- World Boreal Forests -
Shrubs
This subsection contains a list of shrubs found within the boreal ecoregions of Canada, Alaska, Siberia, Scandinavia & Iceland.
Deciduous Species
This section contains deciduous shrubs as well as evergreen shrubs that are non-coniferous.
Adoxaceae - Moschatel family
Viburnum
Viburnum edule - Mooseberry
From Newfoundland Highland through the Canadian Shield, Muskwa Slave-Lake, Northern Cordillera Forests up to Northwest Territories, & Interior Alaksa Yukon Lowland Taiga.
Viburnum opulus - Guelder Rose
Scandinavian, Russian, & Siberian Taiga. Sakhalin Island, & Okhotk Manchurian Taiga. Eastern Forest-Boreal Transition, Great Lakes, & Acadian Forests.
Viburnum trilobum - Highbush Cranberry
Eastern Forest-Boreal Transition, Great Lakes, & Acadian Forests.
How to Identify & Propagate
How to Identify & Propagate
Viburnum lentago - Nannyberry
Eastern Forest-Boreal Transition, Great Lakes, & Acadian Forests.
How to Identify & Propagate
How to Identify & Propagate
Viburnum rafinesquianum - Downy Arrowwood
Eastern Forest-Boreal Transition, Great Lakes, & Acadian Forests.
Betulaceae - Birch family
Alnus
Alnus alnobetula - Green Alder
Present in every Boreal Forest (Holarctic Distribution).
Alnus incana - Speckled Alder
Present in every Boreal Forest (Holarctic Distribution).
Betula
Betula glandulosa - American Dwarf Birch
Present in every Boreal Forest (Holarctic Distribution). Sparsely in Scandinavian & Siberian Taiga.
Corylus
Corylus cornuta - Beaked Hazelnut
Newfoundland Highland, Eastern Canadian, Great Lakes Forets. Eastern Forests-Boreal Transition. Central to Midwestern Canadian Shield Forests.
Caprifoliaceae - Honeysuckle Family
Diervilla
Diervilla lonicera - Northern Bush Honeysuckle
Newfoundland Highland, Eastern Forest-Boreal Transition, Great Lakes, & Acadian Forests. Central, Midwestern Canadian Shield Taiga.
Linnaea
Linnaea borealis - Twinflower
Present in every Boreal Forest (Holarctic Distribution).
Lonicera
Lonicera canadensis - Fly Honeysuckle
Eastern Canadian, Boreal Transition, Acadian, Great Lakes, & Central Canadain Sheild Forests.
Lonicera villosa - Mountain Fly Honeysuckle
Newfoundland Highland, Eastern Forest-Boreal Transition, Great Lakes, & Acadian Forests. Southern Hudson Bay, Central, Midwestern, & Northern Canadian Shield Taiga. Scandinavian Taiga.
Lonicera involucrata - Twinberry Honeysuckle
Southern Hudson Bay Taig, & Central Canadian Shield Forests.
Symphoricarpos
Symphoricarpos albus - Common Snowberry
Eastern Forest-Boreal Transition, Great Lakes, & Acadian Forests. Central, Midwestern Canadian Shield, Muskwa Slave-Lake Taiga. Cordillera Forests.
How to Identify & Propagate
How to Identify & Propagate
Symphoricarpos occidentalis - Western Snowberry
Northern Cordillera Forests, Northwest Territories Taiga, Muskwa-Slave Lake, Midcontinental Canadian Forests.
Cistaceae - Rockrose Family
Hudsonia
Hudsonia tomentosa - Beach Heather
Newfoundland Highland, Eastern Forest-Boreal Transition, Great Lakes, & Acadian Forests. Through the Canadian Shield Taiga up to Muskwa-Slave Lake Forests & Northwest Territories Taiga.
Cornaceae - Dogwood Family
Cornus
Cornus canadensis - Bunchberry
From the Newfoundland Highland forests, through the Canadian Shield Taiga, West to Interior Alaska Yukon lowland, the Cook Inlet, & Alaska Peninsula Montane Taiga. Kamchatka-Kurile, Sakhalin island, & Okhotsk-Manchurian Taiga.
How to Identify & Propagate
How to Identify & Propagate
Cornus sericea - Redosier Dogwood
From the Newfoundland Highland forests, through the Canadian Shield Taiga, West to Interior Alaska Yukon lowland, the Cook Inlet, & Alaska Peninsula Montane Taiga. Introcuced to Eurasian Taiga.
How to Identify & Propagate
How to Identify & Propagate
Elaeagnaceae - Oleaster Family
Shepherdia
Shepherdia canadensis - Canada Buffaloberry
From Newfoundland Highland through the Canadian Shield, Muskwa Slave-Lake, Northern Cordillera Forests up to Northwest Territories, & Interior Alaksa Yukon Lowland Taiga.
Ericaceae - Heath Family
Andromeda
Andromeda polifolia - Bog Rosemary
Present in every Boreal Forest (Holarctic Distribution).
How to Identify & Propagate
How to Identify & Propagate
Arctostaphylos
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi - Bearberry
Present in every Boreal Forest (Holarctic Distribution).
Chamaedaphne
Chamaedaphne calyculata - Leatherleaf
Present in every Boreal Forest (Holarctic Distribution).
Chimaphila
Chimaphila umbellata - Pipsissewa
Sparsely present in every Boreal Forest (Holarctic Distribution).
Epigaea
Epigaea repens - Trailing Arbutus
Newfoundland Highland, Eastern Canadian, Great Lakes, & Acadian Forests. Eastern to Midwestern Canadian Shield Forests.
Empetrum
Empetrum nigrum - Crowberry
Present in every Boreal Forest (Holarctic Distribution).
Gaultheria
Gaultheria hispidula - Creeping Snowberry
From Newfoundland Highland through the Canadian Shield, Muskwa Slave-Lake, Northern Cordillera Forests up to Northwest Territories, & Interior Alaksa Yukon Lowland Taiga.
How to Identify & Propagate
How to Identify & Propagate
Gaultheria procumbens - Eastern teaberry
Eastern Canadian, Acadian, Central Candian Shield, & Great Lakes Forests. Eastern Forests-Boreal Transition.
How to Identify & Propagate
How to Identify & Propagate
Kalmia
Kalmia angustifolia - Sheep Laurel
Newfoundland Highland, Eastern Canadian, Boreal Transition, Acadian, & Great Lakes Forests. Eastern, Central Canadian Shield, & Southern Hudson Bay Taiga.
Rhododendron
Rhododendron canadense - Rhodora
Newfoundland Highland & Eastern Canadian, & Acadian Forests.
How to Identify & Propagate
How to Identify & Propagate
Rhododendron groenlandicum - Labrador Tea
From Newfoundland Highland Forests, through Canadian Shield Taiga, until Interior Alaska Yukon lowland Taiga. Northern Cordillera Forests, Cook Inlet & Alaska Penninsula Montane Taiga. Greenland, Scandinavian, & Sakhalin Island Taiga.
How to Identify & Propagate
How to Identify & Propagate
Vaccinium
Vaccinium angustifolium -Lowbush Blueberry
Newfoundland Highland, Eastern Canadian Forests, & Eastern Forests-Boreal Transition. Great Lakes, & Acadian Forests. Eastern, Central, & Midwestern Canadian Shield Forests. Southern Hudson Bay Taiga.
How to Identify & Propagate
How to Identify & Propagate
Vaccinium caespitosum - Dwarf Billberry
From the Newfoundland Highland forests, through the Canadian Shield Taiga, stopping at the Mid-Continental Canadian Forests to reappear further at the Northern Cordillera, & Yukon Interior Dry Forests. Copper Plateau, Cook Inlet, Alaska Peninsula Montane Taiga.
Vaccinium myrtilloides - Canadian Blueberry
From the Newfoundland Highland forests, through the Canadian Shield Taiga west into Muskwa Slave-Lake & the Northen Cordillera Forests.
How to Identify & Propagate
How to Identify & Propagate
Vaccinium macrocarpon - American Cranberry
Newfoundland Highland, Eastern Canadian, Boreal Transition, Great Lakes, & Acadian Forests. Southern Hudson Bay, Eastern, Central, & Midwestern Canadian Shield Taiga.
Vaccinium corymbosum - Highbush Blueberry
Eastern Forests-Boreal Transition, Great Lakes, & Acadian Forests.
How to Identify & Propagate
How to Identify & Propagate
Vaccinium myrtillus - European Blueberry
Iceland Boreal Birch Forests. Scandinavian, Russian, & Siberian Taiga. Even Found in Greenland.
How to Identify & Propagate
How to Identify & Propagate
Vaccinium oxycoccos - Bog Cranberry
Present in every Boreal Forest. (Holarctic Distribution).
How to Identify & Propagate
How to Identify & Propagate
Vaccinium vitis-idaea - Lingonberry
Present in every Boreal Forest. (Holarctic Distribution).
Fabaceae - Legumes Family
Caragana
Caragana arborescens - Siberian Peashrub
Siberian Taiga, Kamchatka-Kurile Meadows & Sparse Forest. Kamchatka-Kurile, Sakhalin island, & Okhotsk-Manchurian Taiga. Trans-Baikal Conifer Forests.
How to Identify & Propagate
How to Identify & Propagate
Grossulariaceae - Currant Family
Ribes
Ribes americanum - Wild Black Currant
Newfoundland Highland, Eastern Canadian, Acadian & Great Lakes Forests. Eastern, Central, Midwestern Canadian Shield, & Southern Hudson Bay Taiga. Midcontinental Canadian Forests..
Ribes hirtellum - American Gooseberry
Newfoundland Highland, Eastern Canadian, Great Lakes & Acadian Forests. Central & Midwestern Canadian Shield Taiga. Mid-Continental Canadian Forests.
How to Identify & Propagate
How to Identify & Propagate
Ribes lacustre - Prickly Black Currant
From the Newfoundland Highland forests, through the Canadian Shield Taiga, West through Muskwa-Slave lake, Northern Cordillera Forests, & the Alaska Yukon Interior Lowland & the Cook Inlet Taiga.
Ribes glandulosum - Skunk Currant
From the Newfoundland Highland forests, through the Canadian Shield Taiga, West to Interior Alaska Yukon lowland & the Cook Inlet Taiga.
How to Identify & Propagate
How to Identify & Propagate
Ribes hudsonianum - Northern Black Currant
From the Newfoundland Highland forests, through the Canadian Shield Taiga, West through Muskwa-Slave lake, Northern Cordillera Forests, & the Alaska Yukon Interior Lowland & the Cook Inlet Taiga.
Ribes triste - Red Currant
From the Newfoundland Highland forests, through the Canadian Shield Taiga, West to Interior Alaska Yukon lowland, the Cook Inlet, & Alaska Peninsula Montane Taiga. Kamchatka-Kurile, Sakhalin island, & Okhotsk-Manchurian Taiga. Eastern to Northeast Siberian Taiga.
How to Identify & Propagate
How to Identify & Propagate
Myricaceae - Wax Myrtle Family
Myrica
Myrica pensylvanica - Northern Bayberry
Eastern Canadian & Acadian Forests. South Avalon–Burin Oceanic Barrens.
How to Identify & Propagate
How to Identify & Propagate
Comptonia
Comptonia peregrina - Sweetfern
Eastern Canadian Forests. Central Canadian Shield Forests. Southern Hudson Bay Taiga. Eastern Forest-Boreal Transition, Great Lakes & Acadian Forests.
How to Identify & Propagate
How to Identify & Propagate
Rosaceae - Rose Family
Amelanchier
Amelanchier alnifolia - Serviceverry
Interior Alaska Yukon Lowland, Cook Inlet, Alaska Peninsula Montane, Copper Plateau Taiga. Northern Cordillera, Muskwa-Slake Lake, Yukon Interiror Dry Forests. Northwest Terriroties, Northern, & Midwestern Canadian Shield Taiga. Appears sparsely in the Eastern Forests.
How to Identify & Propagate
How to Identify & Propagate
Amelanchier humilis - Low Serviceverry
Eastern Canadian, Boreal Transition, Acadian, Great Lakes Forests. Eastern, Central Canadian Shield, & Southern Hudson Bay Taiga.
Amelanchier bartramiana - Mountain Serviceverry
Newfoundland Highland Forests, Eastern Canadian, Boreal Transition, Acadian, Great Lakes Forests. Eastern, Central Canadian Shield, & Southern Hudson Bay Taiga.
Amelanchier sanguinea - Roundleaf serviceberry
Eastern Forests-Boreal Transition, Acadian, & Great Lakes Forests.
Dasiphora
Dasiphora fruticosa - Shrubby Cinquefoil
From the Newfoundland Highland forests, through the Eastern Canadian Forests, stopping at the Central Canadian Shield Forests to reappear further at the Northwest Territories, Cook Inlet, Alaska Peninsula Montane, Kamchatka-Kurile, Sakhalin island Taiga. Scandinavian Taiga.
How to Identify & Propagate
How to Identify & Propagate
Prunus
Prunus pensylvanica - Fire Cherry
From Newfoundland Highland through the Canadian Shield, Muskwa Slave-Lake, Northern Cordillera Forests up to Northwest Territories, & Interior Alaksa Yukon Lowland Taiga.
Prunus virginiana - Choke Cherry
From Newfoundland Highland, Eastern Canadian Forests, Great Lakes, & Acadian Forests through the Canadian Shield, Southern Hudson Bay Taiga, Midcontinental Canadian Forests, west to Muskwa Slave-Lake.
Prunus tenella - Russian Almond
Scandinavian, Russian, & Western Siberian Taiga.
How to Identify & Propagate
How to Identify & Propagate
Rosa
Rosa acicularis - Prickly Wild Rose
Present in every Boreal Forest. (Holarctic Distribution).
How to Identify & Propagate
How to Identify & Propagate
Rubus
Rubus chamaemorus - Cloudberry
Present in every Boreal Forest. (Holarctic Distribution).
Rubus parviflorus - Thimbleberry
Northern Cordillera, & Yukon Interior Dry Forests. Cook inlet, & Alaska Peninsula Montane Taiga.
Rubus idaeus - Wild Red Raspberry
Present in every Boreal Forest. (Holarctic Distribution).
Rubus pubescens - Dewberry
From the Newfoundland Highland forests, through the Canadian Shield Taiga, West to Interior Alaska Yukon lowland, the Cook Inlet, & Alaska Peninsula Montane Taiga.
How to Identify & Propagate
How to Identify & Propagate
Sorbus
Sorbus americanus - Mountain Ash
Newfoundland Highland, Eastern Canadian, Central, & Midwestern Canadian Shield Forests. Southern Hudson Bay Taiga. Eastern Forest-Boreal Transition, Great Lakes & Acadian Forests.
How to Identify & Propagate
How to Identify & Propagate
Sorbus decora - Showy Mountain Ash
Newfoundland Highland, Eastern Canadian, Central, & Midwestern Canadian Shield Forests. Southern Hudson Bay Taiga. Eastern Forest-Boreal Transition, Great Lakes & Acadian Forests.
Spiraea
Spiraea alba - Narrow-Leaved Meadowsweet
Eastern Forest-Boreal Transition, Great Lakes, Acadian, Central, Midwestern Canadian Shield, & Midcontinental Canadian Forests.
Ranunculaceae - Buttercup Family
Coptis
Coptis trifolia - Threeleaf Goldthread
From the Newfoundland Highland forests, through the Canadian Shield Taiga, stopping at the Mid-Continental Canadian Forests to reappear further at the Cook Inlet, Alaska Peninsula Montane, & Sakhalin island Taiga. Even found in Greenland.
How to Identify & Propagate
How to Identify & Propagate
Rhamnaceae - Buckthorn Family
Rhamnus
Rhamnus alnofolia - Alder-leaved Buckthorn
Newfoundland Highland, Eastern Canadian, Acadian & Great Lakes Forests. Eastern, Central, Midwestern Canadian Shield, & Southern Hudson Bay Taiga. Midcontinental Canadian Forests.
Sapindaceae - Soapberry Family
Acer
Acer spicatum - Mountain Maple
Newfoundland Highland, Eastern Canadian, Acadian & Great Lakes Forests. Eastern, Central, Midwestern Canadian Shield, & Southern Hudson Bay Taiga. Midcontinental Canadian Forests.
Salicaceae - Willow Family
Salix
Salix bebbiana - Beaked Willow
From the Newfoundland Highland forests, through the Canadian Shield Taiga, West to Interior Alaska Yukon lowland, the Cook Inlet, & Alaska Peninsula Montane Taiga.
Salix humilis - Upland Willow
Eastern Forests-Boreal Transition, Acadian, & Great Lakes Forests.
Salix discolor - Pussy Willow
Newfoundland Highland, Eastern Canadian, Acadian & Great Lakes Forests. Eastern, Central, Midwestern Canadian Shield, & Southern Hudson Bay Taiga. Midcontinental Canadian, & Muskwa-Slave Lake Forests.
How to Identify & Propagate
How to Identify & Propagate
Saxifragaceae - Saxifrage Family
Saxifraga
Saxifraga oppositifolia - Mountain Saxifrage
Present in every Boreal Forest. (Holarctic Distribution).
How to Identify & Propagate
How to Identify & Propagate
Coniferous Species
Cupressaceae - Cypress Family
Juniperus
Juniperus communis - Common Juniper
Present in every Boreal Forest. (Holarctic Distribution).
Juniperus horizontalis - Creeping Juniper
From the Newfoundland Highland forests, through the Canadian Shield Taiga west into Muskwa Slave-Lake & Northen Cordillera Forests, & the Northwest Territories Taiga.
Taxaceae - Yew Family
Taxus
Taxus canadensis - Canada Yew
Newfoundland Highland Forests, Eartern Canadian Forests. Eastern & Central Canadian Shield Forests. Southern Hudson Bay Taiga. Earstern Forests-Boreal Transition, Great Lakes & Acadian Forests.