Flora of North Carolina

Rhododendron vaseyi, the pinkshell azalea, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae. It is endemic to the Appalachian highlands of North Carolina. The specific epithet vaseyi honors the American plant collector George Richard Vasey and his father Dr. George Vasey, Chief Botanist at the United States Department of Agriculture from 1872 to 1893. The species is sometimes referred to as the Vasey Rhododendron.

Cardamine micranthera is a rare species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common names small-anthered bittercress and streambank bittercress. It is endemic to the Piedmont region around the border between Virginia and North Carolina, and is today restricted to the Dan River watershed. It is in decline mainly because its habitat has been disturbed and destroyed by a number of processes. By the 1960s the only known populations of the plant had disappeared and in the 1970s it was feared extinct. The plant was rediscovered in the 1980s and for a while was presumed to be a rare

Hudsonia montana is a rare species of flowering plant in the rock-rose family known by the common name mountain goldenheather. It is endemic to North Carolina, where it is present in only two counties. It is a federally listed threatened species of the United States. This is a small shrub forming low bushes up to 30 or 40 centimeters tall. The spreading stems are covered in green, needle-like leaves and the plant blooms in bright yellow flowers in June and July. The plant is known from Burke and McDowell Counties in North Carolina. There are seven populations. This species is sometimes

Solidago villosicarpa is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names hairy-seed goldenrod, coastal goldenrod, glandular wand goldenrod, and shaggy-fruit goldenrod. It is endemic to North Carolina in the United States, where there are only four known populations. Solidago villosicarpa is a subsection of the Solidago Squarrosae (Bicolor) group that is found east of the Rocky Mountains in Canada and the United States. Solidago villosicarpa was first collected in 1949, misidentified for several decades, and described as a new species in 2000. It is a perennial

Solidago plumosa is a rare species of goldenrod known by the common names Yadkin River goldenrod, plumed goldenrod, and plumose goldenrod. It is endemic to North Carolina in the United States, where it grows only on the banks of the Yadkin River. There is only one known population. It is a candidate for federal protection.

Rubus immanis is a rare North American species of flowering plant in the rose family. It has been found only in the state of North Carolina in the eastern United States. The genetics of Rubus is extremely complex, so that it is difficult to decide on which groups should be recognized as species. There are many rare species with limited ranges such as this. Further study is suggested to clarify the taxonomy. Some studies have suggested that R. immanis may have originated as a hybrid between R. allegheniensis and R. canadensis.

Marshallia grandiflora, the Appalachian Barbara's buttons, is an extinct species of flowering plant in the genus Marshallia within the sunflower family. It was endemic to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina in the Eastern United States, in Henderson and Polk counties. It was found primarily along gravelly and sandy bars along high-gradient rivers, and was presumably wiped out due to changes in this restricted habitat. It was last sighted in 1919. Marshallia grandiflora was an herb up to 90 cm (3 feet) tall. Most of the leaves were clustered around the base of the stem. One plant would

Symphyotrichum rhiannon is a species of flowering plant endemic to a serpentine barren in western North Carolina. It has been given the vernacular Rhiannon's aster and is also known as Buck Creek aster. It is a perennial, herbaceous plant in the family Asteraceae.

Solidago pulchra, the Carolina goldenrod, is a rare North American plant species in the family Asteraceae. It has been found only in the states of North Carolina and South Carolina in the southeastern United States. Solidago pulchra is a hairless perennial herb up to 80 centimeters (30 inches) tall, with a branched woody rootstock. One plant can produce as many as 50 flowers in an elongated array. Ray flowers are yellow, 6-14 per head. Disk flowers number 12-30 per head. The species grows in moist, sandy depressions in pine woodlands.

Packera serpenticola, commonly known as serpentine ragwort, is a species of flowering plant in the composite family. It is native to the Southeastern United States, where it is known only from a single site in Clay County, North Carolina, called the Buck Creek Serpentine Barrens. This is an area of serpentine soil derived from olivine and dunite that prevent forest growth, and is instead naturally barrens and savannas. This grassland community is known to harbor many rare species, including one other single-site endemic Symphyotrichum rhiannon, the Buck Creek aster. The identity of this

Asarum rosei is a species of flowering plant endemic to North Carolina in the southeastern United States. It was first formally described in 2017 by Brandon T. Sinn in Phytotaxa. The species is named for Mark Rose, "a respected plant collector, horticulturalist, orchid breeder, and naturalist who discovered and documented the species".

Allium keeverae, Keever's onion, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae, native to North Carolina. There it is only found growing in the Brushy Mountains of Alexander and Wilkes counties, on the thin soil that forms near granite outcrops.

The Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) is a carnivorous plant native to the temperate and subtropical wetlands of North Carolina and South Carolina, on the East Coast of the United States. Although various modern hybrids have been created in cultivation, D. muscipula is the only species of the monotypic genus Dionaea. It is closely related to the waterwheel plant (Aldrovanda vesiculosa) and the cosmopolitan sundews (Drosera), all of which belong to the family Droseraceae. Dionaea catches its prey—chiefly insects and arachnids—with a "jaw"-like clamping structure, which is formed by the

Sisyrinchium dichotomum is a rare species of flowering plant in the iris family known by the common names wishbone blue-eyed grass, white irisette, and reflexed blue-eyed grass. It is native to North Carolina and South Carolina in the United States, where fewer than ten populations remain in four counties. It is threatened by the loss and degradation of its habitat and is a federally listed endangered species of the United States. This plant is a perennial herb producing a clump of branching stems up to 40 centimeters tall with grasslike leaves. The solitary flower has six white tepals with

Sagittaria fasciculata, the bunched arrowhead (also known as duck potato, Indian potato, or wapato) is a plant found in a small number of wetlands in the Southeast United States.

Kalmia cuneata is a species of flowering plant in the heath family known by the common name whitewicky, sometimes spelled white-wicky or white wicky. It is native to the eastern United States, where it occurs only in North Carolina and South Carolina. Kalmia cuneata is a shrub growing up to 1.5 to 2 meters (5-6.7 feet) tall. It is deciduous, a key identifying characteristic. The leaves are widely lance-shaped, measuring up to 6 centimeters (2.4 inches) long by 3 cm (1.2 inches) wide, and light green, turning red in the fall. They are alternately arranged. The lateral inflorescence is a raceme

Sagittaria macrocarpa, commonly called the large-fruited arrowhead, is an aquatic plant species known only from the US states of North Carolina and South Carolina.

Lysimachia asperulifolia (orth. var. L. asperulaefolia) is a rare species of flowering plant in the Primulaceae known by the common name rough-leaved loosestrife and roughleaf yellow loosestrife. It is endemic to the Atlantic coastal plain in North Carolina and northern South Carolina in the United States, where there are 64 known populations. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.

Thalictrum cooleyi is a rare species of flowering plant in the buttercup family known by the common name Cooley's meadow-rue. It is native to the southeastern United States, where it is present in North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. It is threatened by habitat destruction and degradation. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States. This perennial herb produces long, slender stems up to 2 metres (6.6 ft) long, sometimes growing erect. The leaves are each made up of several narrow leaflets, and some of the leaflets are divided further into lobes. Leaves near the base of

Scirpus flaccidifolius, the reclining bulrush, is an uncommon plant species endemic to a small region in Virginia and North Carolina. It is reported from only six populations in three counties in Virginia (Greensville, Sussex and Southampton) and one county in North Carolina (Northampton). All known populations are within 100 km of each other, though the species does not seem to be in danger of extinction. Scirpus flaccidifolius is unusual in the genus in having culms (flowering stalks) that lean against other vegetation instead of being stiff and erect. The species also has wider but less

Rugelia nudicaulis (Rugel's Indian plantain or Rugels ragwort), the sole species of the genus Rugelia, blooms in summer. It is a wildflower endemic to higher elevations in the Great Smoky Mountains. It is a rare species in Tennessee. Genetic diversity in this plant, assessed using allozymes, is so low that the species may not survive changing environmental conditions. Both the scientific name and the common names honor Ferdinand Rugel, a botanist and plant collector who collected plant specimens throughout the southeastern United States during the period 1840–1848.

Hymenocallis pygmaea Traub is a plant in the Amaryllidaceae found in the wild only in North Carolina and South Carolina. Common names include dwarf spider-lily and Waccamaw spider-lily, and it is cultivated as an ornamental in some regions. Hymenocallis pygmaea is a bulb-forming herb found in bogs and along stream banks It is considerably smaller than most other species of Hymenocallis, with a scape rarely more the 40 cm tall. Leaves are up to 40 cm long but rarely more than 30 mm wide. The umbel contains only 1 or 2 flowers, white with a green center and a lemony scent.

Helianthus schweinitzii is a perennial wildflower endemic to the Piedmont physiographic province of North Carolina and South Carolina. Its common name is Schweinitz's sunflower. It is a member of the sunflower family (Asteraceae). It is one of the rarest species of sunflower in the United States. It is common along utility and highway rights-of-way in North Carolina and South Carolina. There are only about 90 known populations, many containing less than 40 plants each. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed Schweinitz's sunflower as an endangered species on May 7, 1991.

Geum geniculatum is a species of flowering plant in the rose family known by the common name bent avens. It is endemic to the southern Appalachian Mountains in the United States, where it occurs on only five mountains: Grandfather Mountain, Snake Mountain, and Rich Mountain in North Carolina, Roan Mountain straddling the North Carolina-Tennessee border, and Whitetop Mountain in Virginia. Geum geniculatum is a perennial herb growing 50 to 70 cm (20 to 28 in) tall. The three-parted leaves are 1 to 1.5 cm (0.4 to 0.6 in) long. The clustered flowers have white, pinkish, or greenish petals.

Eurybia mirabilis, commonly known as the bouquet aster or dwarf aster, is an herbaceous perennial in the family Asteraceae. It is endemic to the lower Piedmont of North Carolina and South Carolina in the southeastern United States. Within this small range it is found only infrequently, making it of conservation concern. The species is now largely confined to inaccessible bluffs due to the conversion of other habitats to farmland. It typically grows in deciduous or mixed deciduous woods, as well as on slopes or alluvial plains. Basic to neutral soils are usually preferred. Its flower heads

Solidago spithamaea is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name Blue Ridge goldenrod. It is native to a very small region around the border between North Carolina and Tennessee in the United States. Its three remaining populations are threatened by the loss and degradation of its habitat. It is a federally listed threatened species of the United States. Solidago spithamaea produces one or more stems from an underground rhizome and caudex, and it grows 10 to 40 centimeters (4-14 inches) tall. The plant has an unpleasant scent. The leaves vary in shape and

Solidago glomerata, the clustered goldenrod or skunk goldenrod, is a plant species known only from the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina. It occurs in spruce woodlands and on rocky outcrops, at elevations over 1500 m (4500 feet) Solidago glomerata has fleshy, rubbery leaves and yellow flower heads born in groups in the axils of the leaves and at the end of the stem.

Crocanthemum nashii (commonly called Florida scrub sunrose, Nash's sunrose, and Florida scrub frostweed) is a species of plant endemic to the U.S. southeast coastal plain from Florida, where it is most common, to North Carolina.

Solidago verna is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names springflowering goldenrod and spring goldenrod. It is native to North Carolina and South Carolina in the United States. Solidago verna is a perennial herb growing up to about 1.2 meters (4 feet) in height. It produces a single hairy, erect stem from a woody, branching caudex. The serrated leaves are up to 16 centimeters (6.4 inches) long and are borne on winged petioles. The inflorescence contains many bell-shaped flower heads. Each flower head contains 7-12 yellow ray florets surrounding 14-27 yellow

Sarracenia jonesii is a species of pitcher plant endemic to seepage bogs in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina and South Carolina. It is currently only found in ten locations: 4 in North Carolina and 6 in South Carolina. S. jonesii is listed as endangered by the US federal government.