Deschutes & Ochoco National Forests
Crooked River National Grassland

Why should you care about endemic plants?

There are five plant species that grow only in central Oregon - nowhere else in the world! Botanists call this "endemic to central Oregon". These endemic plant species are found in a variety of habitats: along moist riparian banks of the Deschutes River, in Ponderosa pine forests, in high desert shrub communities dominated by bitterbrush and sagebrush, and on alpine peaks. Botanists don't know why these plants are only found in central Oregon, or the many roles they play in their respective plant communities. But we do know that these species are adapted to our unique volcanic soils, even if we don't understand their importance. And we know it makes good sense to conserve the native plant communities where these endemics are found.

Stay tuned for more information about the unique flora of the Deschutes National Forest.

• Estes' Artemesia - Artemesia ludovicianna spp. estesii
• Green-tinged paintbrush - Castilleja chlorotica
• Pecks's Milk-vetch - Astragalus peckii
• Peck's penstemon - Penstemon peckii
• Pumice grape-fern - Botrychium pumicola

USDA Forest Service - Deschutes & Ochoco National Forests
Last Modified: Monday, 23 May 2005 at 16:57:41 EDT