Updates to the NC Protected Plant List
Lesley Stark, PCP Program Manager
North Carolina’s first Protected Plant Species list was published in 1980, one year after the state legislature adopted the NC Plant Protection and Conservation Act of 1979. The 2021 update contains 462 protected species, including additions, de-listings, and a few status changes from one protected category to another.
The Plant Conservation Board, the Scientific Committee, or any resident of North Carolina may propose a plant for addition or removal from the protected plant list. But to determine if a species merits listing, several questions must be considered:
1.Do we know enough about this species/taxon to make a determination?
2.How rare is it in North Carolina?
3.What is the short-term trend of this species in North Carolina? and
4.What are its threats?
The NC Natural Heritage Program’s database of rare species element occurrences serves as the primary reference for answering these questions.
The 2021 list update is the result of two years of investigations resulting in 74 additions and 26 de-listings. The 26 de-listings are nearly all success stories of concerted efforts to mitigate threats or the discovery of additional populations through extra field work. In some cases, taxonomic updates led to species no longer being recognized, for example Red Canada Lily (Lilium canadense ssp. editorum) and Yellow Canada Lily (Lilium canadense var. canadense) are now categorized as a single species, Canada Lily (Lilium canadense).
Seventy-four (74) additions may sound like a lot, and it is! However, rather than portending a sudden decline in so many species, the majority represent an increase in our knowledge. Fifty-seven (57) of the 74 additions were species deemed data deficient in the 2010 update. Other “good news” additions include five (5) newly discovered species and seventeen (17) that are newly tracked in the Natural Heritage Program database. Lastly, there were five (5) historical species which were rediscovered since the 2010 update, necessitating a status change rather than a new listing.
State-listed species are protected by a series of regulations intended to safeguard the wild populations of these native flora. These include prohibiting collection or removal from wild populations, sale and trade of wild individuals and parts (seeds, cuttings, etc.), and planting or introducing plants into non-garden environments. A permit from the Plant Conservation Program is required for any of the above activities. See the PCP website for more information or contact Katherine Culatta if you have any questions regarding permit requirements.
Work is already underway for the next update to the list due in 2026. Between now and then our biggest challenge is to acquire data for the remaining data deficient species. If you would like to help collect data on these species, please consider sending your observations to the NC Natural Heritage Program using their rare plant survey form. Please note that the data deficient species spreadsheet has both vascular and non-vascular lists. The spreadsheet cannot be edited, but you can copy the list to your own spreadsheet.
The 2021 list update is scheduled for publication on May 1 and will be distributed on both the PCP and FoPC websites. A copy can be sent to you by request as well. Please email me ([email protected]) if you’d like to receive a digital copy.
Lesley Stark, PCP Program Manager
North Carolina’s first Protected Plant Species list was published in 1980, one year after the state legislature adopted the NC Plant Protection and Conservation Act of 1979. The 2021 update contains 462 protected species, including additions, de-listings, and a few status changes from one protected category to another.
The Plant Conservation Board, the Scientific Committee, or any resident of North Carolina may propose a plant for addition or removal from the protected plant list. But to determine if a species merits listing, several questions must be considered:
1.Do we know enough about this species/taxon to make a determination?
2.How rare is it in North Carolina?
3.What is the short-term trend of this species in North Carolina? and
4.What are its threats?
The NC Natural Heritage Program’s database of rare species element occurrences serves as the primary reference for answering these questions.
The 2021 list update is the result of two years of investigations resulting in 74 additions and 26 de-listings. The 26 de-listings are nearly all success stories of concerted efforts to mitigate threats or the discovery of additional populations through extra field work. In some cases, taxonomic updates led to species no longer being recognized, for example Red Canada Lily (Lilium canadense ssp. editorum) and Yellow Canada Lily (Lilium canadense var. canadense) are now categorized as a single species, Canada Lily (Lilium canadense).
Seventy-four (74) additions may sound like a lot, and it is! However, rather than portending a sudden decline in so many species, the majority represent an increase in our knowledge. Fifty-seven (57) of the 74 additions were species deemed data deficient in the 2010 update. Other “good news” additions include five (5) newly discovered species and seventeen (17) that are newly tracked in the Natural Heritage Program database. Lastly, there were five (5) historical species which were rediscovered since the 2010 update, necessitating a status change rather than a new listing.
State-listed species are protected by a series of regulations intended to safeguard the wild populations of these native flora. These include prohibiting collection or removal from wild populations, sale and trade of wild individuals and parts (seeds, cuttings, etc.), and planting or introducing plants into non-garden environments. A permit from the Plant Conservation Program is required for any of the above activities. See the PCP website for more information or contact Katherine Culatta if you have any questions regarding permit requirements.
Work is already underway for the next update to the list due in 2026. Between now and then our biggest challenge is to acquire data for the remaining data deficient species. If you would like to help collect data on these species, please consider sending your observations to the NC Natural Heritage Program using their rare plant survey form. Please note that the data deficient species spreadsheet has both vascular and non-vascular lists. The spreadsheet cannot be edited, but you can copy the list to your own spreadsheet.
The 2021 list update is scheduled for publication on May 1 and will be distributed on both the PCP and FoPC websites. A copy can be sent to you by request as well. Please email me ([email protected]) if you’d like to receive a digital copy.
