Overview of Plant Data

NatureServe Explorer provides comprehensive conservation status, taxonomic, and distribution information for all native and exotic species, subspecies, varieties and named hybrids of vascular plants of the United States and Canada, except those present only in cultivation. Bryophytes and lichens with U.S. federal protection and those with status assigned by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada are included, along with selected others. See Classification of Plants for sources of plant names used in NatureServe Explorer. Distribution data are provided for all states and provinces where each species is known to occur. All plant species recorded in NatureServe Explorer have been classified according to standard references, and most have been assigned a global conservation status rank. National status under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada are provided where applicable. This information is continually reviewed and updated in the NatureServe Central Databases in order to reflect the latest taxonomic treatments, ongoing inventory efforts, and new status assessments. NatureServe Explorer is updated periodically from the NatureServe Central Databases to reflect those changes.