page_title: Rhön Mountains
section_title: Plant life
hierarchical_section_title: Rhön Mountains / Flora and fauna / Plant life
context_page_description: The Rhön Mountains are a group of low mountains in central Germany, located around the border area where the states of Hesse, Bavaria and Thuringia come together. These mountains, which are at the extreme southeast end of the East Hesse Highlands, are partly a result of ancient volcanic activity. They are separated from the Vogelsberg Mountains by the river Fulda and its valley. The highest mountain in the Rhön is the Wasserkuppe which is in Hesse. The Rhön Mountains are a popular tourist destination and walking area.
context_section_description: Compared with other low mountain regions, the Rhön is particularly rich in plant varieties. Its natural vegetation would probably be dominated by beech woods with scattered groups of other trees, but today beech trees are very much in decline. A few of these ancient woods were identified as core elements of the Rhön biosphere reserve. The higher beech woods are a habitat for rare, sometimes isolated, species of plant such as the Alpine blue-sow-thistle, giant bellflower and annual honesty. The vegetation of the lower-lying beech woods has a mix of mountain and other varieties. In addition to common wildflowers like the martagon lily, lily of the valley, wild chervil and wild garlic, various orchids also flourish here including Cephalanthera orchids, the yellow coralroot, bird's-nest orchid, lady's slipper and lady orchid.
  Only small areas of the Rhön landscape are essentially open: the raised bogs (Hochmoore), the rock outcrops and the stone runs. These habitats are home to highly specialised species. The raised bogs of the Long Rhön - the Red Moor (Rotes Moor) and the Black Moor (Schwarzes Moor) are floristically important links between the northern and Alpine raised bogs. Here, for example, can be found sundews, crowberry and cottongrass. Growing amongst the rocks of the volcanic mountains are rare species such as Cheddar pink, sweet william catchfly, oblong woodsia and fir clubmoss.
  There are no naturally occurring coniferous forests in the Rhön, but notable species of wild flower such as the lady's slipper orchid, creeping lady's tresses and burning-bush are found in the forests of mixed pine.
  The cultural landscape formed by mankind over the centuries also has a great variety of habitats and plants however, today, the extensive grassland areas are amongst the most threatened and heavily cultivated habitats. It is on the semi-arid grasslands and juniper heaths that the silver thistle, symbol of the Rhön region, grows, alongside gentians, pasque flowers and wood anemones, as well as orchids like the early purple, fragrant and fly orchids. Rarer flowers include the various bee orchids and the military, lady, burnt, green-winged, man, pyramidal, frog and lizard orchids. Along the southern fringes of the Rhön, on the so-called slopes of steppe heathland (Steppenheidenhängen) grow warmth-loving plants such as white rock-rose, erect clematis and honewort.
  Amongst the most valuable habitats in the Rhön are the mountain meadows and fields of mat grass (Nardetum strictae) on the higher slopes. Characteristic plants here include the monkshood, northern wolfsbane, common moonwort, martagon lily, greater butterfly orchid, perennial cornflower and wig knapweed.
  Bog-bean, grass of Parnassus' western marsh orchid and lousewort are found in the wet meadows and low marshes; and the extremely rare large brown clover, hairy stonecrop and Pyrenean scurvygrass in the springwater marshes of the Hohe Rhön.
caption: Meadows with masses of pasque flower (Pulsatilla vulgaris)
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