Flora
Ice Mountain's ice vents provide a habitat for boreal species of plants commonly found in Subarctic regions. The ecosystem exhibits a combination of Appalachian, Canadian, and Subarctic species in a humid subtropical climate. Northern boreal species have survived at Ice Mountain since the last glacial period and became isolated over time as temperatures warmed and relegated the boreal species to the Subarctic regions of North America. The cool air expulsed by the ice vents allowed boreal species to remain at Ice Mountain. Ice Mountain's boreal species are not only unique because of their isolated location, but also because of their elevation. Boreal species are typically found at elevations 4,000 feet (1,200 m) above mean sea level, but species at Ice Mountain survive at heights around 700 feet (210 m) above mean sea level.
Boreal species at Ice Mountain include Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis), Appalachian wood fern (Gymnocarpium appalachianum), Canada mayflower (Maianthemum canadense), Minniebush (Menziesia pilosa), Mountain maple (Acer spicatum), Nannyberry (Viburnum lentago), Northern bedstraw (Galium boreale), Prickly gooseberry (Ribes cynosbati), Prickly rose (Rosa acicularis), Purple virgin's bower (Clematis occidentalis), Shale barren primrose (Oenothera argillicola), Skunk currant (Ribes glandulosum), Starflower (Trientalis borealis), and Twinflower (Linnaea borealis). Eastern Hemlocks (Tsuga canadensis) provide shade to and cool the mountain's ice vents.
The Appalachian wood fern, which grows on moss, was once thought to have been extinct, but is found in abundance near the cold vents at the base of Ice Mountain.
Parts of Ice Mountain are barren, but the majority of the ridge is covered in mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia), Sweet birch (Betula lenta), and Virginia pine (Pinus virginiana). Old growth species include Chestnut oak (Quercus prinus), Sweet birch (Betula lenta), and Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus). Ice Mountain's tree canopy also consists of Sugar maple (Acer saccharum), American tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), Shagbark hickory (Carya ovata), Eastern black oak (Quercus velutina), Black gum (Nyssa sylvatica), American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis), Black cherry (Prunus serotina), Linden (Tilia americana), White ash (Fraxinus americana), and Black walnut (Juglans nigra).
West Virginia's state flower, Rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum), grows in thick clusters along the lower mountainside of Ice Mountain.
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“A man’s interest in a single bluebird is worth more than a complete but dry list of the fauna and flora of a town.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)