The vascular flora of Fall Creek Falls State Park, Van Buren and Bledsoe counties, Tennessee

A vascular plant inventory of Fall Creek Falls State Park (FCFSP), Van Buren and Bledsoe Counties, Tennessee was conducted during the growing seasons of2001 and 2002. The park encompasses ca. 8,900 ha on the western escarpment of the Cumberland Plateau. A total of 881 taxa from 131 families were documented during this survey. Of these taxa, 301 were determined to be county records for either Van Buren or Bledsoe County, Tennessee. Non-native species are represented by 110 taxa, which is 12% of the total flora. Seventeen Federal or State listed taxa were documented, including Nestronia umbellula, which represents a physiographic record for the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee. Voucher specimens were deposited in the herbarium of the University of Tennessee (TENN). A total of 17 plant communities and eight microhabitats were delineated and described during this study. An analysis of distribution trends was conducted to assess geographic affinities of the flora. The majority of the taxa (80%) lie within their distribution ranges with the rest either being extraneous (4%), endemic (3%), or non-native (12%). A floristic comparison was conducted to compare the species richness of FCFSP to other previously surveyed areas on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee. This comparison demonstrated that this park has the second highest richness value of those sites.