Photo of a Buck Creek Aster, Symphyotrichum rhiannon
Buck Creek Aster
Symphyotrichum rhiannon
David Blevins, 2008

North Carolina’s endemic plants do not grow in the wild anywhere else on Earth, and the near-endemic plants grow in the wild only in North Carolina and in a nearby area– perhaps South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, or Georgia.

Some of these plants are rare (there are only a few individual plants or groups of plants), some are endangered (at risk of extinction), and some of them are doing very well in their own little corner of the world.

The North Carolina Natural Heritage Program identifies and maps these endemic and near-endemic plant and animal species as part of its mission to preserve the biodiversity of our state.

 

COMMON NAME

SCIENTIFIC NAME

Appalachian Dwarf Huckleberry

Gaylussacia orocola

Appalachian Yellow Asphodel

Narthecium montanum 

Bigleaf Scurfpea

Orbexilum macrophyllum

Buck Creek Aster

Symphyotrichum rhiannon

Bunched Arrowhead

Sagittaria fasculata

Dune Bluecurls

Trichostema sp. 1

Fraser fir

Abies fraseri

Golden Sedge

Carex lutea

Goldenrod, Coastal

Solidago villosicarpa 

Goldenrod, Granite Dome

Solidago simulans

Goldenrod, Yadkin River

Solidago plumosa

Hartweg's Locust

Robinia hartwigii

Hawthorn

Crataegus senta

Hawthorn, Pale

Crataegus pallens

Heartleaf, Dwarf-flowered 

Hexastylis naniflora

Heartleaf, French Broad 

Hexastylis rhombiformis

Heller's Blazing-star

Liatris helleri

Highlands moss

Schlotheimia lancifolia

Lichen, Bluff Mountain Reindeer

Cladonia psoromica

Lichen, Erin's Fellhanera

Fellhanera erinae

Lichen, Smoky Mountain Crustose

Fellhanera montesfumosi

Mountain Golden-heather

Hudsonia montana

Oak Barrens Barbara's-buttons

Marshallia legrandii

Oconee Bells, Northern

Shortia galacifolia var. brevistyla

Oconee Bells, Southern

Shortia galacifolia var. galacifolia

Piedmont aster

Eurybia mirabilis

Piedmont Fameflower

Phemeranthus piedmontanus

Pink-shell Azalea

Rhododendron vaseyi

Quillwort, Thin-wall

Isoetes microvela

Quillwort, Virginia

Isoetes virginica  

Raven Rock Liverwort

Lejeunea glaucescens var. acrogyna

Roan Mountain Bluet

Houstonia montana

Rugel's Ragwort

Rugelia nudicaulis

Sandhills Pyxie-moss

Pyxidanthera brevifolia

Savanna Indigo-bush

Amorpha confusa

Savanna Onion

Allium sp. 1

Small-anthered Bittercress

Cardamine micranthera

Smoky Mountain Mannagrass

Glyceria nubigena

Smooth-seeded Hairy Nutrush

Scleria sp. 1

Spreading Avens

Geum radiatum

Tall Boneset

Eupatorium saltuense

Venus flytrap

Dionaea muscipula

 

References:

List of Rare Plant Species of North Carolina, 2012, Natural Heritage Program (endemic plants on p.114) at http://portal.ncdenr.org/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=b0c4aa96-6cdf-... Accessed 4/4/2014.

Image Credit:

Blevins, David. "Buck Creek Aster, Symphyotrichum rhiannon." 2008. David Blevins Photography. Online at http://www.blevinsphoto.com/blog/archives/311. Accessed 4/4/2014.

Citation

Sorrell, Mickey Jo. "North Carolina Endemic and Near-endemic Plants." NCpedia. NC Natural Heritage Program, NC Dept. of Environment & Natural Resources. Accessed on February 26th, 2025. https://www.ncpedia.org/environment/endemic-and-near.