The natural history of Georgia covers many plant and animal species. The

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

of Georgia influences its plant and animal life.

Flora

The state of Georgia has approximately 250 tree species and 58 protected plants. Georgia's native trees include red cedar, a variety of

pines A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

, oaks, maples, palms,

sweetgum ''Liquidambar'', commonly called sweetgum (star gum in the UK), gum, redgum, satin-walnut, or American storax, is the only genus in the flowering plant family Altingiaceae and has 15 species. They were formerly often treated in Hamamelidaceae ...

, scaly-bark and white hickories, as well as many others. Yellow jasmine,

flowering quince ''Chaenomeles'' is a genus of four species https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:331479-2 of deciduous spiny shrubs, usually 1–3 m tall, in the family Rosaceae. They are native to Southeast Asia. These plants are rela ...

, and mountain laurel make up just a few of the flowering shrubs in the state.Georgia – Flora and fauna – city-data.com
accessed February 3, 2007

Tree species

Georgia's approximately 250 tree species include red cedars and a medium-sized evergreen. These are found throughout Georgia and are very beneficial to many wildlife species. Specifically, the red cedar is a host plant for a variety of butterflies including the great purple hairstreak, the juniper hairstreak and the olive hairstreak. Among pine trees, the

eastern white pine ''Pinus strobus'', commonly called the eastern white pine, northern white pine, white pine, Weymouth pine (British), and soft pine is a large pine native to eastern North America. It occurs from Newfoundland, Canada west through the Great Lakes ...

is found in North Georgia. Eastern white pines are typically tall. They are useful both to humans and wildlife in that they provide wood products for human use and seeds for many birds and animals as well as providing a nesting area for

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

s. Most of central and south Georgia house the longleaf pine, a tree which can grow in excess of in height. The live oak, Georgia's state tree, grows along the coast as well as certain wooded areas. The wood of the live oak is strong and heavy, but not often used. The acorns that grow on the tree are eaten by birds and animals. Sugar maples are found in Georgia. They can commonly grow above and are useful for a variety of products, from the making of

maple syrup Maple syrup is a syrup made from the sap of maple trees. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in late winter and early spring. Maple tree ...

to the creation of household products.

Needle palm ''Rhapidophyllum hystrix'', the needle palm, is a palm, the sole member of the genus ''Rhapidophyllum''. It is native to coastal margins of the subtropical eastern Gulf and south Atlantic states of the United States. Endemic populations can be ...

s, a variety of palm tree found near the

Flint River The Flint River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 15, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Georgia. The river drains of western Georgia, flowing south from the u ...

in Georgia, reside in hardwood forests. The needle palm usually only reaches about tall.

Fauna

Regarding fauna, white-tailed deer can be found in approximately 50 counties. The mockingbird and brown thrasher are just two of the 347 bird species that can be found in the state.Birds
Accessed June 20, 2008 The

eastern diamondback The eastern diamondback rattlesnake (''Crotalus adamanteus'') is a species of pit viper in the family Viperidae. The species is endemic to the Southeastern United States. It is one of the heaviest venomous snakes in the Americas and the largest ...

copperhead Copperhead may refer to: Snakes * ''Agkistrodon contortrix'', or copperhead, a venomous pit viper species found in parts of North America * ''Austrelaps'', or Australian copperhead, a genus of venomous elapids found in southern Australia and Tas ...

, and cottonmouth as well as salamanders, frogs, and toads are among 79 species of reptile and 63 amphibians that make Georgia their home. The most popular freshwater game fish are trout, bream,

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, and catfish, all but the last of which are produced in state hatcheries for restocking. Dolphins,

porpoises Porpoises are a group of fully aquatic marine mammals, all of which are classified under the family Phocoenidae, parvorder Odontoceti (toothed whales). Although similar in appearance to dolphins, they are more closely related to narwhals an ...

, whales,

shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...

oysters Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not al ...

, and

blue crabs Blue crab may refer to: * Blue Crab 11, an American sailboat design * ''Callinectes sapidus'' – Chesapeake or Atlantic blue crab of the West Atlantic, introduced elsewhere * ''Cardisoma guanhumi'' – blue land crab of the West Atlantic * '' Disc ...

are found off the coast.

On land

Mammals

Georgia is home to more than ninety species of mammals.Mammals
Accessed June 20, 2008University of Georgia, Museum of Natural History: Full List of Species – Mammalia
Accessed June 20, 2008 Many of those mammals who live on Georgia's land have been extirpated, that is they are no longer found in Georgia but exist in other areas. Examples of extirpated species are the

bison Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North Ame ...

and the

red wolf The red wolf (''Canis rufus'') is a canine native to the southeastern United States. Its size is intermediate between the coyote (''Canis latrans'') and gray wolf (''Canis lupus''). The red wolf's taxonomic classification as being a separate s ...

. Many others are endangered, such as the gray bat and the Indiana bat.

Amphibians and reptiles

More than 150 species of

amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...

s and

reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...

s species live in Georgia, divided into approximately 80 species of amphibians and 70 species of reptiles.Reptiles and Amphibians
Accessed June 20, 2008 Of the amphibians, 50 are salamanders and 30 are frog species. Twenty-seven species of turtle and forty-one species of snake live in Georgia. Some of the amphibians and reptiles that are native to Georgia are the Pigeon Mountain salamander, the bullfrog, the loggerhead sea turtle and the rat snake.

Avifauna

About 347 bird species make their home in Georgia. Many of these birds are migratory. These species are divided into four categories: permanent residents birds, summer-breeding birds, winter residents and spring/fall migrants. Species of birds in Georgia are the brown thrasher, Georgia's state bird and the northern bobwhite, the state gamebird.

References

{{reflist, 2 Environment of Georgia (U.S. state) Ecology of the United States