Plants
More than 1,600 species of plants have been documented on the Francis Marion National Forest, including 32 species of orchids, 22 species of ferns, and 12 species of carnivorous plants.
The Sumter National Forest lies within both the Blue Ridge and the piedmont where variations in elevation lead to differences in the vegetation that grows there. The Andrew Pickens Ranger District is located along the Blue Ridge where you will find a mixture of shortleaf pine with various hardwoods on low elevation ridges and south-facing slopes. Pitch pine and table mountain pine are found on high ridges. Mesic oak-hickory forests are found on lower and north-facing slopes. Mixed mesophytic and white pine–hemlock forests are located in forested coves.
The Long Cane and Enoree Ranger Districts, in the piedmont, are predominantly loblolly pine forests interspersed with patches of upland hardwoods, including sweetgum, white oak, southern red oak, hickories, yellow-poplar, red maple, and various other oaks.
Wildflower viewing is possible in diverse pockets throughout the Sumter National Forest from spring through fall, if you know where to look.
The districts offer a wide variety of plants including walking fern, nodding trillium, faded trillium, Shoal’s spider lily, Robin’s plantain, green-and-gold, mayapple, Canada violet, liverleaf, sweet Betsy’s trillium, foamflower, wild or spotted geranium and the rare sweet white trillium, just to name a few. Unfortunately, non-native invasive plant species can spread into and persist in native plant communities and displace native plant species, posing a threat to the integrity of the natural plant communities. Some of the non-native invasive plants known to severely impact native plant diversity on the Sumter National Forest include Japanese and Chinese privet, kudzu, sericea lespedeza, Japanese honeysuckle, Chinese wisteria, Japanese stiltgrass, tree of heaven, autumn olive, multiflora rose, mimosa and China Berry.