{"assessment":{"band":"Strong","factor_identity":{"basis":"approved shared identity","growth_habit_source":"USDA PLANTS","name_used":"Tsuga caroliniana"},"factor_scopes":{"bees":"Southeastern North America","birds":"North America","caterpillars":"Host genera of native Lepidoptera with established South Carolina range; association and range overlap, not confirmed local feeding.","specialists":"Eastern North America","structure":"USDA species growth habit where matched; otherwise sourced atlas growth habit"},"factors":{"applied_insect_credit":0,"baseline_score":70,"composite":0.772,"insect_support":{"credit":0,"groups":{"ants":{"credit":0,"flower_visits":[],"label":"Ants","recorded_name_count":null,"recorded_names":[],"seed_interactions":[],"status":"unknown"},"beetles":{"credit":0,"flower_visits":[],"label":"Beetles","recorded_name_count":null,"recorded_names":[],"seed_interactions":[],"status":"unknown"},"flies":{"credit":0,"flower_visits":[],"label":"Flies","recorded_name_count":null,"recorded_names":[],"seed_interactions":[],"status":"unknown"},"moths_butterflies":{"credit":0,"flower_visits":[],"label":"Adult butterflies / moths","recorded_name_count":null,"recorded_names":[],"seed_interactions":[],"status":"unknown"},"other_hymenoptera":{"credit":0,"flower_visits":[],"label":"Other wasps","recorded_name_count":null,"recorded_names":[],"seed_interactions":[],"status":"unknown"},"other_insects":{"credit":0,"flower_visits":[],"label":"Other insects","recorded_name_count":null,"recorded_names":[],"seed_interactions":[],"status":"unknown"}},"interpretation":"One provisional point per additional documented insect group, capped at five. Flower visits are a resource-use proxy, not confirmed feeding or pollination. Missing evidence is unknown. Study volume and repeated records earn no extra credit.","maximum_credit":5,"version":"insect-support-1"},"pct":{"bees":0.5272952853598015,"birds":0.7946650124069479,"caterpillars":0.9392059553349876,"specialists":0.4323821339950372,"structure":1},"rank_pct":0.753,"raw":{"bees":1,"birds":3,"caterpillars":55,"genus_used":null,"specialists":0,"structure":["Tree"]}},"fit_score":null,"native_basis":"native_inferred","rarity_adjustment":0,"rarity_policy":"Conservation status is displayed separately and never changes ecological scores, including when unranked.","reason":"Calculated with the shared rules using South Carolina host-range and shared ecological evidence.","reference":"NC native reference cohort, method 0.6.4; not a South Carolina percentile","score":70,"scoring_inputs":{"harm_penalty":0,"invasive":false,"invasive_rank":null,"native":true,"state_rank":""},"source_ids":["lep_sc","globi","bigbee","avian","usdahabit","robertson","antseed"],"status":"scored_provisional","version":"shared-0.6.5"},"condition_evidence":{"light":{"evidence_id":"fact:746b0a910184c9550290beb2257941662baa606ea23fc71dc73c76972c7aeb6e","levels":[2,3,4],"policy":"selected-condition-categories-1","range":[2,4],"scope":null,"semantics":"source_light_categories_preserved_without_hour_conversion","source_field":"light","source_label":"NC Extension Plant Toolbox","source_url":"https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/tsuga-caroliniana/","status":"mapped_selected_fact"},"moisture":{"evidence_id":"fact:0e89cc948353f9c119836683a8ad2f6b4b8703b096d84a4433a7e0977044c766","levels":[3],"policy":"selected-condition-categories-1","range":[3,3],"scope":null,"semantics":"source_drainage_or_moisture_categories_preserved","source_field":"soil_drainage","source_label":"NC Extension Plant Toolbox","source_url":"https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/tsuga-caroliniana/","status":"mapped_selected_fact"}},"evidence":{"fit_score":null,"growth_habit":["Tree"],"invasive_status":{"status":"unresolved"},"native_status":{"status":"native_inferred"},"occurrence":{"county_fips":["45077"],"meaning":"Recorded occurrence; not a county native-range assertion"},"quercus_score":null,"regional":{"county_fips":["45077"],"growth_habit":"tree","growth_habit_source":"tnky_atlas","invasive":null,"invasive_evidence":[],"invasive_rank":null,"native":true,"native_evidence":[{"claim":"native","matched_name":"Tsuga caroliniana","scope":"TN-KY","source":"tnky_atlas","url":"https://tennessee-kentucky.plantatlas.usf.edu/plant/species/906"},{"claim":"native","matched_name":"Tsuga caroliniana","scope":"L48","source":"usda","text":"L48:N","url":"https://plants.usda.gov/"},{"claim":"native","matched_name":"Tsuga caroliniana","scope":"NC","source":"nc_flora","url":"https://auth1.dpr.ncparks.gov/flora/"}],"native_status":"native_inferred","source_ids":["sernec:121399"],"source_name":"Tsuga caroliniana","source_refs":["SC-checklist-5.html","sernec_county"],"source_url":"https://sernecportal.org/portal/checklists/checklist.php?pagenumber=5&clid=3141&dynclid=0&pid=84&searchsynonyms=1","state_rank":null},"source_refs":["SC-checklist-5.html","sernec_county"],"source_url":"https://sernecportal.org/portal/checklists/checklist.php?pagenumber=5&clid=3141&dynclid=0&pid=84&searchsynonyms=1","state_rank":{"value":null}},"fit_inputs":{"light":[2,4],"moisture":[3,3],"ph":[4.2,5.9]},"fit_provenance":{"counties":"USDA PLANTS: recorded in 25 NC counties","light":"NC Extension Plant Toolbox","moisture":"NC Extension Plant Toolbox","ph":"USDA PLANTS"},"fit_record":{"band":"Strong","condition_evidence":{"light":{"evidence_id":"fact:746b0a910184c9550290beb2257941662baa606ea23fc71dc73c76972c7aeb6e","levels":[2,3,4],"policy":"selected-condition-categories-1","range":[2,4],"scope":null,"semantics":"source_light_categories_preserved_without_hour_conversion","source_field":"light","source_label":"NC Extension Plant Toolbox","source_url":"https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/tsuga-caroliniana/","status":"mapped_selected_fact"},"moisture":{"evidence_id":"fact:0e89cc948353f9c119836683a8ad2f6b4b8703b096d84a4433a7e0977044c766","levels":[3],"policy":"selected-condition-categories-1","range":[3,3],"scope":null,"semantics":"source_drainage_or_moisture_categories_preserved","source_field":"soil_drainage","source_label":"NC Extension Plant Toolbox","source_url":"https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/tsuga-caroliniana/","status":"mapped_selected_fact"}},"county_fips":["13137","13241","37003","37005","37009","37011","37021","37023","37027","37039","37043","37075","37087","37089","37099","37111","37113","37115","37121","37149","37161","37169","37171","37173","37175","37189","37199","45077","47019","47091","47105","47155","47157","47163","47171","47179","47185"],"fit_inputs":{"light":[2,4],"moisture":[3,3],"ph":[4.2,5.9]},"fit_note":"Shared sunlight, moisture and pH calculation; county geography is an additional layer. Missing source traits remain unknown.","fit_provenance":{"counties":"USDA PLANTS: recorded in 25 NC counties","light":"NC Extension Plant Toolbox","moisture":"NC Extension Plant Toolbox","ph":"USDA PLANTS"},"garden_suitability":{"default_excluded":false,"flags":[],"review_status":"not_assessed"},"invasive_rank":false,"native_eligible":true,"quercus_score":70,"state":"SC"},"garden_suitability":{"default_excluded":false,"flags":[],"review_status":"not_assessed"},"growing_observations":{"extension":{"identity_basis":"Exact genus/species fields on cached page","matched_name":"Tsuga caroliniana","retrieved":"2026-09-30T17:45:52.693069+00:00","source_label":"NC Extension Plant Toolbox","source_sha256":"74ce7d5619660e2c475f97ad8046cf15893fdf248c5b9df2379b0b0461212084","source_url":"https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/tsuga-caroliniana/","values":{"bloom_season":["Spring"],"hardiness_zones":["6a, 6b, 7a, 7b"],"height_feet":[30,70],"leaf_habit":["Needled Evergreen"],"life_cycle":["Woody"],"light":["Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)","Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)"],"moisture_categories":["Moist"],"nc_regions":["Mountains","Piedmont"],"soil_drainage":["Good Drainage","Moist"],"width_feet":[20,25]}},"floraquest_carolinas_georgia":{"matched_name":"Tsuga caroliniana","retrieved":"2026-10-04T13:31:16.252589+00:00","scope":{"kind":"region","region_id":"floraquest_nc_sc_ga"},"scope_note":"Original regional ecological and identification evidence; no location-specific gardening adjustments.","source_label":"FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team)","source_name":"Tsuga caroliniana","source_record_id":262,"source_sha256":"684f6b364ff9f3023aa61ed02ae50f6f6d6d4d3bcf76847b78ab769ae0453469","source_url":"https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.emountainworks.android.southeastfieldguide","trait_evidence":[{"field":"habitat_description","source_column":"HabitatText","source_database_sha256":"684f6b364ff9f3023aa61ed02ae50f6f6d6d4d3bcf76847b78ab769ae0453469","source_record_id":262,"source_table":"Organism","value":"Primarily in open forests on ridge tops, rocky bluffs, or gorge walls, generally in drier and rockier sites than T. canadensis , but the two sometimes growing in close proximity or even intermixed in humid gorges; very limited in the western Piedmont, apparently reaching its eastern limit in NC at Hanging Rock State Park, Stokes County, and ranging east to Halifax County in the Piedmont of VA."},{"field":"geographic_range_description","source_column":"Description","source_database_sha256":"684f6b364ff9f3023aa61ed02ae50f6f6d6d4d3bcf76847b78ab769ae0453469","source_record_id":262,"source_table":"Organism","value":"T. caroliniana is a rather narrow Southern Appalachian endemic, occurring only in w. North Carolina, e. Tennessee, sw. and sc. Virginia, nw. South Carolina, and ne. Georgia"},{"field":"phenology_source_text","source_column":"Phenology","source_database_sha256":"684f6b364ff9f3023aa61ed02ae50f6f6d6d4d3bcf76847b78ab769ae0453469","source_record_id":262,"source_table":"Organism","value":"Mar-Apr; Aug-Sep."},{"field":"taxonomic_synonymy","source_column":"Synonymy","source_database_sha256":"684f6b364ff9f3023aa61ed02ae50f6f6d6d4d3bcf76847b78ab769ae0453469","source_record_id":262,"source_table":"Organism","value":"[= C, F, FNA2, G, K1, K4, NS, POWO, RAB, S, S13, Tn, Va, W, Price (1989)]"},{"field":"botanical_comments","source_column":"Comments","source_database_sha256":"684f6b364ff9f3023aa61ed02ae50f6f6d6d4d3bcf76847b78ab769ae0453469","source_record_id":262,"source_table":"Organism","value":"Carolina Hemlock has achieved a substantial reputation in NC as a Christmas tree, and is finally coming into favor as an ornamental; Coker and Totten (1945) wrote \"the Carolina Hemlock is a very beautiful tree in cultivation, perhaps the handsomest of any eastern American conifer, combining in a remarkable way delicacy, symmetry, and strength\". The hemlock woolly adelgid threatens this species."},{"field":"heliophily_index","source_column":"HIndex","source_database_sha256":"684f6b364ff9f3023aa61ed02ae50f6f6d6d4d3bcf76847b78ab769ae0453469","source_record_id":262,"source_table":"Organism","value":6},{"field":"habitat_moisture_categories","source_column":"Attr2","source_database_sha256":"684f6b364ff9f3023aa61ed02ae50f6f6d6d4d3bcf76847b78ab769ae0453469","source_record_id":262,"source_table":"GraphicKey","value":["Dry","Moist"]},{"field":"habitat_light_categories","source_column":"Attr3","source_database_sha256":"684f6b364ff9f3023aa61ed02ae50f6f6d6d4d3bcf76847b78ab769ae0453469","source_record_id":262,"source_table":"GraphicKey","value":["Partial shade","Full shade","Full sun"]},{"field":"graphic_key_source_attributes","source_column":"Attr0..25","source_database_sha256":"684f6b364ff9f3023aa61ed02ae50f6f6d6d4d3bcf76847b78ab769ae0453469","source_record_id":262,"source_table":"GraphicKey","value":{"Attr0":"gr13","Attr1":"nc_mt,nc_pd,sc_mt,sc_pd,ga_mt,","Attr10":"C005,C020","Attr11":"C10,C30,C50","Attr2":"Dry,Moist","Attr3":"Part,Shade,Sun","Attr3a":"y","Attr3a_subregion":"native_nc_mt:y,native_nc_pd:y,native_sc_mt:y,native_sc_pd:y,native_ga_mt:y,","Attr4":" 2-5","Attr5":"y","Attr6":"Cc","Attr7":"a","Attr9":"t"}}],"values":{"botanical_comments":"Carolina Hemlock has achieved a substantial reputation in NC as a Christmas tree, and is finally coming into favor as an ornamental; Coker and Totten (1945) wrote \"the Carolina Hemlock is a very beautiful tree in cultivation, perhaps the handsomest of any eastern American conifer, combining in a remarkable way delicacy, symmetry, and strength\". The hemlock woolly adelgid threatens this species.","geographic_range_description":"T. caroliniana is a rather narrow Southern Appalachian endemic, occurring only in w. North Carolina, e. Tennessee, sw. and sc. Virginia, nw. South Carolina, and ne. Georgia","graphic_key_source_attributes":{"Attr0":"gr13","Attr1":"nc_mt,nc_pd,sc_mt,sc_pd,ga_mt,","Attr10":"C005,C020","Attr11":"C10,C30,C50","Attr2":"Dry,Moist","Attr3":"Part,Shade,Sun","Attr3a":"y","Attr3a_subregion":"native_nc_mt:y,native_nc_pd:y,native_sc_mt:y,native_sc_pd:y,native_ga_mt:y,","Attr4":" 2-5","Attr5":"y","Attr6":"Cc","Attr7":"a","Attr9":"t"},"habitat_description":"Primarily in open forests on ridge tops, rocky bluffs, or gorge walls, generally in drier and rockier sites than T. canadensis , but the two sometimes growing in close proximity or even intermixed in humid gorges; very limited in the western Piedmont, apparently reaching its eastern limit in NC at Hanging Rock State Park, Stokes County, and ranging east to Halifax County in the Piedmont of VA.","habitat_light_categories":["Partial shade","Full shade","Full sun"],"habitat_moisture_categories":["Dry","Moist"],"heliophily_index":6,"phenology_source_text":"Mar-Apr; Aug-Sep.","taxonomic_synonymy":"[= C, F, FNA2, G, K1, K4, NS, POWO, RAB, S, S13, Tn, Va, W, Price (1989)]"}},"usda":{"matched_name":"Tsuga caroliniana","retrieved":"2026-09-24","scope":"Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary","source_label":"USDA PLANTS","source_url":"https://plants.usda.gov/","usda_id":15605,"values":{"bloom_season":"Mid Spring","flower_color":"Yellow","foliage_color":"Dark Green","fruit_season_begin":"Summer","fruit_season_end":"Fall","growth_architecture":"Single Stem","growth_rate":"Slow","height_ft":65,"leaf_retention":"Yes"}}},"light_range":["part shade","full sun"],"light_source":"NC Extension Plant Toolbox","native_synthesis":{"claims":[{"claim":"native","matched_name":"Tsuga caroliniana","scope":"TN-KY","source":"tnky_atlas","url":"https://tennessee-kentucky.plantatlas.usf.edu/plant/species/906"},{"claim":"native","matched_name":"Tsuga caroliniana","scope":"L48","source":"usda","text":"L48:N","url":"https://plants.usda.gov/"},{"claim":"native","matched_name":"Tsuga caroliniana","scope":"NC","source":"nc_flora","url":"https://auth1.dpr.ncparks.gov/flora/"}],"county_native_range":"unresolved","explanation":"Source scopes are preserved. State occurrence alone does not establish nativity; combined regional evidence is labeled estimated.","label":"Native to South Carolina (estimated from combined sources)","rule":"southeast-native-synthesis-1","status":"native_inferred"},"source_name":"Tsuga caroliniana","taxon_id":"taxon:5da27ae7-8873-51a6-9fdb-a523c3100652","revision":"publish:5809c037-0e9a-430a-8008-5ab6f69800c0","photos":[{"id":"recovery-ncsu-tsuga-caroliniana-9373","src":"/api/photos/image/c1a48ea2966f0dd0637ce7df0d7d65d86a0ddec29c4b132dd8972287de49e1c8.jpg","view":"foliage","alt":"Tsuga caroliniana — foliage photograph","width":600,"height":450,"artist":"Adam Lynch","license":"CC BY-SA 3.0","license_url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en","source_url":"https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/tsuga-caroliniana/","changes":"Original NCSU photograph bytes; no crop, retouching, or re-encoding."}]}