North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s (NCDEQ) Division of Water Resources has published a new edition of their wetland plant field guide. With funding assistance from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Guide to Common Wetland Plants in North Carolina1 provides its reader with numerous visual aids and descriptions of hydrophytic plants found throughout the mountains, piedmont, and coastal plain of NC.
The introduction of the book describes the history of this field guide as the 2021 edition identifies over 100 more species than its original 1997 publication. The 2021 edition includes original illustrations by author and former NCDEQ employee, Karen Kendig. The introduction continues on to describe common wetlands that are found throughout North Carolina, a glossary of plant terminology, and helpful illustrations that describe plant and wildflower parts.
The guide identifies over 200 wetland plants in North Carolina which are separated into sections according to plant type. Each section includes a respective table of contents outlining the scientific and common name of each plant, and their wetland indicator status according to the US Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) National Wetland Plant List. Like many states, North Carolina is divided into two USACE Regional Supplements: the Eastern Mountains and Piedmont (EMP) and Atlantic Gulf Coastal Plain (AGCP). Each species outlined in the section contents are denoted with the wetland indicator status within the EMP and AGCP for quick and easy reference.
Each species page provides the reader with a black and white illustration, as well as field images of key identifiers for each plant. Along with these images, the species page includes a description of their desired habitat and range, leaf patterns, field characteristics, and other species that share similar characteristics.
This field guide covers trees, shrubs, ferns, monocot and dicot herbs, vines, and aquatic plants. What stands out in this guide is a chapter dedicated to common confusions when identifying plants found in North Carolina. To negate misidentification, the authors have provided images between any given species that share similarities and highlight key identifiers to look out for in the field.
NCDEQ has put an impressive amount of work into this resource which caters to beginner and expert botanists alike. A PDF and hard copy of the field guide can be accessed through NC Wetlands’ website: Common Wetland Plant Guide.
1Gianopulos, K., K. Kendig, and M. Pyne. 2021. Guide to Common Wetland Plants of North Carolina. Published by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Water Resources. 425 pp.