Along the coast of Maine, saltmarsh plant communities are abundant and important. Studies show that saltmarshes can sequester carbon up to 10 times faster than forests! The broad umbrella of saltmarshes contain a gradient of plant communities that feature different characteristics based on salinity, easily distinguished by distance from the coast. Salt-hay Saltmarshes form in […]
Maine Native Plants
Natural Plant Community Feature: Sandplain Grasslands
Sandplain Grassland Plant Community The Sandplain Grassland is a rare plant community that occurs near the coast in southern Maine. They emerge on flat sandy plains, especially in places where ancient glaciers melted and the runoff deposited sand and gravel. The soil is very well-drained and acidic. Historically, these communities were more frequent, maintained by […]
Maritime Spruce-Fir Forest Plant Community
The Maritime Spruce-Fir Forest plant community occurs near the coast in Maine, like in Acadia National Park. Almost no original forests remain due to human use—the ones that exist today often occur where pastureland used to be. The climate that this community can be found in is frequently cool and foggy, and the terrain is […]
Community Tree Nurseries Introduce Missouri Gravel Beds to Maine
Since 2025 Maine Audubon has collaborated with the municipalities of Portland, Lewiston, Auburn, and Bangor to establish and operate three community tree nurseries. These nurseries grow trees, historically native to Maine, that can be planted as park and street trees. In Portland and Bangor we have constructed some of the first Missouri Gravel Beds in […]
Even Small Trees Make a Big Difference
This spring, Maine Audubon’s Native Plants staff found four different bird nests—all in trees less than two feet tall! When it comes to native tree restoration to provide food and habitat for wildlife, I often think in distant terms. I imagine decades from now our little nursery trees becoming tall oaks with hundreds of feeding […]
Profile: Early Successional Forest Plant Communities
The Early Successional Forest is a familiar plant community that springs up in disturbed areas around Maine. This community represents an in-between stage from directly after disturbance to an established forest. They form on slopes, hills, and flats after natural occurrences like fire, or unnatural occurrences due to human activity. Although this habitat is often […]
Meet the Grassy Shrub Marsh Plant Community: Willows, Meadowsweet, and rushes!
The Grassy Shrub Marsh is a plant community that exists in wetlands all across Maine. It is often a transitional area that merges with other plant communities near lakes, ponds, or streams. After spring flooding, water levels go down but the soil stays saturated throughout the rest of the season. The soil is slightly acidic […]
Musings on Trees: Loss but also hope
I had never spent much time thinking about trees until recently. I’ve always been drawn to the less charismatic, mosses, ferns, grasses, and other flora under the canopy. Like any nature lover, I’ve always appreciated trees, but as a part of the larger forest rather than a community in and of themselves. I knew very […]
Support Maine Native Plants
Welcome to the 2026 growing season! This year is a big one for Maine Audubon and for all our Maine native plants enthusiasts. In May, we will open the brand new Ann and Jim Hancock Native Plants Education Center (NPEC) at Gilsland Farm in Falmouth. This new building and space has been years in the making, […]