Flora

• Itasca is known nationally for its old-growth red and white pines, some of which are well over 200 years old. Deciduous hardwoods, such as oak, maple and basswood, are intermixed with pine trees.
• Tamarack or larch trees are a very common “evergreen” species; however, these trees are different from their evergreen cousins because they are actually deciduous and lose their needle-like leaves in the fall.
• Wildflowers from three biomes are abundant. There are 28 species of orchids at Itasca, including the ram’s head lady slipper, which is among the most rare orchids in North America.
• The showy lady’s slipper, Minnesota’s state flower, is very common. Large clusters are estimated to be more than a 100 years old.
• Horsetail, a primitive plant that appeared during the Carboniferous era (358 million years ago), is also common at Itasca.
• Edible plants and mushrooms abound at Itasca, including fiddleheads, morels, oyster mushrooms, blueberries, wild asparagus, red and black raspberries, service berries, hazelnuts, rose hips for tea, and chokecherries for jelly and flavorings.
• A fringe of wild rice grows around most of Itasca’s shoreline. Wild rice (Mahnomen) is a traditional food of Native Americans. Lake Itasca rice may only be harvested by Native Americans for religious purposes.