Home
Gatineau Park is characterized by a wealth and diversity of plant species not found anywhere else in Quebec. The Park is home to approximately 1,000 vascular plant species as well as about 40 species of trees.
Approximately 80 percent of the Park is blanketed in forests; stands of hardwoods and mixed wood are the most common. Fields and fallow lands, as well as swamps, peat bogs and lakes with their aquatic vegetation add to the wealth of flora in the Park.
Gatineau Park has the greatest number of endangered vascular plant species of any protected area in Quebec. To date, 61 species of plants found in the Park are listed as endangered (wild leek and blunt-lobed woodsia for example). Among these, there are five species of endangered trees found in the Park: white oak, eastern red cedar, black maple, common hackberry and rock elm.
The Eardley Escarpment is the natural environment that is the richest and most fragile in Gatineau Park. This cliff, facing south-southwest, is approximately 300 metres high. It has a hot, dry microclimate that is unique in the region. Most of the Park’s endangered vascular plants are found on the escarpment. The escarpment also harbours two oak stands rarely found at this latitude: a stand of white and red oak, and a stand of red oak and eastern red cedar. These oak stands are quite similar to the oak-hickory stands found in the American midwest. Also, the largest stand of eastern red cedar in Quebec is found on the escarpment.
Related Links