Abstract 



Plum Island is an eight mile long (12.8 km) barrier 

 island located at the southern tip of the Gulf of Maine in 

 Essex County, Massachusetts. It covers approximately 3,644 

 acres (1,475 ha) including such varied habitats as sand 

 dunes, salt and fresh water marshes, and uplands. The 

 northern third of the island is densely populated with many 

 private homes and cottages. The southern two-thirds of the 

 island is included in the Parker River National Wildlife 

 Refuge and a Massachusetts State Park. This is one of the 

 largest semi-natural barrier beach dune systems north of 

 Cape Cod. The relatively undisturbed southern portion of 

 the island exhibits the classical physiographic features and 

 vegetation zones of a barrier beach dune system. An 

 annotated list of vascular plants was produced from plant 

 collections made by the author during 1977 through the 

 spring of 1979, herbarium records, and literature sources. 

 Some 514 taxa have been recorded as occurring on the island. 



KEY WORDS: barrier beach, sand dunes, flora. Plum Island, 

 coastal vegetation. 



