Southern Ontario Vascular Plant Species List - Conservation Ontario

S5 - Indicates that a species is widespread in Ontario. It is demonstrably secure
in the province
? - A question mark following the rank indicates that there is some uncertainty
with the classification due to insufficient information.
These provincial ranks may further be modified.
S2S3 - Indicates that an element is rare, but insufficient information exists to
accurately assign a single rank
SNR - Unranked — conservation status Not Ranked
SNA - Not Applicable – a conservation status rank is not applicable because
the species is not a suitable target for conservation activities
SX -
SU -
Indicates that an element is extirpated from the province
Indicates that the status is uncertain due to insufficient information
An additional rank not used by the NHIC.
SHY - Indicates that the species is of a HYbrid origin
(This rank is not used by the NHIC, but is included in this listing to
identify plant forms that are variable and are the result of
cross breeding)
Plant Form Codes
This column describes the general growth form of a plant species. Is it a forb, shrub or
tree?
Non vascular plants such as moss, liverwort, hornwort, algae and lichen have general
placeholder codes which are included in this listing. In the case of some rock barrens,
moss and lichen species are the dominate plant forms, so it is necessary to record a
percent cover for these non-vascular plant groups. If your organization has someone who
has expertise with non vascular plants or lichens, then identify them down to the genus or
species level whenever possible. Generally, most organizations estimate just one percent
cover value for all of the moss species combined together.
The following is a listing of the abbreviations used in the table along with a brief
explanation for each code.
AL Algae colonial filamentous algal species found in
freshwater aquatic habitats
FE Fern non-flowering, vascular plant, reproducing by spores -
Pteridophytes. Including the fern allies such as horsetail,
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