of calcium and magnesium carbonates from the dolomite, and weathered, nutrient poor soils are thought to limit microbial activity. As a result, a layer of humus builds up from organic matter falling to the ground. The escarpment also features the dry cliff natural community and is home to two rare species of whitlow grass. Other uncommon communities are alvar and the similar Great Lakes alkaline rockshore, also home to rare plants.

Vegetation during low lake levels

Gfp-wisconsin-newport-state-park-lakeview
Plants in Newport State Park recolonizing the drawdown zone in August 2013 during a period of low lake levels. Plants present in the background include Anthriscus sylvestris (Queen Anne's lace), goldenrod, Cirsium arvense (Canada thistle), and Phalaris arundinacea (reed canary grass). The foreground includes the woody plants Thuja occidentalis (white cedar), and Cornus sericea (red-osier dogwood).

Yearly fluctuations in lake levels alternately kill off vegetation during periods of high water and promote succession during times of low water. Even during times of high water when low-lying plants are inundated, the populations may persist uphill by clonal expansion and spreading their seeds. Lake Michigan has more diverse shoreline vegetation than Lake Ontario, which has a more stable water level due to human intervention. Without the changing lake levels the shoreline would be dominated by woody plants or highly competitive and even invasive water-loving species such as cattails, reed canary grass, or purple loosestrife. Wet meadows like this one thrive when flooding does not occur often enough to allow emergent vegetation to prevail but is still too frequent to allow the establishment of trees and shrubs.

Individual trees

Some trees have attracted attention:

  • One white cedar found on the escarpment was over 600 years old and near other old-growth cedars.
  • The largest tree in the county is a 170-year-old eastern cottonwood on the west side of Highway 57 passing through Institute. It is 110 feet tall and 35 feet in circumference.
  • In 1997, striped maple was discovered in a shoreline forest near Newport, the first time this species was documented in the state.
  • In 1969, Franklin Gilbert introduced the Viking apple, an early Macintosh moderately resistant to apple scab and fireblight. The original Viking tree is exhibited to the public at the Peninsular Research Station.

Macrofungi species lists

As of 2019, 243 species of mushrooms and other macrofungi have been identified north of the canal, with 326 species for the county as a whole, including those found in lichens. Several of the more uncommon lichens found in the county are Cetraria arenaria, which grows on the ground, and Anaptychia crinalis, which grows on tree bark.

Hybrid yeast

In 2009, a unique hybrid of Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast was found on fallen cherries near Fish Creek. This strain of S. cerevisiae descended from both oak-tree and vineyard lineages.

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