Look for:
Small/medium sized tree with shiny, green twigs; never hairy or growing as a vine. Opposite leaves. Samaras instead of flowers or berries. Sometimes more than 3 leaflets.
Look for:
Vine with hairy stems when climbing. Alternate leaf arrangement. Flowers or berries. Never grows independently as small tree or shrub.
Look for:
Smaller toothed leaves with serrated edges and reddish petioles; fruits with samaras.
Look for:
Larger leaves without serrations; bark flakes off in patches. Fruits are round balls.
Look for:
Leaves with serrated edges and reddish petioles; fruits with samaras.
Acer floridanum (Florida maple)
Look for:
Untoothed, lobed leaves with smooth margins. Piedmont only.
Look for:
Flaking yellowish or peach-colored bark. More triangular-shaped leaves.
Look for:
Muscular-looking smooth light gray bark.
Look for:
Flaking yellowish or peach-colored bark. Smooth, roughly triangular leaves with symmetrical leaf bases.
Look for:
Gray, plated bark. Sandpaper rough leaves with assymetric leaf bases.
Look for:
Muscular-looking smooth light gray bark. Leaves with symmetrical leaf bases.
Look for:
Gray, plated bark. Sandpaper rough leaves with assymetric leaf bases.
Look for:
Needles branching in one main fan-like plane.
Juniperus virginiana (Eastern red cedar)
Look for:
Flattened needles branching in many planes intead of one.
Look for:
Oval-shaped, flat samaras, often pink or purple tinged. Difficult to distinguish to species level without fruit.
Look for:
Elongated, light green samaras. Difficult to distinguish to species level without fruit.
Look for:
Corky growths can appear on any side of twigs; palmate, star-shaped leaves. Prickly gum ball fruits.
Look for:
Corky growths only along one plane, from two sides of branches. Ovate, serrated leaves. Samara fruits.
Look for:
Large, elongated thin leaves; more often found in flowing water.
Look for:
Thicker, narrower obovate leaves with rounded tips.
Look for:
Thicker, obovate leaves with rounded tips.
Look for:
Leaves have scattered teeth and less rounded tips; petioles smooth. Can be found outside wetlands.
Look for:
Leaves have scattered teeth; petioles smooth. Twigs show three bundle scars when leaf pulled away from stem. Can be found outside wetlands.
Look for:
Leaf petioles velvety hairy. No teeth on leaves. Twigs show one linear bundle scar when leaf pulled away from stem.
Look for:
Leaves not fragrant and have scattered teeth; petioles smooth. Fruits blue-black. Small to medium tree; can be found outside wetlands.
Look for:
Lemony-fragrant, waxy-coated leaves; small red fruits. Shrub.
Look for:
Pubescent twigs, hairy veins on leaves; leaves strongly aromatic when crushed.
Persea borbonia (Upland redbay)
Look for:
Smooth twigs, leaves without hairy veins; found in drier areas.
Look for:
Pubescent twigs, hairy veins on leaves; leaves strongly aromatic when crushed. Small, ball-like fruits.
Look for:
Leaves very white beneath. Twigs smooth. Fruits look like soft cones.
Look for:
Flat-ended cones, round in overall shape; tree overall more crooked habit.
Look for:
Longer, prickly cones; needles 15 to 20 cm long. Tree generally quite straight.
Look for:
Smaller, narrow, prickly cones. Thin twigs; needles 15 to 20 cm long.
Look for:
Extremely large cones, thick twigs, long needles (25 to 40 cm long).
Look for:
Leaves with leaf petioles round in cross-section; leaf bases more rounded.
Populus deltoides (Eastern cottonwood)
Look for:
Leaves with flattened petioles; strongly triangular leaves with pointed tips.
Look for:
Found in or on edges of wetlands.
Quercus hemisphaerica (Darlington oak)
Look for:
Found in dry, sandy, Coastal Plain soils; sometimes has leaves with pointed teeth.
Look for:
Narrowly diamond-shaped leaves generally without bristles on tips.
Look for:
Narrower leaves with bristles on pointed tips.
Look for:
Leaves wider near tips.
Look for:
Narrower leaves with bristles on pointed tips.
Look for:
Pale white leaf undersides; wetland species. Absent from mountains.
Quercus falcata (Southern red oak)
Look for:
Often more rounded (bell-shaped) leaf base and less pale, more tan-colored pubescence on leaves. Favors dry upland forests; found statewide.
Look for:
Appressed needles in mature tree; bark soft and shredding.
Look for:
Flat, feather-like needles on entire tree.
Look for:
Palmately compound leaves with serrated margins.
Look for:
Alternate leaves, smooth margin.
Look for:
Wider, shorter leaves; flowers/fruits with white tufts of long bristles.
Look for:
Narrower, longer leaves; tiny yellow-greenish flowers in spikes.
Look for:
Elongated lenticels along rich brown twigs.
Look for:
Leaves with brown hairs beneath and thin fibers evident when leaves are broken and slowly pulled apart.
Look for:
White spike flowers similar but leaf shape is widest past middle, toward leaf tip. Teeth absent from base of leaf.
Look for:
White spike flowers similar but leaves have teeth along whole leaf margin.
Look for:
Unbranched flower spikes (racemes). Deciduous shrub.
Look for:
Branched flower spikes (racemes); evergreen shrub.
Look for:
Flowers mainly on one side of flowering stem. Main leaf veins all curve back toward mid-vein.
Look for:
Flowers clusters/capsules on all sides of stem. Lower leaf veins extend to leaf edge.
Look for:
Smaller, narrower leaves that are quite thin; dense leaf scars on twigs.
Look for:
Larger, wider leaves.
Look for:
Leathery, evergreen leaves narrower, with less obvious spines. Spines or tiny teeth restricted to upper portion of leaves. Globular fruits.
Look for:
Leathery, evergreen leaves tend to be wider, with spines scattered anywhere on margins. Fruits larger and somewhat flattened, rather than globular. Generally taller plant.
Look for:
Leaves always lobed, light green on undersides. Flower is light pink with long stigma stalk; tolerant of salinity.
Look for:
Stems and leaves (generally unlobed) can be pubsecent. Flower is larger, white, with a much shorter stigma stalk. Freshwater wetlands only.
Look for:
Fruit is dry capsules. Leaf surfaces sandpaper rough.
Vaccinium spp. (Blueberry)
Look for:
Fruit is fleshy and edible. Leaf not sandpaper rough.
Look for:
Fruit is dry capsules. Leaf surfaces sandpaper rough.
Gaylussacia spp. (Huckleberry)
Look for:
Fruit is fleshy and edible like a blueberry. Leaves have golden yellow glands on surface beneath.
Look for:
Reaches small tree height. Thinner, narrower leaves with resinous dots on both upper and lower surfaces.
Look for:
Larger, wider, tougher/thicker leaves and resinous dots on leaf underside only, not both surfaces. Leaves much less aromatic.
Look for:
Single, large, pink flowers; curled stipules along petioles. Bristly rosehip fruit.
Rosa multiflora (Multiflora rose)
Look for:
Clusters of several small, white fragrant flowers; stipules that are flat or open with hairs on edges. Smooth rosehips fruit.
Look for:
Elongated, narrow leaves whitish beneath but with no shimmery hairs.
Look for:
Leaves greenish beneath; usually growing as a few-trunked small tree.
Look for:
Elongated, narrow leaves whitish beneath but with no shimmery hairs.
Look for:
Slightly wider, shorter leaves, with more pronounced teeth, whitish beneath covered with shimmery white hairs
Look for:
Leaves greenish beneath; usually growing as a few-trunked small tree.
Look for:
Slightly wider, shorter leaves, with more pronounced teeth, whitish beneath covered with shimmery white hairs; multi-stemmed shrub.
Look for:
Peach-like fuzz on leaf undersides; leaf edges have tiny serrations. Small white flowers before leaves appear.
Kalmia latifolia (Mountain laurel)
Look for:
No spots/glands on leaf undersides, and longer, less elliptic leaves. Found in rocky and upland areas, not just wetlands. Flowers are white and pink open cups.
Look for:
Taller shrub at maturity; no resinous dots on leaf undersides.
Look for:
Lighter green leaves with yellow resinous dots on undersides.
Look for:
Tan dots and no hairs on leaf undersides; no fibers in leaves when broken and pulled apart slowly.
Look for:
More rounded and less shiny leaves with minute, pressed down, brown hairs on leaf undersides. Leaves also show fibers when broken and pulled apart slowly.
Look for:
Fruits are clusters of bluish berries. Lenticels on twigs are not elongated.
Look for:
Distinctive elongated lenticels along twigs. Pin-cushion-like flowers and dry, ball-shaped fruits.
Look for:
Smooth, long petioles; wider, rounded leaves. Leaves generally smooth below.
Viburnum rafinesqueanum (Downy arrowwood)
Look for:
Short or absent petioles. More elongated leaves, with stipules at leaf bases. Tends to grow in drier areas, mainly in Piedmont.
Look for:
Smooth petioles; leaves a little longer than wide. Leaves generally smooth below.
Viburnum dentatum (Southern arrowwood)
Look for:
Does not have smooth petioles; leaves generally as wide as long, and slightly fuzzy below.
Look for:
Smooth, long petioles; leaves only a little longer than wide. Leaves generally smooth below.
Viburnum carolinianum (Carolina arrowwood)
Look for:
Thick, rounded leaves, fuzzy below, and with deeply impressed veins. In North Carolina, found only in the southwestern mountains, in upland and moist forests.
Look for:
Stem and leaves plain green; fruits are 1 to 4 densely packed spikelets. Stems usually 0.6 to 1 m tall.
Andropogon cretaceus (Purple bluestem)
Look for:
Taller plant (1 to 1.6 m) with glaucous (whitish coated) stems and leaves. Less dense inflorescence with purple hue in fall; long hairs on stem branches below raceme bracts.
Look for:
Wider leaves with hairy sheaths clasping stems.
Look for:
Narrower, more fragile leaves with shiny midribs.
Look for:
Thinner stalks. Damp to wet areas. Smaller branches along central stalk are not consistently in sets of 2; initially 1 to 3, sometimes 5.
Phyllostachys aurea (Golden bamboo)
Look for:
Much thicker stalks. Smaller branches along central stalk are consistently in sets of 2 and unequal; rarely with a smaller central third branch.
Look for:
Tends to be in the Sandhills and Coastal Plain in blackwater systems. Has longitudinal air canals along the outer rim of its rhizomes, and has clusters of short internodes at bases of branches.
Look for:
Can grow much taller with a more stout central stem and tends to be in the Piedmont and Mountains in brownwater systems. Lacks longitudinal air canals along the outer rim of its rhizomes, and has wider internodes at bases of branches.
Look for:
Overall seedhead more ovoid in shape (not as round); fewer perigynia (1 to 12). Found in floodplain forests statewide.
Carex grayi (Gray's sedge)
Look for:
Downward-pointing perigynia, often finely haired and usually greater in number (8 to 35); overall seedhead spherical. Found in floodplain forests of brownwater rivers; not found in the mountains ecoregion.
Look for:
Seeds pointed oval shaped. Narrower seedheads, sometimes quite elongated. Perigynia oriented more at right angles to seedhead stem. Common statewide.
Look for:
Seeds strongly diamond shaped with a loop at the tip. Shorter and fatter seedheads. Perigynia oriented more in upward direction in relation to seedhead stem. Found statewide but less common in mountains.
Look for:
Abundant leaves adjacent to flowering stems. Larger with more upright growth habit; perigynia winged, but not to base. Common statewide.
Carex scoparia (Broom sedge)
Look for:
Smaller; perigynia winged, straight (not curved) from tip to body. Common in the mountains and Piedmont; uncommon in Coastal Plain.
Look for:
Flowering stems to about 1 m, leaves shorter; fruits dangle on thin stems like fish on a line. Freshwater wetlands only.
Uniola paniculata (Sea oats)
Look for:
Large plant with flowering stems to over 2 m long. Found on seashore sand dunes, in interdune swales.
Look for:
More of a clumped, grass-like appearance, with multiple thin stems arising from the ground.
Look for:
Grows 1 to 3 m tall with somewhat woody central stems.
Look for:
Dark, rounded, flattened lens-shaped achenes inside folded scales of spikelets
Look for:
Elongated, pale achenes inside folded scales of spikelets; species highly variable
Look for:
Dark, rounded, flattened lens-shaped achenes inside folded scales of spikelets; scales less pointed
Look for:
Dark, three-angled achenes inside pointed folded scales of spikelets
Look for:
Seedheads greenish. Common statewide.
Cyperus sesquiflorus (Fragrant spikesedge)
Look for:
Whiter, somewhat longer seedheads. Common in the Coastal Plain; uncommon in Piedmont; absent from the mountains.
Look for:
Shorter sedge (usually 15 to 30 cm), with more oval shaped seeds and shorter scales. Found throughout the Coastal Plain; uncommon in the Piedmont.
Cyperus filicinus (Fern flatsedge)
Look for:
Shorter sedge (often less than 15 cm) with seeds wider on one end and longer scales. Grows in outer Coastal Plain.
Look for:
Fat, multidimensional seedhead with short clusters of flattened seed cases; narrow, grass-like leaves.
Look for:
Finer, flatter seedhead; leaves cylindrical in cross section and stems more wiry.
Look for:
Seedcases have many tiny short hair-like projections, among larger spines without swollen bases (magnification required).
Echinochloa muricata (Rough barnyard grass)
Look for:
More elongated seeds, in seed cases with larger spines that have swollen bases (magnification required).
Look for:
Small, climping annual plant, with stems and leaves 15 to 20 cm long. Fairly weedy species found statewide in moist to wet soil.
Look for:
Large, clumping plant with long, narrow leaves and tall flowering stems to 1.5 m long. Shiny, chestnut brown deep roots. Common in brackish or tidal freshwater marshes
Look for:
More open seedhead; seed capsule sepals do not extend beyond capsule.
Look for:
Denser, fuller seedhead; seed capsule sepals extend beyond capsule.
Look for:
Smaller, elongated, more numerous capsules.
Look for:
Fewer, larger, round capsules.
Look for:
Grows only to 0.25 to 0.5 m tall.
Look for:
Grows taller (0.5 to 1.0 m).
Look for:
Grows only to 0.25 to 0.5 m tall. Short horizontal rhizomes.
Juncus longii (Long's rush)
Look for:
Grows taller (0.5 to 1.0 m) with tighter inflorescence; long, slender rhizomes.
Look for:
Linear leaves more fleshy; deep orange or red roots which are thin. Flowers/seedheads are fuzzy whitish clusters.
Look for:
Leaves thin, sharply pointed at tips. Roots are brown rhizomes. Flowers colorful purple with large petals.
Look for:
Narrow, short leaves; pinkish flowers. Small, elongated capsule fruit. Prefers sunny spots.
Look for:
Wider, longer leaves; three-petaled blue flowers and flattened capsule fruit. Prefers shady spots.
Look for:
No cross veins readily visible between main leaf veins. Overall leaf shape tends to be more strongly triangular.
Look for:
Cross-veins visible between main leaf veins.
Look for:
Drooping, full inflescence with thin branchlets. Shorter leaves along flowering stalk.
Look for:
Large, wide inflorescence with stiff upright branchlets. Longer leaves.
Look for:
Leaves at right angles to flowering stalk; drooping, full inflorescence. No long hairs extending from leaf bases. Tends to be in the outer Coastal Plain but also found inland.
Look for:
Rarely has inflorescence; plant more branched and leafy looking. Tends to be in the Piedmont and Mountains in brownwater systems.
Look for:
Shorter leaves at right angles to flowering stalk; drooping, full inflorescence.
Zizania aquatica (Annual wild-rice)
Look for:
Spreading seedhead; long leaves. Less common.
Look for:
Shorter leaves at right angles to flowering stalk; drooping, full inflorescence.
Look for:
Inflorescences have stiff, compact branchlets. Stems and leaves emerge from clumping base.
Look for:
Heart-shaped leaves; purple flowers.
Look for:
Leaves with pointed tips and leaf bases; white flowers.
Look for:
Heart-shaped leaves with rounded leaf bases and no prominent midrib; purple flowers.
Look for:
Leaves with pointed tips and leaf bases; leaves have very prominent midrib. Yellow hooded flower spikes.
Look for:
Shorter spikelets (3 to 5 mm); common outside Outer Banks, mainly in the Coastal Plain and eastern Piedmont.
Rhynchospora odorata (Fragrant beaksedge)
Look for:
Long spikelets (5 to 7 mm); generally only found in Outer Banks.
Look for:
Shorter with 3 to 6 white bracts in inflorescences. More common.
Rhynchospora latifolia (Giant whitetop sedge)
Look for:
Tall; many more and longer white bracts (6 to 10). Uncommon outer Coastal Plain species.
Look for:
Bristles shorter than seed. Seedheads loosely clustered.
Rhynchospora macrostachya (Tall horned beaksedge)
Look for:
Bristles much longer than seed. Seedheads are tightly bunched.
Look for:
Bristles shorter than seed. Seedheads loosely clustered.
Rhynchospora inundata (Narrow-fruit horned beaksedge)
Look for:
Bristles much longer than seed. Seedheads are loosely clustered.
Look for:
Small (to 0.5 m) with clusters of rounded seeds at flowering stem tips; narrow, basal leaves. Piedmont and Coastal Plain.
Rhynchospora recognita (Cymose beaksedge)
Look for:
Grows taller to 1 m tall; has wider leaves (to 5 mm) and longer seeds (1.4 to 1.8 mm). Statewide.
Look for:
Narrower seedhead overall.
Zizania aquatica (Annual wild-rice)
Look for:
Open spreading seedhead.
Look for:
Stems sharply triangular but not with concave sides. Bracts above inflorescences 3 to 20 cm long.
Bolboschoenus robustus (Saltmarsh bulrush)
Look for:
Inflorescences with ovoid to cylindrical brown spikes and bracts extending out perpendicular to stem.
Look for:
Stems sharply triangular but not with concave sides. Bracts above inflorescences 3 to 20 cm long.
Schoenoplectus americanus (Olney's threesquare)
Look for:
Stems sharply triangular with concave sides; bracts above inflorescences 1 to 6 cm long. Plant is a brighter green; 1.3 to 2.3 m tall.
Look for:
Leafy, clumping base. Tall flowering stems; fuzzy spikelets on drooping stalks.
Look for:
No noticeable leaves on soft, blue-green stems.
Look for:
Reddish lower sheaths on flowering stems; spikelets on stiff stalks. Generally shorter; mountain species.
Look for:
No reddish lower sheaths on flowering stems; spikelets on drooping stalks. Leafy, clumping base. Statewide.
Look for:
Long, drooping flower/fruit stalks; fruits brown at maturity.
Sisyrinchium atlanticum (Eastern blue-eyed grass)
Look for:
Narrow, pale green stems and leaves; fruits black at maturity. Living in drier places.
Look for:
Narrow, linear leaf blades rolled inward and less than 3 mm wide and 35 cm long. Stems wiry and hollow.
Look for:
Long, grass-like blades flat and tapered to a sharp point. Leaves about 1 cm wide and up to 40 cm long and typically smooth or nearly so.
Look for:
Flowers have no green lines; upper part of flowering stem quite hairy.
Spiranthes praecox (Grassleaf ladies'-tresses)
Look for:
Flowers with green lines on the upper side of the flower lower lip; upper part of the flowering stem is smooth or only slightly hairy.
Look for:
Relatively short cattail with narrow fruits; dark green leaves less convex in cross-section.
Look for:
Very tall cattail; medium-green leaves strongly convex in cross-section.
Look for:
Bluish-green leaves not strongly convex in cross-section; no gap between male and female flowers on spike. Intolerant of salinity. Statewide.
Look for:
Darker green, narrower leaves and much narrower cattail spikes; gap between male and female flowers on spike. Tolerant of salinity. Outer Coastal Plain only.
Look for:
Bluish-green leaves not strongly convex in cross-section; no gap between male and female flowers on spike. Intolerant of salinity. Statewide.
Look for:
Gap between male and female flowers spikes. Tolerant of salinity. Outer Coastal Plain only.
Look for:
Emerging leaves arranged in a cylinder shape.
Look for:
Emerging leaves arranged more in a fan shape.
Look for:
Yellow petals on cone-like seedheads of flowering stems; wider leaf blades.
Eleocharis spp. (Spikerushes)
Look for:
Single cone-like seedheads at the ends of stems, and no flattened leaf blades. Never have petals on flowering stems and tend to be much smaller than Xyris spp., with finer stems.
Look for:
Taller plant (to 1 m) with flowers on short stalks. Needle-like leaves to 4 cm long.
Agalinis setacea (Threadleaf false foxglove)
Look for:
Shorter plant (about 0.3 m) with flowers on long stalks (over 2 cm).
Look for:
Needle-like leaves to 4 cm long and generally alone attaching to stem. Grows to 1 m.
Agalinis fasciculata (Beach false foxglove)
Look for:
Looks much more "leafy" because it has many smaller leaves emerging from the stem where the main leaves attach. Grows to 1 m.
Look for:
Flowers long spikes; generally taller plant.
Look for:
Flowers short-branched panicles; leaves glossy with three prominent veins.
Look for:
Petioles attached at leaf base; toothed leaf margins.
Look for:
Petioles attached at the center of disk-shaped leaves; scalloped edges.
Look for:
Compound leaves; leaflets with deeply serrated margins. Mature height 1.5 to 2 m tall.
Look for:
Singly divided leaves, with leaflets only slightly serrated. Grows to 1 m height.
Look for:
Leaves taper to narrow bases; flowers with almost no stalk. Fruits round capsules.
Look for:
Leaves wide at base; flowering stalk about as long as leaves. Fruit elongated capsule.
Look for:
Leaves taper to narrow bases; flowers with almost no stalk. Fruits round capsules.
Look for:
Leaves wide at base; flowering stalk much longer than leaves. Fruit elongated capsule.
Look for:
Orange trumpet-shaped flowers; statewide.
Impatiens pallida (Pale jewelweed)
Look for:
Yellow trumpet-shaped flowers; leaves have more prounounced teeth. Found in wet woods and seeps in mountains.
Look for:
Fowering stalks about the same length as the leaves or shorter.
Look for:
Flowering stalks much longer than the leaves.
Look for:
Lance-shaped leaves have short petioles. Fruits are rounded cube shaped capsules. Other erect-growing North Carolina Ludwigia species tend to have more than four petals or none at all.
Look for:
No petioles on leaves. Winged stems, with wings originating from base of each leaf and extending down stem. Fruit is elongated and winged. Other erect-growing North Carolina Ludwigia species tend to have more than four petals or none at all.
Look for:
Flowers on short stalks; leaves with petioles.
Look for:
Flowers on long stalks; leaves without petioles.
Look for:
Whitish flowers; clasping leaves. Coastal Plain and lower Piedmont.
Look for:
Pinkish flowers. Leaves with short petioles (not sessile or clasping); coastal wetlands only (brackish and fresh).
Look for:
Leaves (on the fleshy side) with short petioles (but not sessile or clasping); generally shorter with flat-topped inflorescences. Coastal wetlands only (brackish and fresh).
Pluchea camphorata (Camphor pluchea)
Look for:
Large, non-fleshy leaves with petioles (not clasping). Generally taller with more rounded inflorescence. Found statewide only in freshwater wetlands.
Look for:
Minutely hairy stems, taller overall, and wider leaves with a few teeth on margins.
Look for:
Smooth stems, shorter overall, and with much narrower, linear leaves.
Look for:
Lighter pink flower, shorter neck on fruit, and wider leaves. Common statewide.
Look for:
Darker pink flower, narrower leaves, and longer neck on fruit (about 1 to 1.5 cm long). Primarily Coastal Plain.
Look for:
Narrower leaves; no wings on stem. Primarily in the Coastal Plain.
Rhexia virginica (Virginia meadow-beauty)
Look for:
Wider leaves; slightly winged square-sided stems. Common in Coastal Plain and mountains; uncommon in Piedmont.
Look for:
Low, creeping plant with soft prickles along stems.
Look for:
Long arching stems that reach to 2 m and have stiff prickles along their stems
Look for:
Leaves with pointed tips and scattered along stem.
Look for:
Leaves with rounded tips and less branched venation; leaves all arising from base of plant.
Look for:
Has 7 to 11 ray flowers (petals).
Solidago sempervirens (Northern seaside goldenrod)
Look for:
Found in drier, sandier sites; wider leaves. Has 12 to 17 ray flowers (petals).
Look for:
Does not have hairy leaves and stems, and flowers generally have fewer petals. Flower bracts do not curve outward.
Look for:
Profusely hairy on leaves and stems; flowers have green bracts just beneath the flowers with tips that curve outward. Also generally has more petals.
Look for:
Leaves have petioles which are a little over 0.5 cm long.
Triadenum virginicum (Virginia marsh st. john's-wort)
Look for:
Leaves have no petioles, instead joined directly to main stem, even clasping. Leaves usually shorter and wider at base.
