Original Post: Ember, January 7, 2018
Rather than in the English countryside where the canon clans make their home, the territories of Warrior Cats of the Forests take place in an imagined location in the vicinity of Detroit, Michigan. This guide to Warrior Cats of the Forest’s environment covers the territories’ climate, geography, and a handful of the other species characterize the area. This guide is by no means inclusive of every detail of the clans’ territories, every weather event that could occur, or all species found in the clans’ territories, but rather is meant to give a general overview of where the clans live, to provide inspiration for patrol roleplaying, and to show how the prey available in these Michigan territories varies from that in the canon books.
For more information about the environment our clans interact with, check out the Herbs Guide, Enemy Animal Guide, and the Prey Guide . For more information about clan-specific hunting specialties, see The Clans Page. A map of the territories and images of specific territory landmarks can also be found on The Clans Page. As usual, all references are listed at the bottom of this guide. If you have any suggestions for corrections or additions, please message me.
The territories of Warrior Cats of the Forest are in a humid continental climate, where average temperatures vary between 28°F in January to 72°F in July, with an annual average of about 50°F. The average window for freezing temperatures runs from Late October to Late April, which allows for a growing season of only about 180 days. The area is usually moderately rainy, with precipitation spread throughout the year and averaging about 30 inches of rain and 45 inches of snow a year. However, thick snowpack is a rarity, with only about 30 days a year having more than three inches of snow cover. For graphs of average monthly rainfall and precipitation for Detroit Michigan, click here.
Leaf-bare is harsh for the clans as it is generally long and cold, with storms that bring combinations of sleet, freezing rain, and snow. Green-leaf is more mild, usually characterized by intervals of warm, humid weather and mild dry weather, separated by thunderstorms. The clans’ territories occasionally experience a variety of extreme weather events, such as hailstorms, severe thunderstorms with damaging winds, wildfires, blizzards, or even tornadoes. Very rarely, small earthquakes may occur. None of these extreme weather events should be initiated without consulting with others through the usual plot planning channels.
The territories themselves range from the mostly evergreen forests of MoonClan, to the mostly deciduous forests of EarthClan, to the grassy meadows of SunClan and to EclipseClan’s urban territory. The territories as a whole have gentle, rolling terrain and are approximately 600 feet above sea level. EclipseClan’s territory is the highest, while EarthClan’s is the lowest and is the most prone to flooding. For more information about specific landmarks, check out The Clans Page.
Below are examples of species that populate the clans' territory, but are not useful as medicine or prey, or feared a potent poisons or enemies. For examples of those species, see the above-linked guides.
Reptiles
Eastern box turtle
Description: a primarily terrestrial turtle with hinged-shells and a distinctive pattern of yellow spots on their shells and across their bodies. Full-grown, they are only 4-6 inches in length.
Location: found along the MoonClan-EarthClan border.
Spiny softshell turtle
Description: a large turtle with a leathery, semi-flexible carapice, webbed feet, and a fleshy, elongated nose. They range from brown to yellow-brown or olive in color. The largest turtles are 20 inches in length.
Location: found in the deepest sections of river along the EclipseClan-MoonClan border.
Spotted turtle
Description: a foot-long, semi-aquatic turtle with broad, smooth shell that ranges from blue to black and is covered in tiny, round, yellow spots. They are omnivorous.
Location: found in flooded forests, marshes, wet meadows, and any other shallow, freshwater ecosystem. This makes them common throughout the river, particularly in the southern reaches of EarthClan.
Wood turtle
Description: a 14-20 inch long turtle with a rough carapace that is tan or brown in color, with a central ridge made up of pyramidal pattern of ridges and grooves. Their large scutes display black and yellow lines.
Location: Prefers the slow-moving, sandy creek beds of EarthClan’s southern territory.
Birds
Mute swan
Description: an invasive water fowl, with a six foot wingspan, white feathers, and an orange bill. They are capable of vocalizations, but rarely make any noise.
Location: These swans are rare in the territories, but are most commonly seen in the EclipseClan’s park.
Turkey vulture
Description: a scavenging bird that feeds exclusively on carrion, with keen eyes and sense of smell. They flap their wings very infrequently and have a five to six foot wingspan, grey-black feathers, and a naked, red-skinned head.
Location: seen flying over all the territories, but particularly common over SunClan’s territory.
Mammals
Elk
Description: a large deer-like animal with red-brown fur that feeds on grasses, plants, leaves, and bark. They eat constantly during the summer and the males have large anters.
Location: These animals are very rare in the territories, but can appear on the fringes of SunClan and EarthClan.
Moose
Description: these animals are the largest members of the deer family, with wide antlers, dark brown hair, and a flap of skin hanging from their throat. They have powerful builds and can reach six feet in height at the shoulder.
Location: These animals are very rare in the territories, but can appear on the fringes of SunClan and EarthClan.
White-tailed Deer
Description: a deer species weighing between 90 and 300 pounds with brown fur, accented with white on its throat, stomach, and on the underside of its tail. The males grow thin antlers annually.
Location: These animals are very rare in the territories, but can appear on the fringes of SunClan and EarthClan.
Woodland caribou
Description: a deer-like animal with large hooves, long antlers, and a light brown coat. They migrate north in the summer and are only seen in the territories during the winter, when food in their northern range is scarce.
Location: These animals are very rare in the territories, but can appear on the fringes of SunClan and EarthClan.
Bugs
Brown garden snail
Description: a large snail with a finely wrinkled shell that varies in color from yellow to chestnut brown, with spiral bands interrupted by flecks of yellow or white.
Location: found on plants throughout the clans.
Burying Beetle
Description: A black and red-striped beetle with prominent antennae. These beetles get their name from burying in the carcasses of birds and rodents and laying their eggs there.
Location: found primarily in MoonClan’s territory.
Buzzer midge
Description: a nonbiting midge species with pale green and brown legs, feathery antennae, and a dark brown band at the end of each abdominal segment.
Location: found in puddles of stagnant water throughout the clans.
Chinese mantis
Description: a long, slender brown and green praying mantis species that can reach 12 centimeters in length. Its overall color can vary from green to brown, usually with a green lateral stripe on the borders of the front wings.
Location: found throughout the territories, but only rarely in EclipseClan.
Ebony boghaunter
Description: a black dragonfly with orange spots and green or blue eyes.
Location: found along the slow-moving portions of the river, especially in EarthClan’s southern reaches.
Emerald ash borer
Description: an emerald-green jewel beetle that feeds on ash trees.
Location: found on ash trees throughout MoonClan and EclipseClan’s territory.
Garden spider
Description: a large spider with orange and black legs and a black body covered in yellow spots. They may bite, but are not particularly venomous or aggressive.
Location: found most commonly in the shady portions of MoonClan’s territory.
Gray field slug
Description: an invasive slug species with a short keel on their backs, thick skin, and colorless mucus. They vary in color from creamy to black, often with spots.
Location: found throughout the territories, particularly among the leaf litter in damp portions of EarthClan.
Green Darter Dragonfly
Description: a three-inch long dragonfly with a copper or blue tail and green body. Migrates southward in the winter.
Location: common throughout the clans near bodies of water such as the river or the pond in EclipseClan’s territory.
Gypsy moth
Description: a pest species with white or grey marbled wings that lay their eggs in masses along trees and whose larvae eat leaves and are responsible for the death of many hardwood trees.
Location: most commonly seen in MoonClan’s territory.
Karner Blue Butterfly
Description: a delicate blue butterfly with yellow spots and black stripes along the margins of their wings. The uunderside of their wings is grey with scattered black spots circled with white.
Location: these butterflies are very rare and are found in the meadows of EarthClan with marbled shady and sunny areas.
Lake Huron Locust
Description: a one to two inch long insect with a gray body covered in dark brown and white markings.
Location: found in the more sparsely grassed northern portions of SunClan’s territory.
Longhorned Beetle
Description: a beetle characterized by antennae that are as long or longer than their bodies. Their bodies have patterns of orange and black patches or stripes.
Location: found throughout the EarthClan and MoonClan territories and occasionally in the trees of EclipseClan.
Crustaceans and mollusks
Asian clam
Description: a freshwater, invasive clam species with a yellow-green shell marked by concentric wings. The color can flake and leave white spots, while the shells are light purple or blue inside.
Location: found in the river under Snake Gorge.
Northern riffleshell
Description: a freshwater mussel species with small, brown shells with bands varying in shades of brown.
Location: found only in the rocky, fast-moving portions of the river under Snake Gorge.
Rusty Crayfish
Description: a large, aggressive species of freshwater crayfish that ranges in color from greenish grey to reddish brown. They have two rust-colored spots on their back and their large front claws with white bands around their tips. They cannot seriously injure a cat, but a pinch with their claws is certainly unpleasant.
Location: found in the river
Yabby
Description: an invasive crayfish with a distinctive blue-grey shell.
Location: found throughout the deeper portions of the river.
Zebra mussel
Description: a small mussel species with a black-and-white striped pattern on the outside of their shells
Location: a common species found in the river under Snake Gorge and in the northern portions of the MoonClan-EclipseClan border.
Trees
Allegheny Chinquapin
Description: a short chestnut species with red bark, slightly furrowed into scaly plates. The leaves are simple, narrowly elliptical, and yellow-green in color.
Location: found primarily along the MoonClan and EarthClan sides of Snake Gorge.
American Elm
Description: a deciduous tree with a high, umbrella-like canopy. The leaves are alternate and the flowers are small, purple and wind-pollinated. The fruit is a flat samara with a circular papery wing surrounding a single seed.
Location: found throughout MoonClan and EarthClan.
Black gum
Description: a thirty to forty foot tall tree with slow-growing branches, thick foliage, and dark-blotchy bark. Its branches form unusual patterns, while the fruit it grows is a favorite of birds and squirrels. This tree is fairly adaptable and tolerates a wide variety of conditions.
Location: most common in EarthClan, though it is occasionally found in EclipseClan or MoonClan.
Black Mulberry
Description: a squat tree with dark buds, thin, glossy, light green leaves that are lobed differently even on the same branch. The flowers are held onto short catkins and are wind pollinated, resulting in copious pollen production. The berries themselves are juicy and fat, ranging in color from deep red to almost black.
Location: found occasionally in MoonClan and more regularly in EarthClan.
Black Spruce
Description: a slow-growing, small evergreen coniferous tree with a straight trunk with little taper, a scruffy habit, and narrow pointed crown of short, compact branches with upturned tips. The leaves are flat and needle-like, with a shiny top side and white, velvety underside. The cones are four or five inches long and purple in color.
Location: common in the northern portions of MoonClan’s territory.
Black willow
Description: a fast-growing tree with flexible boughs, soft wood, fast-growing roots, and thin, oval-shaped leaves. Their bark can be chewed to relieve pain.
Location: found along the river.
Bur Oak
Description: a large, slow-growing deciduous tree with a wide trunk, long leaves with variable shape and a lobed margin, and large acorns.
Location: primarily found in EarthClan, though a few trees are scattered in MoonClan.
Cottonwood
Description: a very large tree with trunks that achieve a maxiuumum diameter of ten feet. Their wood is brittle and breaks easily in windstorms, while the leaf stalks are flattened and flexible, which causes the tree to give a distinctive whispering sound in the breeze. The leaves are spade-shaped and ridged and their seeds are encased in a cotton-like material.
Location: found in the damp portions of EarthClan.
Dogwood
Description: a twenty foot tall tree with a horizontal branching pattern, small, toothed leaves, red stems, and small clusters of white flowers and purple berries. The leaves turn red-brown in the fall.
Location: grows in EarthClan and MoonClan.
Douglas hawthorn
Description: a thorny, shrub-like tree with fan-shaped green leaves with teeth along their margin. It grows white flowers with greenish centers that appear in bunches at the ends of each thin branch, leading to dark purple pomes about one centimeter in length which are eaten by birds and rodents.
Location: found throughout MoonClan’s territory and occasionally in EarthClan.
Foxtail pine
Description: a thirty to seventy foot tall pine with needle-like, bunched leaves that are glossy green on their outer face and white on their inner face. Each individual needle can persist for ten or fifteen ears. These trees have short, dark-purple cones with flexible scales.
Location: found in central MoonClan.
Great fir
Description: a forty meter tall evergreen coniferous tree with needle-like flattened leaves that span from three to six inches in length. The leaves are glossy and dark green from above, and velvety and white-striped below. The cones can be as much as a foot long and are scaled, releasing winged seeds when the cones disintegrate after six months post-pollination.
Location: found in the northeastern portion of MoonClan’s territory.
Green ash
Description: a very common tree that grows quickly, with its branches growing in many directions. The leaves are compound and the bark makes a diamond-shaped pattern, and their root network is expansive.
Location: found primarily on the shores of the river and along the EarthClan-SunClan border.
Greenspire linden
Description: a tall, deciduous tree with smooth, grey bark, a rounded crown, and alternately arranged heart-shaped leaves with small tufts of brown hair along their veins.
Location: found throughout EarthClan’s territory.
Hophornbeam
Description: a forty foot tall tree with fruit that resembles clusters of hops. The leaves are finely toothed and oblate.
Location: most common in the park in EclipseClan territory, though there are a few of these trees scattered across EarthClan.
Jack pine
Description: a small evergreen tree with a rounded, dense crown, that rarely grows perfectly straight, resulting in an irregular shape. It's cones remain closed for years until a forest fire kills the mature trees and opens the cones, reseeding the burnt ground. The leaves are in fascicles of two, needle-like and twisted.
Location: many young trees have grown in The Burnt Woods, while mature trees are commonly found in MoonClan’s territory.
Juneberry
Description: a small, fast growing tree that drops fruit enjoyed by birds and rodents. Flowers in the spring.
Location: found in EclipseClan as an ornamental tree and in the edges of EarthClan meadows.
Kentucky Coffeetree
Description: a fifty foot tall tree with compound leaves, arching, stout branches. This tree is very adaptable and excellent in the cold, in droughts, and in urban conditions.
Location: found in EarthClan and EclipseClan.
Lodgepole pine
Description: an evergreen tree reaching 160 feet in height, with a slim, conical crown. These trees have elastic branches that stand upright or overhang and are difficult to break, as well as being covered with short, easily removed shoots. The egg-shaped growth buds are reddish-brown, while the leaves are needle-like, shiny, and pointed. These trees also have prickled cones.
Location: young trees are common in the Burnt Woods, while mature trees populate MoonClan’s territory and the northern reaches of EarthClan.
Magnolia
Description: a genus of trees with hand-sized, leathery leaves and wide, sweet-smelling flowers and large, lobed fruits.
Location: found throughout EarthClan and occasionally cultivated in EclipseClan.
Quaking aspen
Description: a relative of the cottonwood with small, round leaves, greenish bark. Many animals use the quaking aspen, such as beaves, bears, deer, hare, and grouse.
Location: these trees move quickly into disturbed areas, making them most common in The Burnt Woods.
Red Maple
Description: an abundant, medium-sized tree with four-inch long leaves, a wide spread, and ascending whip-like curved shoots. The bark is pale grey and smooth, while the leaves are oppositely arranged and have lobes and a serrated margin. The twigs are reddish in color.
Location: found throughout EarthClan and occasionally in MoonClan.
She-balsam
Description: an evergreen coniferous tree that can reach fifty feet in height, with a conical crown, straight upward-angled branches, and dense needle-like leaves. The bark is thin, smooth, grey-brown, with numerous fissures or scales in maturity.
Location: found throughout MoonClan’s territory and occasionally in EarthClan.
Sugar maple
Description: a medium-sized, egg-shaped tree with winged “helicopter” seeds, sugary sap, and gently lobed leaves.
Location: found primarily in the least disturbed, mature forest at the center of EarthClan’s territory.
Sycamore
Description: a 160 foot tall deciduous tree with mottled bark that flakes off in irregular masses, light brown wood, sticky green winter buds, and alternate ovate leaves.
Location: found throughout EarthClan’s territory with a few trees sprinkled in MoonClan as well.
Tanoak
Description: an evergreen tree in the beech family with alternate, toothed leaves with a hard, leathery texture that persist for three or four years each. These leaves are initially covered in orange-brown scurfy hairs on either side, but these wear off over time. These trees produce acorns with a hard, woody nutshell similar to a hazelnut. In recent years, many of these trees have suddenly died of fungal infections.
Location: most common in EarthClan territory, with a few trees scattered across MoonClan.
White cedar
Description: a 30 to 50 foot tree that prefers partial shade and semi-damp soil. This tree is a slow-growing, upright evergreen that deer like to eat in the winter.
Location: grows primarily in MoonClan’s territory.
White oak
Description: a tall, majestic tree species with round-lobed leaves and patchy bark, that turns red in the autumn and sheds acorns.
Location: found throughout the clans, but is particularly common in northern EarthClan and southern MoonClan.
Yellow Poplar
Description: a large tree, rapidly growing tree with fleshy roots, dark brown furrowed bark, smooth branchlets, and bitter-smelling wood. The leaves are simple, alternate, and five or six inches long and wide. Each leaf has four lobes and are heart-shaped or truncate in shape. The flowers are greenish yellow and an inch or two long.
Location: found exclusively in EarthClan.
Shrubs
Black currant
Description: an unright shrub with palm-shaped leaves. In the spring, it forms green-yellow flowers that form dark blue berries in the fall. Grows four to eight feet in height.
Location: found in the dry, shady parts of MoonClan’s northern reaches.
Blackhaw
Description: a plant with creamy-white clusters of flowers in-may and a pink and edible black fruit in early fall. These plants can develop into a large shrub, left wild, or manicured into a small, informal tree.
Location: found in EarthClan and EclipseClan territory.
Buttonbush
Description: a five or six foot tall shrub with glossy foliage, creamy-white spherical flower clusters.
Location: thrives in damp soil and is therefore most common in EarthClan territory.
Chokecherry
Description: a six to eight feet tall shrub with white flowers in the spring followed by clusters of red berries and brilliant red leaves in the fall.
Location: found most commonly as an ornamental camp in EclipseClan territory.
Elderberry
Description: a five to eight foot tall shrub that thrives in partial shade and wet soil. It is a rounded shrub with large, round flower clusters in the summer and deep red berries in the fall.
Location: found throughout EarthClan’s territory.
Nannyberry
Description: a clonal shrub with upright stems, oval leaves, and rounded clusters of white blossoms that eventually form dark blue-purple berries. They prefer partial sun and wet soil.
Location: found in MoonClan and EarthClan territories.
Ninebark
Description: a six to nine foot tall shrub with pink-white flowers in the spring followed by red fruit that birds enjoy. The bark falls off on older stems. This is a hardy plant that grows well in full sun and barren soil.
Location: common along the EclipseClan-SunClan border.
Prairie rose
Description: a sprawling, thorny shrub that reaches a height of two to five feet and blossoms into thorned, pink flowers in the summer. It grows in dry ground and full sunlight.
Location: found around the Abandoned Barn in SunClan’s territory.
Spicebush
Description: a six to twelve foot tall rounded shrub that blooms in the spring and prefers to grow in wet soil with partial sunlight. The blossoms are pale yellow, while the ripe fruit are bright red.
Location: found most commonly in eastern EarthClan
Witch-hazel
Description: a flowering shrub with bright yellow flowers that bloom in late winter. Witch-hazel grows in a dense, multi-stemmed clump reaching heights of thirty feet and widths of twenty feet. The leaves are alternate, simple, broad, and oval-shaped with large, wavy teeth.
Location: this plant occurs naturally in MoonClan’s territory and is cultivated in EclipseClan’s.
Vines
American bittersweet
Description: a flowering vine that prefers well-drained woodland soil. It has a woody, twining stem with a thick base and yellow-green stems.
Location: a few vines grow in central MoonClan.
Crossvine
Description: a climbing, tendril-covered vine with long, tubular red and yellow flowers emitting a mocha-like fragrance. The leaves are dark green and arranged alternately.
Location: found throughout EarthClan’s territory and occasionally in EclipseClan gardens.
Dutchman’s pipe
Description: an evergreen, deciduous woody vine with a smooth, twining stem and heart-shaped, simple leaves growing on leaf stalks. These vines produce distinctive flowers with a strong, insect-attracting scent, with a long perianth tube, tongue-shaped lobe, and which is white and covered in maroon spots and stripes.
Location: occasionally found in the northwest corner of MoonClan.
Fox grape
Description: a long-lived, short growing vine with herbaceous stems. The grapes shrivel in cold weather and are a common winter food for squirrels and birds.
Location: found throughout EarthClan and MoonClan.
Greenbrier
Description: a thorned, climbing flowering vine with red, rubbery berries. They are very hardy, being resistant to cold, drought, and disturbance, but grow best in moist areas with basic soils.
Location: found throughout the clans, but most common in EarthClan.
Ground nut
Description: a vigorous, rapidly growing vine with fragrant, pink-brown flowers that emerge in midsummer. It produces tubers and beans that squirrels love to eat.
Location: found throughout EarthClan territory and occasionally in EclipseClan as a cultivated ground cover.
Honeysuckle
Description: an invasive of hardy twining climber with opposite leaves, thin, yellow flowers that produce sweet, edible nectar, and fibrous stems.
Location: found throughout EarthClan.
Maypop
Description: a fast-growing perennial vine with climbing or trailing stems, smooth stems, alternate three-lobed leaves, and flowers with five blue-white petals and a purple and white corona of fine appendages between the petals and stamens. The large flower is usually arranged in a ring above the petals and sepals.
Location: found most commonly in EarthClan, though can grow in MoonClan as well.
Trumpet creeper
Description: a vigorous, flowering, deciduous woody vine with beautiful trumpet-shaped pink and orange flowers. This vine prefers woodlands and riverbanks and grows best in partial shade.
Location: common in EarthClan or in EclipseClan gardens.
Virgin’s bower
Description: a perennial vine with white flowers that produce tufts of silky seeds in the fall. Prefers wet soil and plenty of sunlight.
Location: found growing on trees along the SunClan-EarthClan border.
Wisteria
Description: a climbing vine with twining stems, alternate and pinnate leaves with 10 to 20 leaflets. It can grow to great sizes (seventy feet tall and thirty feet wide) and has clumps of purple flowers in the spring.
Location: found throughout EarthClan.
Woodbine
Description: a flowering, deciduous grape climber that uses forked tendrils tipped with adhesive pads to reach 100 feet in length, sometimes growing straight upward along trees.
Location: found throughout EarthClan and MoonClan, but is particularly common in the northeastern portion of MoonClan.
Ferns
Bracken Fern
Description: a very widespread fern with large, triangular fronds that form dense thickets from a wide-creeping underground rootstock. The fronds can be eight feet long individually, but are more often two to five feet long.
Location: most commonly found in the well-drained portions of MoonClan.
Cinnamon fern
Description: a deciduous herbaceous plant that produces two types of fronds, one spreading with broad, pinate, deeply lobed leaves, and the other cinnamon-colored, short, and erect and spore-bearing.
Location: found most commonly in the swampy areas of EarthClan.
Interrupted fern
Description: a fern with bipinnate, broad fronds in which the blade is formed of alternate segments forming an arching blade, sloping to a pointed end. There are three to seven short, cinnamon-colored segments inserted into the middle of the fern.
Location: found in EarthClan and southern MoonClan.
Lady fern
Description: a bright green fern species with slender leaves, three-pinnate fronds, and a long, pale brown stripe with papery scales at the base.
Location: found throughout EarthClan and MoonClan.
Maidenhair fern
Description: a distinctive fern, with dark or black stripes, and bright green leaf tissue. They prefer fertile, moist soil, often near running water. The fronds are able to shed water without becoming wet.
Location: found growing on rocks along Snake Gorge.
Oak fern
Description: small, rounded ferns with a slender, creeping rhizome underground and thin, lightly hairy fronds.
Location: most common in the shady portions of MoonClan.
Ostrich fern
Description: a colony-forming fern with a vertical crown, deciduous green fronds with a tapered shape, and bright orange spores.
Location: common along the riverbank in central EarthClan.
Royal fern
Description: a blueish-green fern with three-foot long, bipinnate fronds. The leaves themselves are wide and short and unlike most ferns, royal fern does not form dense colonies.
Location: common in EarthClan.
Sensitive fern
Description: a fern that dies off easily in cold weather and has bright yellow-green sterile fronds that are deeply pinnatifid alongside smaller, brown, narrowly toothed fertile fronds with bead-like sori clustered on their tips.
Location: found in the most thickly treed portions of northern MoonClan.
Grasses and Sedges
Big bluestem
Description: a four to six foot tall clumping perennial warm-season grass twith an attractive green color. Grows in dry soil with full sun.
Location: one of the most common grasses in SunClan.
Bottlebrush grass
Description: a short-lived perennial grass with bottle-brush like seed heads. Grows up to five feet in height in sunny, well-drained soil.
Location: common in SunClan’s territory.
Indian grass
Description: a clumping, warm-season perennial grass whose leaves turn shades of yellow and orange in the fall. It flowers in the summer and can grow to six feet in height.
Location: common in SunClan’s territory.
Long-awned Wood grass
Description: a compact, clumped grass with short, broad leaves and slender spines of seeds. Prefers shade and mesic conditions. Grows only a foot or two high.
Location: common in the meadows of EarthClan.
Muskingum sedge
Description: a short grass with fine, deep-green blades on upright stems that line into three rows. This sedge sometimes spreads to form a thick patch.
Location: grows in the wet, shady portions of EarthClan’s territory.
Prairie dropseed
Description: a clump-forming perennial grass with fine leaf blades that grows to only one or two feet in height. Prefers full sun and dry soil.
Location: common in SunClan’s territory.
Prairie sedge
Description: a clumped perennial grass with fine blades that grows to a height of two or three feet. Prefers sunlight and dry soil.
Location: most commonly found in SunClan’s territory, though it can be found in the other clans where sunlight is plentiful and the soil is dry.
Quill sedge
Description: a clumping sedge with thin, dark green leaves and several upright stems that are topped with alternating oval seed-heads. Grows to two feet in height and flowers in the summer.
Location: grows in the sunny meadows of EarthClan’s territory.
Switchgrass
Description: a summer grass that grows in clumps of arching leaves that produce airy seed heads in the late summer. In fall, the plant turns yellow and dies.
Location: common in SunClan.
Tumble grass
Description: a compact, clumping grass with airy seed heads that create a purple haze in the fall.
Location: common in SunClan.
Wildflowers
Arrow-leaved aster
Description: a three to five foot tall plant with a central upright stem, clusters of small white flowers, and arrow-shaped leaves. Flowers in the fall and prefers light shade and dry soil.
Location: found along MoonClan’s northern border.
Bellflower
Description: a three to five foot tall plant that blooms small blue flowers in late summer. Has branching stems and prefers shade and wet soil.
Location: found in southeastern EarthClan.
Black-eyed susan
Description: a short-lived perennial flower that tblooms throughout the summer and into the fall. The petals are long, narrow and bright yellow in color, with a black coneflower-like center.
Location: common in EclipseClan gardens and in SunClan.
Blazing star
Description: a plant with several upright stems with narrow leaves and dense pink flower spikes that grows from a long-lived root bulb. Prefers wet soil and full sunlight.
Location: grows primarily in the wet meadows of EarthClan.
Cardinal flower
Description: a compact plant with several upright stems that form spikes of red flowers in the fall or late summer. Grows to two or four feet in height and prefers partial sun and damp soil.
Location: grows along the northwestern section of EarthClan’s territory.
Columbine
Description: a two to three foot plant with red-orange flowers that is tolerant of a wide variety of habitats. It is short lived and perennial.
Location: found throughout the territories.
Common spiderwort
Description: grows in compact patches of grey-green sword-shaped leaves. The blossoms are short lived and bloom in the morning, only to fade by afternoon. The flowers themselves have three petals and vary in color from pink-purple to deep blue.
Location: grows primarily in The Burnt Woods.
False nettle
Description: an upright perennial with spikes of small, green flowers hidden amongst its upper leaves. It does not sting and is a host plant for a variety of butterflies. This plant grows to three feet in height and prefers shade and wet soil.
Location: found in EarthClan’s territory.
Giant hyssop
Description: a large upright plant with broad leaves that produces spikes of white-pink flowers in late summer. Prefers light shade and mesic moisture conditions and can grow to four or six feet in height.
Location: found in the meadows of EarthClan.
Golden alexanders
Description: an upright, loosely branched perennial with divided leaves that are topped with clusters of yellow flowers in the spring. Grows to two to four feet in height and prefers wet soil and light shade.
Location: grows in the meadows of western EarthClan.
Goldenrod
Description: a five foot tall flower with upright reddish stems and shiny, narrow leaves. The flowers are small and crown the tops of the stems.
Location: grows throughout SunClan and along the sides of thunderpaths.
Hairy beardtongue
Description: a perennial root that produces a compact cluster of upright stems. In the spring it forums drooping, cone-shaped purple-pink flowers in groups of two or three along its central stem.
Location: found throughout SunClan’s territory in the spring.
Heart-leaved aster
Description: a two or three foot tall plant with heart-shaped leaves on upright, red-tinted stems that branch into numerous flowers in late fall. Prefers light shade and dry soil.
Location: found in eastern MoonClan.
Ironweed
Description: a upright perennial with purple blossoms that later turn into fluffy bronze seeds. Flowers in the late summer and can reach a height of four to sex feet.
Location: grows in the sunny, wet portions in the south of EarthClan.
Monkey-flower
Description: a weak stemmed perennial that grows pale purple blossoms in the late summer. It reaches a height of two to four feet.
Location: common along the EarthClan-SunClan border.
Mountain mint
Description: a two to four foot tall plant with upright stems and minty-smelling, narrow, and small leaves. Creates clumps of white flowers in the mid summer.
Location: grows along the EarthClan-SunClan border and throughout the Burnt Woods.
Sand coreopsis
Description: a compact perennial with narrow, lance-shaped leaves. They have a long, narrow stem leading to a bright yellow flower with fringed petals. PRefer sunlight and dry soil.
Location: common in SunClan and along thunderpaths.
Solomon-seal
Description: a long-lived, tuberous perennial that forms a patch of arching stems. The white flowers hang beneath the leaves in spring and produce dark blue berries in the fall.
Location: grows in central MoonClan.
Spikenard
Description: a wide, bushy plant with small white flowers that produces clusters of red berries in the fall. Preferse shade and damp soil.
Location: found throughout western EarthClan.
Sundrops
Description: a two foot tall plant with dense clusters of upright stems that grow from a central root. The four-petaled, delicate, yellow flowers open in the sun.
Location: grows throughout SunClan.
Swamp buttercup
Description: a small, spreading perennial with three-parted leaves and shiny yellow blossoms in the spring.
Location: grows in the shady undergrowth of EarthClan.
Swamp milkweed
Description: a bright plant with clustered pink flowers that attracts butterflies and other pollinators. Prefers sun and moist soil.
Location: found in the meadows of EarthClan.
Sweet-flag
Description: a short plant with narrow, sword-shaped fragrent leaves that blooms in the summer.
Location: most common along the SunClan-EarthClan border, but grows anywhere with full sun and wet soil.
Tall agrimony
Description: a two to four foot tall plant with perennial roots that produce a few upright stems with thick foliage and spikes of small yellow flowers in the summer.
Location: found in the shady, damp portions of EarthClan and MoonClan.
Tall meadow-rue
Description: a herbaceous perennial with upright stems and delicate, divided leaves and an airy plume of white flowers. Grows three to six feet tall and flowers in late spring or early summer.
Location: common in EarthClan meadows, though occasionally grows along the EarthClan-MoonClan border as well.
Wild senna
Description: an upright perennial with clusters of yellow flowers that develop into clusters of black bean pods in the summer. Grows to six feet in height and prefers partial shade and wet conditions.
Location: grows along the MoonClan-EarthClan border.
Wild strawberry
Description: a small ground cover with soft, hairy white flowers growing on stalks that raise them above the light-green trifoliate, toothed leaves. In the summer these plants grow small, bright red, sweet strawberries.
Location: common in EarthClan’s territory, though they can occasionally be found in MoonClan and SunClan.
Mosses and Liverworts
Carpet Moss
Description: a large plant that grows in dense cushions along rocks and forest floor. The stems are dark red-brown and hairy below, and yellow-green and sleek above.
Location: grows in many patches along the river in EarthClan’s territory.
Curled Leaf Moss
Description: a clumping, dark green moss with straight leaves that curl and twist when dry. Grows on tree trunks, usually starting several feet above the base.
Location: common in EarthClan and in the southern portions of MoonClan.
Feather Flat Moss
Description: a moss with rippled leaves, flat branches, with elliptical short-pointed leaves that twist to extend forward on two sides of the stem. This moss grows on trees and rocks, with the leaves standing out in a shelf-like manner.
Location: found throughout the old growth portions of northern MoonClan.
Fork Moss
Description: a robust plant with green tufts, with dense white or tan tomentum. The leaves themselves are spreading, undulate, flexible, and strongly keeled, while the upper leaf margins are sharply serrated.
Location: found throughout MoonClan and EarthClan.
Four Tooth Moss
Description: a moss with short tufts of dark green unbranched plants. In the spring, gemmae grow in leafy cups at the top of each stem that resemble small bird nests.
Location: found on decomposing logs throughout EarthClan.
Frilly liverwort
Description: a dense, firmly attached yellow-green plant with occasional reddish brown patches. This plant often grows over rock or along tree bases.
Location: grows along Snake Gorge and MoonClan’s western border.
Jagged notchwort
Description: a frilly, white-green plant with two to four uneven lobes with an irregular arrangement and toothed margin. Grows on decaying logs and rich, moist soil.
Location: common in EarthClan’s territory.
Juniper Hairy Cap Moss
Description: a blue-green moss that grows in short tufts. This moss is unusual in that it prefers open, dry soil.
Location: commonly found in the city and along roadsides.
Knight’s plume
Description: a golden plant growing in short mats with symmetrical branches that resemble feathers. The branch and stem leaves are short, pleated, and egg-shaped.
Location: occurs at the edge of forested areas, such as the EarthClan-SunClan border.
Shaggy sphagnum
Description: a bright green plant growing in loose carpets with green to red-brown stems. The leaf tips bend at right angles to the stem, which gives the plant an unusual, bristly appearance.
Location: found in the swamp-like portions of southern EarthClan.
Tree-ruffle liverwort
Description: a five to ten inch long plant that is dark green, shiny, and has branched stems and flattened, closely-overlapping upper leaves.
Location: grows on the rocks around Snake Gorge.
White-tipped Moss
Description: a robust, rigid plant growing in thick mats with crowded leaves that grow in rows.
Location: found in the sunny meadows of EarthClan.
White-toothed peatmoss
Description: a plant growing in loose mats of green, robust mats with large, flat-topped, star-shaped heads. The stems are green to brown and wiry, that make an audible “snapping” sound when bent. The steam leaves are shaped like toothed triangles.
Location: occurs at the edge of forested areas, such as the EarthClan-SunClan border.
Fungi and lichens
Apple scab
Description: a disease of small, deciduous apple trees and shrubs that manifests as dull black or grey-brown lesions on the surface of tree leaves, buds, and fruits. Occasionally these lesions also appear on the woody tissues of the tree.
Location: found on apple trees throughout the clans, but most commonly in EclipseClan territory.
Aspen bolete
Description: A nontoxic, medium mushroom with a red-brow cap and blue-grey flesh. The stalk is characterized by brown-black scabers.
Location: grows throughout the wet, shady parts of EarthClan and occasionally in the southern portions of MoonClan.
Bear’s Head Tooth
Description: An unusual fungus with branches of snow-white spins that droop down and bear the spores of the fungus with their outer surface. These spines darken to yellow or brown with age.
Location: found on decaying hardwood logs, which makes it most common in MoonClan and EarthClan territories.
Birch polypore
Description: a circular, shelf-like mushroom with white to brown coloration. Fruits annually and causes a brow wood rot common in dead birch treads.
Location: found on dead trees throughout the territories.
Black knot
Description: a plant pathogen that affects fruit trees, producing a rough, black growth that encircles and kills infested parts. Usually occurs along the twigs and branches and promotes insect infestations.
Location: grows on cherry, plum, apricot, and chokecherry trees across the territories.
Club coral
Description: A club-shaped, smooth mushroom with orange-yellow coloring. It fruits only in the summer and fall, when it decays pine litter.
Location: common in MoonClan
Concolor lemon lichen
Description: a smooth, bright yellow lichen that grows in relatively dry areas.
Location: found in SunClan’s territory.
Elegant Sunburst Lichen
Description: a lichen species with bright red-orange pigmentation that grows on rocks, particularly near rodent or bird perches. Grows in a circular pattern.
Location: found primarily in MoonClan’s territory, though occasionally also find in EarthClan.
Fly agaric
Description: a large mushroom with a yellow or orange cap, white scales, and white gills that are free from their stalk. Often have two or three scaly rings on the stalk above their bulbous base. These mushrooms are mildly poisonous, fruit in the summer and fall, and grow in rings.
Location: grows throughout the wet parts of EarthClan and occasionally in the southern portions of MoonClan.
Honey mushroom
Description: A short, squat mushroom with a tan cap, prominent rings on their stem, and a white spore print. These mushrooms are capable of killing trees- particularly stressed trees.
Location: found throughout the trees of the clans territories, but most commonly found along thunderpaths or other disturbed areas.
Larch suillus
Description: A brightly-colored mushroom with a dark-red brown cap covered in dense hair. The underside of the cap is a pale yellow with tubes radiating out from a hollow stem.
Location: rarely found only in the swamp-like parts of EarthClan’s territory.
Milky caps
Description: a wide, round mushroom with a depressed cap. When the gills are cut, it elutes a latex-like material that is somewhat toxic.
Location: occasionally found on trees in EarthClan’s territory.
Morel
Description: An unusual mushroom with a cap shaped like an inverted pine cone, covered in ridges and deep pits. The mushroom is cream-grey in color, with a hollow, white stem. Fruits for only two to three weeks in the spring.
Location: found only on the ground surrounded by the hardwood species of MoonClan, such aspen and pine.
Pine needle cast
Description: a fungal disease that infects pine trees. It can quickly kill its hosts and is characterized by a browning of needles, but these symptoms are also caused by a variety of tree rots, poor nutrition, or low soil pH.
Location: found primarily along the EarthClan-MoonClan border.
Stellaris rosette lichen
Description: a pale grey lichen that grows in irregular shapes and is darker in the center.
Location: found primarily in MoonClan’s territory.
Sulfur shelf
Description: a fungus that grows in multiple clusters of yellow-orange shelves that grow on wood. It is soft and fleshy when its young, then turns harder when it matures. This fungus causes a rot of living and head trees, both hardwood and conifer. It particularly favors red oaks.
Location: Rarely found throughout the territories.
White rust
Description: a fungal disease affecting plants in the mushroom family, characterized by a white fuzz over their leaves.
Location: found along the SunClan-EarthClan territory.
Aquatic Plants
Arrowhead
Description: an emergent plant reaching four feet in height that has distinctive arrowhead shapeed leaves, three-petaled white flowers, and a leafless stem. It grows thick blue-white tubers that form at the end of their underground roots.
Location: occasionally found in the eastern portions of the river.
Bladderwort
Description: a rare plant with branched leaflets and bladder-like structures that trap aquatic invertebrates. These are large and dark in color.
Location: occasionally found in the northern portion of the river.
Bulrush
Description: a tall, slender plant that can grow to ten feet tall outside of the water. The stems are grass-like and triangular, with clusters of brown flowers at the end of each stem.
Location: found at the southern edge of the SunClan-EarthClan border.
Cattail
Description: an emergent plant with dark green, sword-like leaves that are three or four feet tall and cylindrical flower spikes at the top of the plant.
Location: found along the shore of the river along the EarthClan-SunClan border.
Coontail
Description: a rootless submerged plant with whorls of leaves around the stem. The leaflets are forked, while the plant itself is long and bushy, particularly toward the tips of branches.
Location: found near the Sunwarm Rocks.
Duckweed
Description: a floating plant with tiny, clustered leaves that from a distance resembles algae on the water surface.
Location: coats the surface of the pond in EclipseClan’s territory.
Eelgrass
Description: a grass-like plant with roots buried in the muddy bottoms of the river, with long leaves that emerge from a single cluster and appear transparent aside from linear veins. The stem system connects tufts or clusters of leaves, while flower stalks spiral toward the surface of the water with delicate white flowers on each tip.
Location: found primarily in the southern, slow moving portions of the river.
Elodea
Description: a branched, submerged plant with lance-shaped leaves attached directly to the stem. Each whorl consists of two or three leaves with smooth edges and a smooth leaf vein. The whorls are densely compacted at the tips of each branch.
Location: commonly found throughout the river.
Giant reed
Description: a highly invasive grass that can grow up to sixteen feet, with long strap-like leaves and spikelets of brown flowers. It can form thick stands in which no other plants can grow.
Location: found near the bridge crossing the eastern MoonClan-EarthClan border.
Large-leaf pondweed
Description: a floating pondweed with small, oval leaves at the surface. The submerged leaves are wide, wavy, and up to three inches wide. These plants are rarely branched.
Location: found in a patch near EarthClan’s camp.
Loosestrife
Description: a three to seven foot tall invasive plant with a woody crown root, ribbed stems, downy leaves with smooth edges, and spikes of pink-purple flowers. They form dense stands that can crowd out native plants.
Location: occasionally found at the EarthClan-SunClan border.
Muskgrass
Description: an advanced algae with a musky odor and gritty texture that grows in dense mats.
Location: slow-moving portions of the river to the south of EarthClan’s territory.
Pickerelweed
Description: a two to four foot tall emergent plant with large, glossy heart-shaped leaves and the spike of blue flowers located at the top of its leafless stem.
Location: found along the southeastern segments of the river in EarthClan’s territory.
Sago pondweed
Description: a frilled plant with long, needle-like leaves arranged alternately on the stem. These leaves form dense clumps on branches and each branch may fork several times into a fan-like appearance. Flower stalks may be submerged or floating on the water surface, with the flowers and fruit arranged in small whorls.
Location: found near The Great Willow.
Slender naiad
Description: a finely branched plant with tapered, serrated leaves that meet in nodes at the base of the leaf whorls.
Location: found primarily in the southern, slow moving portions of the river.
Spatterdock
Description: a water lily with thick, fleshy stems that end in large, floating leaves or pads. The lilies themselves are white, with many rounded petals.
Location: found throughout EarthClan’s territory.
Starry stonewort
Description: a bright green plant with a star-shaped rhizoid, an irregular branching pattern, and smooth filaments. This plant often grows in thick enough mats to outcompete other vegetation.
Location: found primarily in the southern portion of the EarthClan-SunClan border.
Water stargrass
Description: a branched plant with a prominent midvein, narrow and slender leaves that alternate freely on the branching stem, and an individual star-shaped yellow flower.
Location: found along the MoonClan-EarthClan border.
Watermilfoil
Description: a submerged plant with a protruding flower stalk and leaves arranged in whorls around the stem. The leaflets are unforked and arranged in a feather-like pattern, with each leaf having five to ten leaflet pairs. Spacing between these whorls varies such that the plants may appear long and sparse or bushy.
Location: found in patches throughout the river.
Sources
http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-10370_12145---,00.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_threatened_fauna_of_Michigan
http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-10370_12145_12201-35089--,00.html
http://www.nativeplant.com/plants/search/input
http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-10370_22664-61596--,00.html
http://www.oldnaturalist.com/deciduous-trees/
http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/native_plants_for_michigan_landscapes_shrubs
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/deq/wrd-anc-CommonPlant_408518_7.pdf
http://www.ncwildflower.org/native_plants/recommendations
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/h/herb4ic
https://www.na.fs.fed.us/stewardship/pubs/biodiversity/mosses/moss%20article%20web%20access.pdf
https://www.researchgate.net/file.PostFileLoader.html?id=587a2a00cbd5c2f6b67dcad3&assetKey=AS%3A450425229975555%401484401151842
http://www.herbarium.msu.edu/MI_Lichen-Checklist.html
http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-30301_69181---,00.html
https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsbdev3_069239.pdf
http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-Midwest/Detroit-Geography-and-Climate.html
http://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=dtx
http://www.rssweather.com/climate/Michigan/Detroit/
http://www.interactivehailmaps.com/local-hail-map/detroit-mi/