Pennsylvania is home to a variety of native species, from wildflowers to owls and scarlet maples to redbellied turtles. Native species are defined as those that have lived in the Pennsylvania region since before the advent of European settlement. Unfortunately, nonnative species often invade an area, forcing out native plants and animals. With a knowledge of native plants, gardeners can plant these inherently adapted plants in the landscape, which in turn creates habitat for native species.
Native Pennsylvania trees range from tall, narrow conifers to wide, spreading deciduous shade trees. Several maples (Acer spp.) are indigenous to the state, including the sugar maple (A. saccharum). This deciduous tree grows to 80 feet tall. It has large, three- to five-lobed leaves that turn to brilliant shades of red, orange and yellow in the fall. The sugar maple's sap is used to produce maple syrup. The eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) grows to 40 feet tall with a 20-foot spread. This evergreen has gray-green, scale-like foliage and produces bird-attracting blue berries in winter. It tolerates heat, drought and cold winters. As its name would suggest, the green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) is another deciduous native. It grows quickly to 60 feet tall and turns bright yellow in fall. Green ash trees tolerate salt.
Pennsylvanian shrubs must tolerate the region's cold, northeastern winters. The speckled and smooth alders (Alnus rugosa and serrulata) attract birds with their berries and provide shelter. These deciduous shrubs grow from 15 to 25 feet tall and have showy fall foliage. The cranberry bush (Viburnum trilobum) grows to 12 feet tall. This deciduous native blooms with clusters of white flowers, followed by bright red berries that provide food for birds through the winter.
Pennsylvania's indigenous perennial flowers can be grown to attract hummingbirds and beautify the garden. Birds love the wild colmbine (Aquilegia canadensis), a 1- to 2-1/2-foot tall perennial with tube-shaped, pendulous orange and red flowers that bloom in spring. For summer color, plant the monarda (Monarda spp.), a 3- to 4-foot-tall perennial that blooms with red flowers from July through August. The great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) blooms from late summer through fall with clusters of blue flowers. It grows to 3 feet tall.
Pennsylvania has 71 native mammal species. Unfortunately, 11 of these native mammals are no longer found in the state, including the lynx, gray wolf, mountain lion, marten, bison, moose and wolverine. Several mammal species are considered threatened or endangered, including the Allegheny woodrat, Delmarva fox squirrel, eastern small-footed bat, Indiana bat, least shrew, Northern flying squirrel and West Virginia water shrew. Other native mammals include the eastern spotted skunk, least weasel and New England cottontail.
Pennsylvania has 394 native bird species, 186 of which live in the state year-round. One native species, the passenger pigeon, is extinct, and five other species -- Bachman's sparrow, Bewick's wren, greater prairie-chicken, olive-sided flycatcher and the piping plover -- have disappeared from the state. Endangered or threatened species include American bittern, bald eagle, black tern, dickcissel, great egret, king rail, loggerhead shrike, peregrine falcon short-eared owl, yellow-bellied flycatcher and yellow-crowned night-heron.
Reptiles and Amphibians
Pennsylvania is home to 36 native species of amphibians and 37 native reptile species. Unfortunately, 22 percent of these have disappeared from the state or are endangered, including the, eastern massasauga rattlesnake, eastern mud turtle, eastern tiger salamander, green salamander, Kirtland's snake, midland smooth softshell turtle, New Jersey chorus frog, redbelly turtle, southern leopard frog and the timber rattlesnake. Other reptile and amphibious natives include the eastern earth snake, eastern spadefoot, five-lined skink, mudpuppy, northern coal skink and the shorthead garter snake.
- Plant Native: Native Plant List for New York, Pennsylvania and Northern New Jersey
- "Research Penn State"; Gardening Goes Native; Nancy Marie Brown; January 2000
- Pennsylvania Biological Survey; Mammal Technical Committee; Janet Wright, et al.
- Pennsylvania Biological Survey; Ornithologial Technical Committee; Douglas A. Gross
- Pennsylvania Biological Survey; Amphibian and Reptile Technical Committee; Arthur C. Hulse
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