Plants
The plant communities of Acadia National Park are well adapted to compete in what are definitely not excellent growing conditions. These plants seem to thrive in the environment of coastal Acadia, which subjects them to wind, salt spray and thin soils. Acadia is an excellent place to view the biology of a unique and unusual ecosystem.
As early as the late 1880's, botany students would travel to Acadia to study the diverse plant life found in the area. Unusual plants were found in the bogs and on the mountain summits. Each different terrain yielded a home to a different type of plant life. In the mountain meadows, you can find grasses and wildflowers. A diverse array of aquatic and floating vegetation abounds in Acadia's freshwater lakes and ponds. Because of man's impact in the region, nearly 25% of the plants currently found in Acadia are non-native plants. At the same time, nearly twenty-five species of plants found here are listed on Maine's register of rare plants. Human settlement and the different uses of the land continues to change the plant communities in Acadia National Park The Wild Gardens of Acadia contain only that foliage which is native to the area.
The majority of these plants struggle to survive in acidic, poor nutrient bogs and rocky, treeless mountaintops. Here is where you will find nearly 1100 vascular plant species.
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