Habitat in North Carolina
Coastal dunes and beaches
Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them. Schafale
- Plants
- 132
- Birds
- 161

Plants
Plants that grow wild in this habitat in North Carolina. Not a planting list.
Most characteristic plants of this habitat 132
Natives first, plants found in fewer other habitats first.
- Naked Golden-asterChrysopsis trichophylla
- Hairypod CowpeaVigna luteola
- Velvetleaf MilkweedAsclepias tomentosa
- KnotgrassPaspalum distichum
- Marsh Straw SedgeCarex hormathodes
- Trailing Fuzzy-beanStrophostyles helvola
- Wild PoinsettiaEuphorbia cyathophora
- Lanceleaf SeedboxLudwigia lanceolata
- Dune SandspurCenchrus tribuloides
- St. Augustine GrassStenotaphrum secundatum
- Giant BristlegrassSetaria magna
- Four-angle FlatsedgeCyperus tetragonus
- Creeping SpikerushEleocharis fallax
- White SpikerushEleocharis albida
- Seashore DropseedSporobolus virginicus
- Georgia FrostweedCrocanthemum georgianum
- Shoreline Sea-purslaneSesuvium portulacastrum
- Slender Sea-purslaneSesuvium maritimum
- Dune HairgrassMuhlenbergia sericea
- Hairy PinweedLechea mucronata
- Woodland Ladies'-tressesSpiranthes sylvatica
- Seaside Three-awnAristida tuberculosa
- Ware's HairsedgeBulbostylis warei
- White ScrewstemBartonia verna
- Southern HorseweedErigeron pusillus
- SilverlingBaccharis glomeruliflora
- Swamp CottonwoodPopulus heterophylla
- Maritime PokeweedPhytolacca rigida
- Winged SeedboxLudwigia alata
- Coastal Virgin's-bowerClematis catesbyana
- Illinois PondweedPotamogeton illinoensis
- Bighead RushJuncus megacephalus
- Starrush Whitetop SedgeRhynchospora colorata
- Fragrant Rabbit-tobaccoPseudognaphalium obtusifolium
- American CupscaleSacciolepis striata
- Carolina Mosquito-fernAzolla caroliniana
- Yellow ScrewstemBartonia virginica
- Late-flowering ThoroughwortEupatorium serotinum
- Globefruit SeedboxLudwigia sphaerocarpa
- Shaggy CrabgrassDigitaria villosa
- American Halfchaff SedgeCyperus neotropicalis
- Le Conte's FlatsedgeCyperus lecontei
- Gulf Coast SpikerushEleocharis cellulosa
- Juniper-leafPolypremum procumbens
- Standing-cypressIpomopsis rubra
- Lanceleaf VioletViola lanceolata
- MuscadineMuscadinia rotundifolia
- Common YuccaYucca filamentosa
Wildlife
Animals whose habitat model includes this habitat in North Carolina. Shared habitat, not food.
Most characteristic birds of this habitat 115
Ranked by how much of their habitat model this habitat is.
- DovekieAlle alle
- Horned LarkEremophila alpestris
- Marbled GodwitLimosa fedoa
- Short-billed DowitcherLimnodromus griseus
- Wilson's PloverCharadrius wilsonia
- Great Black-backed GullLarus marinus
- Purple SandpiperCalidris maritima
- Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed SparrowAmmodramus caudacutus
- Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensis
- Seaside SparrowAmmodramus maritimus
- Wilson's WarblerWilsonia pusilla
- Field SparrowSpizella pusilla
- American OystercatcherHaematopus palliatus
- Black SkimmerRynchops niger
- Black-bellied PloverPluvialis squatarola
- Brown PelicanPelecanus occidentalis
- Common TernSterna hirundo
- Eastern Brown PelicanPelecanus occidentalis carolinensis
- Lapland LongspurCalcarius lapponicus
- Le Conte's SparrowAmmodramus leconteii
- Long-billed DowitcherLimnodromus scolopaceus
- Purple MartinProgne subis
- Red KnotCalidris canutus
- Rock PigeonColumba livia
- Royal TernThalasseus maximus
- SanderlingCalidris alba
- Western SandpiperCalidris mauri
- WilletTringa semipalmata
- BrantBranta bernicla
- Piping PloverCharadrius melodus
- American White PelicanPelecanus erythrorhynchos
- Gull-billed TernGelochelidon nilotica
- KilldeerCharadrius vociferus
- Laughing GullLeucophaeus atricilla
- Nelson's Sharp-tailed SparrowAmmodramus nelsoni
- Yellow RailCoturnicops noveboracensis
- Ring-necked PheasantPhasianus colchicus
- Barn SwallowHirundo rustica
- Black RailLaterallus jamaicensis
- Blue-winged TealAnas discors
- Brewer's BlackbirdEuphagus cyanocephalus
- Common LoonGavia immer
- Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreus
- Least TernSternula antillarum
- Loggerhead ShrikeLanius ludovicianus
- Long-billed CurlewNumenius americanus
- Red-necked GrebePodiceps grisegena
- Red-throated LoonGavia stellata
Widespread birds also seen here (46)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- American Black Duck
- American Crow
- American Kestrel
- Bald Eagle
- Bank Swallow
- Belted Kingfisher
- Black Vulture
- Black-crowned Night-heron
- Canada Goose
- Chimney Swift
- Chipping Sparrow
- Common Grackle
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Raven
- Common Yellowthroat
- Cooper's Hawk
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Screech-owl
- Eastern Towhee
- Eurasian Collared-dove
- European Starling
- Fish Crow
- Great Blue Heron
- Great Egret
- Great Horned Owl
- Green Heron
- Hooded Merganser
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Osprey
- Pine Siskin
- Purple Finch
- Red-shouldered Hawk
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Rusty Blackbird
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Song Sparrow
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Turkey Vulture
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-crowned Night-heron
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Sources
- Schafale, Guide to the Natural Communities of North Carolina, Fourth Approximation (NC Natural Heritage Program, 2012) habitat description
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition, habitat text phone app
- NC Parks species accounts
- USDA Forest Service Fire Effects Information System (reviewed notes)
- USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models (2001)
- USGS Gap Analysis Project range maps (2001)
- NatureServe Explorer ecological systems (CC BY 4.0)
- Core Banks dunes, June 2013, Jarek Tuszyński habitat picture
Habitat classes are filed under these habitat types by reviewed matches; descriptions are short glosses.















































































