Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument - Others

Waterfront riparian vegetation includes black cottonwood ( Populus trichocarpa ), bulrush ( Scirpus spp .), and cattails ( Typha spp .). Willows ( Salix spp .) are most common near the dam and falls to the north and south of the Monument. Other aquatic vegetation includes coontail ( Ceratophyllum demersum ), duckweed ( Lemna spp .), watercress ( Rorippa nasturtium-aquaticum ), and pondweed ( Potamogeton spp .). Algal mats commonly form on the surface of the Snake River in warm weather. There are dense stands of invasive Russian olive trees ( Eleagnus angustifolia ) along the shore. Purple loosestrife ( Lythrum salicaria ) and saltcedar ( Tamarix spp .) are also invading.

The Monument is important to microbiotic plants which usually form a soil crust or are found on aging brush or rocks. USGS-BRD botanists have indicated that the exclusion of grazing makes portions of the Monument significant as a botanical preserve.

Helping to facilitate the conservation of Idaho"s biological diversity is the Idaho Conservation Data Center which maintains a list of plant and animal species of special concern. Three plant species, whose sites need protection, known to occur in the Monument are the giant helleborine ( Epipactis gigantea), Packard’s cowpie buckwheat ( Eriogonum shockley var. packardiae), and the Owyhee mourning milk-vetch ( Astragalus atratus var. owyheensis)