Indicator Plant Species of
New Brunswick Forests
Part 1: Tree and Shrubs
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Green Alder
Speckled Alder
Bog Rosemary
Bearberry
Leatherleaf
Prince’s Pine
Sweet Fern
Red-osier Dogwood
Beaked Hazel
Mayflower
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Sheep-Laurel
Bog-Laurel
Labrador Tea
Mountain Holly
Small Cranberry
Pin Cherry
Rhodora
Bristly Currant
Dwarf Raspberry
Ground Hemlock
Green Alder
Alnus crispa
• Nitrogen-fixing.
• More adapted to
drier conditions
than speckled alder.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Speckled Alder
Alnus incana
• Nitrogen-fixing.
• Prefers poorly
drained soils.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Bog Rosemary
Andromeda polifolia
• Prefers acidic,
nutrient poor, wet,
organic soils.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Bearberry
• Arcostaphylos uva-ursi
• Prefers nutrient poor,
dry habitats.
• Oxylophytic (prefers
acidic soils).
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Leatherleaf
Chamaedaphne calyculata
• Prefers wet, nutrient
poor, organic soils.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Prince’s Pine
Chimaphila umbellata
• Prefers nutrient poor,
moisture deficient
soils.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Sweet Fern
Comptonia peregrina
• Prefers dry, sandy,
nutrient poor soil.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Red-osier Dogwood
Cornus sericea
• Prefers moist,
nutrient medium
sites.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Beaked Hazel
Corylus cornuta
• Prefers basic,
calcium rich soils
with good drainage.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Mayflower
Epigaea repens
• Prefers acidic, sandy
to coarse loamy
soil.
• Prefers low nitrogen
levels.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Sheep-Laurel
Kalmia angustifolia
• Will grow on poor
and rich sites, but
typically on nutrient
poor.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Bog-Laurel
Kalmia polifolia
• Prefers acidic,
nutrient poor, wet
sites.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Labrador Tea
Ledum groenlandicum
• Moderate indicator
of soils.
• Prefers acidic,
nutrient poor, wet
sites.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Mountain Holly
Nemopanthus mucronata
• Acidic, nutrient poor,
moist soils.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Small Cranberry
Vaccinium oxycoccus
• Prefers wet,
nutrient poor,
organic soils.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Pin Cherry
Prunus pensylvanica
• Prefers nutrient
medium, coarse
textured, well
drained soils.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Rhodora
Rhododendron
canadense
• Prefers acidic soils
with low nitrogen.
• Broad range of
moisture preferences.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Bristly Currant
Ribes lacustre
• Nitrophytic
• Indicates nutrient
rich, fine textured,
slightly basic soils.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Dwarf Raspberry
Rubus pubescens
• Nitrophytic
• Indicates nutrient
rich, moist – wet
soils.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Ground Hemlock
Taxus canadensis
• Typically prefers
rich sites.
• Indicates soils
associated with
seepage zones.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Part 2: Vascular Non-woody, Nonvascular and Lichens
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Red Baneberry
Sarsaparilla
Bluejoint Grass
Small Enchanter’s Nightshade
Goldthread
Pink Lady’s Slipper
Fireweed
Trout Lily
Sweet-scented Bedstraw
Wood Nettle
Naked Mitrewort
Wood Sorrel
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False Solomon’s Seal
Lady Fern
Spinulose Woodfern
Woodland Horsetail
Oak Fern
Shining Clubmoss
Sensitive Fern
Interrupted Fern
Reindeer Lichen
Tree Moss
Stair-step Moss
Plume Moss
Red Baneberry
Actaea rubra
• Nitrophytic
• Indicates seepage
areas.
• Prefers basic,
nutrient rich soils.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Sarsaparilla
Aralia nudicaulis
• Nitrophytic.
• Nutrient medium –
rich soils that are
fresh – moist.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Bluejoint Grass
Calamagrostis
canadensis
• Prefers very moist –
wet soils that are
nutrient medium.
• Associated with
Floodplains.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Small Enchanter’s
Nightshade
Circaea alpina
• Associated with
moist forests.
• Prefers nutrient rich
soil.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Goldthread
Coptis trifolia
• Indicates nutrient
poor – medium
soils.
• Prefers low nitrogen
and low pH.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Pink Lady’s Slipper
Cypripedium acaule
• Oxylophytic.
• Prefers coarse
textured, dry,
nutrient poor soil.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Fireweed
Epilobium angustifolium
• Nitrophytic.
• Prefers nutrient
medium, dry – fresh
soils.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Trout Lily
Erythronium
americanum
• Prefers nutrient
medium – rich, well
drained, sandy loam
soils with slightly
acidic – neutral pH.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Sweet-scented
Bedstraw
Galium triflorum
• Nitrophytic.
• Prefers nutrient
rich, moist soils.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Wood Nettle
Laportea canadensis
• Indicates nitrogen
rich, moist – wet
soils.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Naked Mitrewort
Mitella nuda
• Prefers nutrient
medium – rich soils
with high – neutral
pH levels.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Wood-Sorrel
Oxalis montana
• Prefers fresh –
moist, subacidic
soils that are
relatively nutrient
rich.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
False Solomon’s
Seal
Smilacina racemosa
• Nitrophytic.
• Prefers nutrient
rich, fresh – moist
soils.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Lady Fern
Athyrium filix-femina
• Nitrophytic.
• Prefers nutrient rich
soils of varying
moisture.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Spinulose Woodfern
Dryopteris spinulosa
• Prefers nutrient
medium, moist –
fresh mineral soils.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Woodland Horsetail
Equisetum sylvaticum
• Oxylophytic.
• Prefers moist – wet
soils of varying
nutrients.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Oak Fern
Gymnocarpium
dryopteris
• Prefers nutrient rich,
moist – fresh soils.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Shining Clubmoss
Huperzia lucidulum
• Prefers fresh –
moist, nitrogen rich
soils with neutral –
basic acidity.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Sensitive Fern
Onoclea sensibilis
• Good indicator of
periodic flooding.
• Prefers nutrient
rich, clay textured,
wet soils.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Interrupted Fern
Osmunda claytoniana
• Prefers moist,
subacidic – neutral
soils with moderate
– low nitrogen.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Reindeer Lichen
Cladina sp.
• Good indicators of
acidic, nutrient
poor, very dry soils.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Tree Moss
Climacium dendroides
• Prefers nitrogen
rich, moist – wet,
organic soils.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Stair-step Moss
Hylocomium splendens
• Prefers organic
material to grow.
• Indicates acidic,
nutrient poor, fresh –
wet soils.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich
Plume Moss
Ptilium crista-castrensis
• Oxylophytic.
• Good indicator of
acidic, nutrient poor,
dry – moist soil.
Wet
Moist
Fresh
Dry
Poor
Medium
Rich