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.
- Ring-necked DuckAythya collaris
- Virginia RailRallus limicola
- White IbisEudocimus albus
- Wilson's SnipeGallinago delicata
- Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
- Savannah SparrowPasserculus sandwichensis
- Cliff SwallowPetrochelidon pyrrhonota
- Northern Rough-winged SwallowStelgidopteryx serripennis
- Tree SwallowTachycineta bicolor
- Horned GrebePodiceps auritus
- Eastern PhoebeSayornis phoebe
- Northern ShovelerAnas clypeata
- Snowy EgretEgretta thula
- Swamp SparrowMelospiza georgiana
- SoraPorzana carolina
- American WoodcockScolopax minor
- MallardAnas platyrhynchos
- Black-throated Green WarblerDendroica virens
- Indigo BuntingPasserina cyanea
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.



















































