Habitat in North Carolina
Salt and brackish marshes
Coastal marshes flooded by salty or brackish tides. Schafale
- Plants
- 52
- Birds
- 123
Plants
Plants that grow wild in this habitat in North Carolina. Not a planting list.
Most characteristic plants of this habitat 52
Natives first, plants found in fewer other habitats first.
- Perennial Saltmarsh AsterSymphyotrichum tenuifolium
- Wand LoosestrifeLythrum lineare
- Sea OxeyeBorrichia frutescens
- Olney's ThreesquareSchoenoplectus americanus
- Saltmarsh SpikerushEleocharis uniglumis
- Perennial GlasswortSalicornia ambigua
- Weakley's Flat-top GoldenrodEuthamia weakleyi
- Smallfruit BeggarticksBidens mitis
- Saltmarsh Morning-gloryIpomoea sagittata
- Bushy KnotweedPolygonum prolificum
- Virginia PlantainPlantago virginica
- Seashore CrowngrassPaspalum vaginatum
- Southern Red CedarJuniperus silicicola
- Northeastern BindweedConvolvulus americanus
- Ivy-leaved CrowfootRanunculus hederaceus
- Marsh EryngoEryngium aquaticum
- Salt-marsh Wild-ryeElymus halophilus
- Saltmarsh BulrushBolboschoenus robustus
- SawgrassCladium jamaicense
- Sensitive JointvetchAeschynomene virginica
- Long-awned SprangletopDiplachne maritima
- Salt-marsh PinkSabatia stellaris
- Eastern GrasswortLilaeopsis chinensis
- Saltmarsh SandspurrySpergularia marina
- Groundsel-treeBaccharis halimifolia
- Common WaxmyrtleMorella cerifera
- Fewflower MilkweedAsclepias lanceolata
- Marsh Straw SedgeCarex hormathodes
- Weatherby's ArrowheadSagittaria weatherbiana
- Four-angle FlatsedgeCyperus tetragonus
- Dwarf SpikerushEleocharis parvula
- White SpikerushEleocharis albida
- Seashore DropseedSporobolus virginicus
- Shoreline Sea-purslaneSesuvium portulacastrum
- Slender Sea-purslaneSesuvium maritimum
- Dune HairgrassMuhlenbergia sericea
- Hemlock Water-parsnipSium suave
- Clammy Hedge-hyssopGratiola neglecta
- Southern HorseweedErigeron pusillus
- Elliott's LovegrassEragrostis elliottii
- Gulf Coast SpikerushEleocharis cellulosa
- Roughfruit ScaleseedSpermolepis divaricata
- Twig-rushCladium mariscoides
- Curved Sickle-grassParapholis incurva
- Smooth FlatsedgeCyperus laevigatus
- Annual Rabbit's-foot GrassPolypogon monspeliensis
- Seaside PetuniaCalibrachoa parviflora
- Carolina Bristle-mallowModiola caroliniana
Wildlife
Animals whose habitat model includes this habitat in North Carolina. Shared habitat, not food.
Most characteristic birds of this habitat 93
Ranked by how much of their habitat model this habitat is.
- Marbled GodwitLimosa fedoa
- Short-billed DowitcherLimnodromus griseus
- Wilson's PloverCharadrius wilsonia
- Great Black-backed GullLarus marinus
- Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed SparrowAmmodramus caudacutus
- Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensis
- Seaside SparrowAmmodramus maritimus
- American OystercatcherHaematopus palliatus
- Black SkimmerRynchops niger
- Brown PelicanPelecanus occidentalis
- Eastern Brown PelicanPelecanus occidentalis carolinensis
- Greater ScaupAythya marila
- Red KnotCalidris canutus
- Royal TernThalasseus maximus
- SanderlingCalidris alba
- 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
- Barn SwallowHirundo rustica
- Black RailLaterallus jamaicensis
- Blue-winged TealAnas discors
- Common LoonGavia immer
- Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreus
- Least TernSternula antillarum
- Long-billed CurlewNumenius americanus
- Red-necked GrebePodiceps grisegena
- Red-throated LoonGavia stellata
- RedheadAythya americana
- Tricolored HeronEgretta tricolor
- Forster's TernSterna forsteri
- American AvocetRecurvirostra americana
- American WigeonAnas americana
- AnhingaAnhinga anhinga
- Black-necked StiltHimantopus mexicanus
- Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphia
- Caspian TernHydroprogne caspia
- Lesser YellowlegsTringa flavipes
- Little GullHydrocoloeus minutus
- Pied-billed GrebePodilymbus podiceps
- Red-breasted MerganserMergus serrator
- Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpres
- Snow GooseChen caerulescens
Widespread birds also seen here (30)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- American Black Duck
- American Crow
- Bald Eagle
- Bank Swallow
- Belted Kingfisher
- Black-crowned Night-heron
- Canada Goose
- Chimney Swift
- Common Grackle
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Yellowthroat
- Cooper's Hawk
- European Starling
- Fish Crow
- Great Blue Heron
- Great Egret
- Great Horned Owl
- Green Heron
- Hooded Merganser
- Northern Cardinal
- Osprey
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Song Sparrow
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Turkey Vulture
- White-throated Sparrow
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-crowned Night-heron
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)
- Fort Fisher brackish marsh and woodland edge, ncwetlands.org habitat picture
Habitat classes are filed under these habitat types by reviewed matches; descriptions are short glosses.









































































