Over 1,058 plant species have been identified in the reserve, accounting for nearly 40% of all native plant species in Lebanon, though the reserve represents less than 0.1% of the total area of Lebanon.[4] The forests form an assemblage of conifers, deciduous, and evergreen broadleaf trees in an isolated climatic phytochorion with a varied topography.
Flora
1,020 species of native plants and 39 species of native trees have been identified. Seventy species use "Lebanon" in their names, such as Cedrus libani, Salix libanii, and Berberis libanotica. Twenty-two other species carry names significant to Lebanon, such as Dianthus karami (after Youssef Bey Karam, a 19th-century national figure), and Astragalus ehdenensis (after the village of Ehden). A total of 212 (20%) species are rare and another 126 (12%) are considered threatened; 115 are endemic to Lebanon, and ten are endemic to Horsh Ehden. Seventy-eight species are recognized as medicinal plants. The reserve is also considered the southernmost limit to Cilician fir (Abies cilicica).
Plant communities
The forest plant communities of highest conservation importance are:
Greek juniper (Juniperus excelsa), which is a gene pool for possible reforestation projects at higher altitudes, including the peaks of Mount Lebanon above 2000 m.
13 species are globally threatened, one species is locally threatened and highly endangered (the gray wolf, Canis lupus), and one species is endemic to the reserve (the lesser white-toothed shrew, Crocidura suaveolens).
The reserve has different birds habitats. Four of the identified bird species are globally threatened, five are regionally vulnerable, eighteen face unfavorable conditions in Europe, and fifty-seven are rare in Lebanon.
There are four species of amphibians and nineteen species of reptiles. One species (Mediterranean chameleon, Chamaeleo chamaeleon) is globally threatened, one subspecies is unique, and nineteen species are threatened in Lebanon.
^"Horsh Ehden: About the Reserve". Nature reserve virtual tours. Association of tarvel {sic} and tourist agents in Lebanon. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
