Habitat in North Carolina
Rich cove forests
Sheltered, moist mountain hollows and lower slopes with deep, fertile soil. Schafale
- Plants
- 85
- Birds
- 104

Plants
Plants that grow wild in this habitat in North Carolina. Not a planting list.
Most characteristic plants of this habitat 85
Natives first, plants found in fewer other habitats first.
- Broadleaf SedgeCarex platyphylla
- Fraser's SedgeCarex fraseriana
- Purple SedgeCarex purpurifera
- Radford's SedgeCarex radfordii
- White Bear SedgeCarex albursina
- Fernleaf PhaceliaPhacelia bipinnatifida
- Mountain BugbaneActaea podocarpa
- White BaneberryActaea pachypoda
- Drooping TrilliumTrillium flexipes
- Yellow TrilliumTrillium luteum
- Large-flowered BellwortUvularia grandiflora
- Appalachian Joe-pye-weedEutrochium steelei
- Roundleaf Yellow VioletViola rotundifolia
- Canada VioletViola canadensis
- White AshFraxinus americana
- Yellow BuckeyeAesculus flava
- Red RampsAllium tricoccum
- Tennessee StarwortStellaria corei
- Plantainleaf SedgeCarex plantaginea
- Manhart's SedgeCarex manhartii
- Pretty SedgeCarex woodii
- Tarheel SedgeCarex austrocaroliniana
- Allegheny Mountain ButtercupRanunculus allegheniensis
- Canada HorsebalmCollinsonia canadensis
- Black CohoshActaea racemosa
- Intermediate Wood-fernDryopteris intermedia
- Large-flowered TrilliumTrillium grandiflorum
- Pale Yellow TrilliumTrillium discolor
- Barksdale TrilliumTrillium sulcatum
- Hairy Sweet-cicelyOsmorhiza claytonii
- Sweet White TrilliumTrillium simile
- Vasey's TrilliumTrillium vaseyi
- Largeleaf WaterleafHydrophyllum macrophyllum
- White MonkshoodAconitum reclinatum
- Appalachian WaterleafHydrophyllum atranthum
- Silvery SpleenwortDeparia acrostichoides
- PipevineIsotrema macrophyllum
- Largefruit Black-snakerootSanicula trifoliata
- Dutchman's BreechesDicentra cucullaria
- Squirrel CornDicentra canadensis
- Rattlesnake FernBotrypus virginianus
- Yellow MandarinProsartes lanuginosa
- Spotted MandarinProsartes maculata
- Black MapleAcer nigrum
- Wild GeraniumGeranium maculatum
- Halberd-leaf Yellow VioletViola hastata
- Long-spurred VioletViola rostrata
- Slippery ElmUlmus rubra
Wildlife
Animals whose habitat model includes this habitat in North Carolina. Shared habitat, not food.
Most characteristic birds of this habitat 33
Ranked by how much of their habitat model this habitat is.
- Blackburnian WarblerDendroica fusca
- Canada WarblerWilsonia canadensis
- Black-throated Blue WarblerDendroica caerulescens
- Cerulean WarblerDendroica cerulea
- White-breasted NuthatchSitta carolinensis
- Black-throated Green WarblerDendroica virens
- Evening GrosbeakCoccothraustes vespertinus
- Kentucky WarblerOporornis formosus
- Northern Saw-whet OwlAegolius acadicus
- Scarlet TanagerPiranga olivacea
- Summer TanagerPiranga rubra
- Worm-eating WarblerHelmitheros vermivorum
- Chuck-will's-widowCaprimulgus carolinensis
- Golden-winged WarblerVermivora chrysoptera
- Magnolia WarblerDendroica magnolia
- Black-capped ChickadeePoecile atricapillus
- Ruffed GrouseBonasa umbellus
- Long-eared OwlAsio otus
- Mississippi KiteIctinia mississippiensis
- Least FlycatcherEmpidonax minimus
- Black-billed CuckooCoccyzus erythropthalmus
- Baltimore OrioleIcterus galbula
- Hooded WarblerWilsonia citrina
- Barred OwlStrix varia
- Rose-breasted GrosbeakPheucticus ludovicianus
- Wood ThrushHylocichla mustelina
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
- Alder FlycatcherEmpidonax alnorum
- Eastern BluebirdSialia sialis
- Blue-headed VireoVireo solitarius
- OvenbirdSeiurus aurocapilla
- Red-headed WoodpeckerMelanerpes erythrocephalus
- American WoodcockScolopax minor
Near water in this habitat 6
These use it only close to water, such as stream banks for nesting.
- Louisiana WaterthrushSeiurus motacilla
- Broad-winged HawkButeo platypterus
- Northern ParulaParula americana
- Swainson's WarblerLimnothlypis swainsonii
- Acadian FlycatcherEmpidonax virescens
- VeeryCatharus fuscescens
Widespread birds also seen here (65)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- American Crow
- American Goldfinch
- American Kestrel
- American Redstart
- American Robin
- Bald Eagle
- Belted Kingfisher
- Black Vulture
- Black-and-White Warbler
- Blue Grosbeak
- Blue Jay
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Brown Creeper
- Brown Thrasher
- Carolina Chickadee
- Carolina Wren
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chestnut-sided Warbler
- Chimney Swift
- Chipping Sparrow
- Common Grackle
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Raven
- Common Yellowthroat
- Cooper's Hawk
- Dark-eyed Junco
- Downy Woodpecker
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Screech-owl
- Eastern Towhee
- Eastern Wood-pewee
- European Starling
- Fox Sparrow
- Golden-crowned Kinglet
- Gray Catbird
- Great Crested Flycatcher
- Great Horned Owl
- Hairy Woodpecker
- Hermit Thrush
- Hooded Merganser
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Orange-crowned Warbler
- Osprey
- Pileated Woodpecker
- Pine Siskin
- Purple Finch
- Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Red-shouldered Hawk
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Ruby-throated Hummingbird
- Rusty Blackbird
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Tufted Titmouse
- Turkey Vulture
- White-throated Sparrow
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
- Yellow-billed Cuckoo
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- 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)
- Cove Hardwood forest, May 2018--Andrea Walton (28115031807), Andrea Walton / Great Smoky Mountains National Park (NPS) habitat picture
Habitat classes are filed under these habitat types by reviewed matches; descriptions are short glosses.
















































































