Tennessee is home to over 70 species of native trees. The types of large trees in Tennessee include evergreen, trees that keep their leave year-round, and deciduous, trees that lose their foliage in the fall and winter. The Volunteer State's evergreen trees are pine -- shortleaf, eastern white, and loblolly, eastern red cedar, baldcypress and eastern hemlock. Oaks represent the majority of deciduous trees in Tennessee; varieties of oak include white, scarlet, northern red, swamp chesnut, black and chinkapin. Other deciduous tree species in Tennessee are maple, ash, birch, maple and hickory. The state tree of Tennessee is the yellow poplar, a deciduous species.
Tennessee's native plants include grasses, ferns and flowering plants. Flowering plants in Tennessee grow in the state's woodlands -- dense blazing star and Indian pink; and wetland areas -- Turk's cap lily, yellow coneflower and purple coneflower. The wetland flowers grow near lakes, bogs and rivers. Tennessee is also home to ferns, a plant without flowers that reproduces via spores on the underside of its fronds (a fern's substitute for leaves). Some of Tennessee's ferns include the sensitive, royal, cinnamon and netted-chain ferns. Tennessee's grasses are found in nearly every habitat in the state. Among Tennessee's grasses are indiangrass, switchgrass and eastern gammagrass. Tennessee's state flower is the iris.
Wetland birds are species who rely on freshwater habitats like lakes, rivers, marshes and springs, for their survival. For nesting, wetland birds usually roost on or near the edge of a lake or river. Most wetland birds also depend on fish, crustaceans and wetlands vegetation for their diet. Tennessee's wetland birds include loons -- red-throated, Pacific and common; egrets -- great and snowy; ducks -- wood, ring-necked, long-tailed and American black; and grebes -- pied-billed, red-necked and eared.
Located throughout Tennessee birds of prey are carnivorous birds who hunt small mammals, birds, fish and reptiles. Using keen eyesight to spot their prey, birds of prey soar hundreds of feet in the air and strike prey from the sky. Birds of prey rely on strong talons to grab their prey and sharp beaks to tear their flesh. Various birds of prey species in Tennessee include owls -- eastern screech, barn, short-eared and great horned; hawks -- red-tailed, sharp-shinned and Cooper's; and eagles -- bald and golden. Birds of prey usually nest on rocky cliffs.
Birds who nest in trees are referred to as arboreal species. These types of birds rarely land on the ground and rely on tree canopies to provide protection against predators. Tennessee is home to three species of woodpeckers -- downy, red-bellied and red-headed -- who create holes in trees for nests. Tennessee also has arboreal songbirds such warblers, wrens, doves, sparrows, orioles and blackbirds. Tennessee's state bird, the mockingbird, is an arboreal bird.
Some of Tennessee's birds are of the terrestrial variety, also known as ground-dwellers. Terrestrial birds spend their lives on the ground level of forests and open grasslands. Ground-dwelling species forage for food on the ground and create nests at the base of trees or in tall grassy areas. Wild turkey, northern bobwhite quail, and ruffled grouse are native terrestrial birds in Tennessee. Some birds in Tennessee, such as the rock pigeon and mourning dove, are mainly terrestrial but also spend some time in trees. The common pheasant is native to Georgia but has been introduced into Tennessee for hunting purposes.