Animals and plantsThe animals, plants, fungi, seaweeds, slime-molds and other living things found here define Oregon as a place in a way geology or climate can not. For in the plants and animals of Oregon we find kinship with others who often have eyes and ears or grow and reproduce. Most of these species have been here far longer than humans and learning about them cannot help but foster a more sustainable relationship.
To learn more about biota in Oregon, explore one of the seven subject areas.
Plants include the flowering plants, conifers, ferns, club-mosses, mosses and liverworts.
Oregon’s vertebrate animals are included either as fish or wildlife, with wildlife containing information on birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles.
Information on the remainder of the multi-cellular animals, the invertebrates, is found in the Insects and Invertebrates section.
The remainder of Oregon’s biota is included with biodiversity. Biodiversity usually refers to the diversity of life and all the interconnections that support these myriad forms of life. So plants, fish, wildlife, invertebrates all are part of the biodiversity in Oregon. However, here we use it to include the remainder of Oregon’s biodiversity. Learn about some of the extensive recent work on the fungi and lichens, the seaweeds and algae, or many of the native and introduced microbes (bacteria) found in water, soils, and the ocean.
Threatened and Endangered Species are of special interest in Oregon because they drive many of our natural resource decisions. Information on threatened, endangered, or at-risk species can be found here.
Finally, Invasive Species, the plants and animals brought to Oregon from elsewhere, have begun to cause dramatic changes to our lands, waters and native biota. Controlling their spread and stopping new invasions is a major focus of many agencies.
