With its varied terrain and soils, Tennessee has an abundance of flora, including at least 150 kinds of native trees. Tulip poplar (the state tree), shortleaf pine, and chestnut, black, and red oaks are commonly found in the eastern part of the state while the Highland Rim abounds in several varieties of oak, hickory, ash, and pine. Gum maple, black walnut, sycamore, and cottonwood grow in the west, and cypress is plentiful in the Reelfoot Lake area. In East Tennessee, rhododendron, mountain laurel, and wild azalea blossoms create a blaze of color in the mountains. More than 300 native Tennessee plants, including digitalis and ginseng have been utilized for medicinal purposes. In 2003, 20 plant species were listed as threatened or endangered in Tennessee, including the Blue Ridge goldenrod, Cumberland rosemary and sandwort, Roan Mountain bluet, and Tennessee purple coneflower.
Tennessee mammals include the raccoon (the state animal), white-tailed deer, black bear bobcat, muskrat, woodchuck, opossum, and red and gray foxes; the European wild boar was introduced by sportsmen in 1912. More than 250 bird species reside in Tennessee. Bobwhite quail, ruffed grouse, mourning dove, and mallard duck are the most common game birds. The state's 56 amphibian species include numerous frogs, salamanders, newts, and lizards; 58 reptile species include three types of rattlesnake. Of the 186 fish species in Tennessee's lakes and streams, catfish, bream, bass, crappie, pike, and trout are the leading game fish.
Tennessee's Wildlife Resources Agency conducts an endangered and threatened species protection program. Seventy-six animal species were listed as endangered or threatened as of 2003, including the seven species of darter, gray and Indiana bats, pallid sturgeon, bald eagle, Carolina northern flying squirrel, least tern, and white wartyback pearlymussel. The snail darter, cited by opponents of the Tellico Dam following the passage of the Endangered Species Act in 1973, is probably Tennessee's most famous threatened species.