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The current interest among resource managers in ecosystem management necessitates a better understanding of the response of plant species diversity to forest management practices. This study attempted to assess the effects of one forest management practice–clear‐cutting–on plant biodiversity in a mid‐Appalachian hardwood forest by comparing species composition and diversity between two young (≈ 20 yr following clear‐cutting) and two mature (> 70 yr following selective cutting) watersheds. Sampling was confined to the herbaceous layer (vascular plants ≤ 1‐m in height) and woody overstory (stems ≥ 2.5 cm diameter at 1.5‐m height). The important tree species occurred on all watersheds, but the relative importance of these species varied greatly with stand age. Less shade‐tolerant species, such as black cherry (Prunus serotina) and tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), are replaced by more‐tolerant …