Habitat in North Carolina
Streams, rivers and their banks
Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals. Schafale
- Plants
- 306
- Birds
- 130

Plants
Plants that grow wild in this habitat in North Carolina. Not a planting list.
Most characteristic plants of this habitat 306
Natives first, plants found in fewer other habitats first.
- PiratebushBuckleya distichophylla
- Black WillowSalix nigra
- Blue VervainVerbena hastata
- September ElmUlmus serotina
- Broadleaf IronweedVernonia glauca
- Sun-facing ConeflowerRudbeckia heliopsidis
- Bushy St. John's-wortHypericum densiflorum
- Marsh PeaLathyrus palustris
- Pale JewelweedImpatiens pallida
- Climbing AsterAmpelaster carolinianus
- Virginia IrisIris virginica
- Climbing HempweedMikania scandens
- Bald CypressTaxodium distichum
- Great Blue LobeliaLobelia siphilitica
- Longleaf LobeliaLobelia elongata
- Fringed BromeBromus ciliatus
- TitiCyrilla racemiflora
- Canadian LousewortPedicularis canadensis
- American Halfchaff SedgeCyperus neotropicalis
- Creeping RushJuncus repens
- Globe FlatsedgeCyperus echinatus
- River OatsChasmanthium latifolium
- Thymeleaf BluetHoustonia serpyllifolia
- Golden-clubOrontium aquaticum
- Fringed Yellow-eyed-grassXyris fimbriata
- Slender Yellow-eyed-grassXyris torta
- Bent AvensGeum geniculatum
- SweetshrubCalycanthus floridus
- Hemlock-parsleyConioselinum chinense
- Northern Coastal VioletViola brittoniana
- New York IronweedVernonia noveboracensis
- Pond CypressTaxodium ascendens
- Canadian RushJuncus canadensis
- Eastern BloodleafIresine rhizomatosa
- Meadow SpikemossSelaginella apoda
- Rusty BlackhawViburnum rufidulum
- Lanceleaf GreenbrierSmilax smallii
- Long Beach SeedboxLudwigia brevipes
- Savanna PanicgrassPhanopyrum gymnocarpon
- Lanceleaf FrogfruitPhyla lanceolata
- Compact DodderCuscuta compacta
- Brownfruit RushJuncus pelocarpus
- SupplejackBerchemia scandens
- Seaside BrookweedSamolus parviflorus
- Carolina GrasswortLilaeopsis carolinensis
- Carolina Tassel-rueTrautvetteria caroliniensis
- Common ElderberrySambucus canadensis
- Broadleaf Barbara's-buttonsMarshallia trinervia
Wildlife
Animals whose habitat model includes this habitat in North Carolina. Shared habitat, not food.
Most characteristic birds of this habitat 53
Ranked by how much of their habitat model this habitat is.
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
- American CootFulica americana
- Red-breasted NuthatchSitta canadensis
- Northern Saw-whet OwlAegolius acadicus
- Tree SwallowTachycineta bicolor
Widespread birds also seen here (77)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- American Black Duck
- American Crow
- American Goldfinch
- American Kestrel
- American Redstart
- American Robin
- Bald Eagle
- Bank Swallow
- Belted Kingfisher
- Black Vulture
- Black-and-White Warbler
- Black-crowned Night-heron
- Blue Grosbeak
- Blue Jay
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Brown Creeper
- Brown Thrasher
- Canada Goose
- Carolina Chickadee
- Carolina Wren
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chestnut-sided Warbler
- Chimney Swift
- Chipping Sparrow
- Common Grackle
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Raven
- Common Yellowthroat
- Cooper's Hawk
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Downy Woodpecker
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Screech-owl
- Eastern Towhee
- Eastern Wood-pewee
- Eurasian Collared-dove
- European Starling
- Fox Sparrow
- Golden-crowned Kinglet
- Gray Catbird
- Great Blue Heron
- Great Crested Flycatcher
- Great Egret
- Great Horned Owl
- Green Heron
- Hairy Woodpecker
- Hermit Thrush
- Hooded Merganser
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Olive-sided Flycatcher
- 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
- Song Sparrow
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Tufted Titmouse
- Turkey Vulture
- White-eyed Vireo
- White-throated Sparrow
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
- Yellow-billed Cuckoo
- 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)
- Drawing, Autumn Landscape in North Carolina, 1865–70, Frederic Edwin Church habitat picture
Habitat classes are filed under these habitat types by reviewed matches; descriptions are short glosses.









































