The Vascular flora of Big Frog Mountain, Polk County, Tennessee

The vascular flora of Big Frog Mountain, a 1228 m peak in the southeast corner of Tennessee has been studied for two growing seasons. A total of 476 taxa were collected on Big Frog Mountain representing 262 genera and 91 families. One taxon, Coreopsis latifolia, is a state record for Tennessee. This taxon and Prenanthes roanensis are federally under study in Category II. Twelve taxa are listed as Endangered, Threatened, or Special Concern in Tennessee, and status reports were prepared for these taxa.

Distributions of the taxa collected were examined in an attempt to understand the phytogeographical significance of the mountain. The flora of Big Frog Mountain has a strong influence from taxa with northern distributions whose ranges extend south in the Appalachians. Three taxa had the southernmost station of their distribution onf the mountain. Only 4.2% of the flora is not native to eastern North America, indicating a lack of human disturbance on Big Frog Mountain.

Big Frog Mountain is a relatively undisturbed peak in the southern portion of the Blue Ridge Province. The ruggedness of the terrain, the lack of anthropogenic disturbance, and the number of rare plants found on the mountain make the area well suited for inclusion in the National Forest Wilderness System. On October 30, 1984 a bill was signed into law which will permanently preserve the area as the Big Frog Wilderness Area.