Recommended Field Biology References for North Carolina
The list of field references on this page includes some useful books and websites that will help you identify species and natural communities in North Carolina. These are some of the sources that Natural Heritage Program staff biologists regularly use.
Tab/Accordion Items
- Carolina Nature Plant Photos
- Godfrey, R.K. and J.W. Wooten. 1979-81. Aquatic and wetland plants of southeastern United States. 2 vols. University of GA Press, Athens.
- NCU Flora of the Southeastern United States
- FloraQuest iPhone and iPad app
- Krings et. al. 2021. Rare plants of North Carolina: Federally listed species and their congeners. http://herbarium.ncsu.edu/rare/
- Online keys and image galleries available from the NCSC Herbarium of North Carolina State University.
- Porcher, R. D. 2002. A Guide to the Wildflowers of South Carolina. University of South Carolina Press. 544 pp.
- Radford, A.E., H.E. Ahles, and C.R. Bell. 1968. Manual of the vascular flora of the Carolinas. Univ. North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC. 1183 pp.
- Sorrie, B. A. 2011. A Field Guide to Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region: North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Univ. North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC. 392 pp.
- Tekielo, S. 2007. Trees of the Carolinas Field Guide. Adventure Publications, Cambridge, MN.
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina
- Weakley, A.S. 2023. Flora of the Southern United States. University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), NC Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Download free or order a copy from https://ncbg.unc.edu/research/unc-herbarium/floras/
- Weakley, A.S., J.C. Ludwig, and J.F. Townsend. 2012. Flora of Virginia. BRIT Press, Botanical Research Institute of Texas, Fort Worth, TX. 1554 pp.
- Crum, H. & L.E. Anderson. 1981. Mosses of Eastern North America. 2 Vols. Columbia University Press. N.Y.
- Hicks, Marie L. 1992. Guide to the liverworts of North Carolina. Duke University Press.
- Brodo, Irvin, M. 2001. Lichens of North America. Yale University Press.
- Bowers, N., R. Bowers, and K. Kaufman. 2004. Mammals of North America. Kaufman Focus Guides. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York. 352 pp.
- Kays, R.W., and D.E. Wilson. 2009. Mammals of North America; Second edition. Princeton Field Guides. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
- Mammals of North Carolina
- Reid, F.A. 2006. A Field Guide to Mammals of North America north of Mexico; Fourth edition. Peterson Field Guides. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York.
- Webster, W. D., J. F. Parnell and W. C. Biggs Jr. 1985. Mammals of the Carolinas, Virginia, and Maryland. The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC. 255 pp.
- Birds of North Carolina: their Distribution and Abundance
- Dunn, J.L., and J. Alderfer. 2011. National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America; Sixth edition. National Geographic Society, Washington, DC. 574 pp.
- Potter, E. F., J. F. Parnell, R. P. Teulings, R. Davis. 2006. Birds of the Carolinas. 2nd ed. Univ. North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill. 399 pp.
- Tekielo, S. 2004. Birds of the Carolinas Field Guide. Adventure Publications, Cambridge, MN.
- Beane, J. C., A. L. Braswell, J. C. Mitchell, W. M. Palmer, and J. R. Harrison III. 2010. Amphibians and Reptiles of the Carolinas and Virginia. Second Edition, Revised and Updated. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill. vii + 274 pp.
- Braswell, A. L., W. M. Palmer, and J. C. Beane. 2003. Venomous Snakes of North Carolina. North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC.
- Carolina Herp Atlas
- Dorcas, M. E. 2004. A Guide to the Snakes of North Carolina. Davidson College, Davidson, NC.
- Dorcas, M. E., S. Price, J. C. Beane, and S. C. Owen. 2007. Frogs and Toads of North Carolina. North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, Raleigh, NC.
- Palmer, W.M., and A.L. Braswell. 1995. Reptiles of North Carolina. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill. 412 pp.
- Menhinik, E.F. 1991. The Freshwater Fishes of North Carolina. North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. 227 pp.
- Page, L.M., and B.M. Burr. 2011. Peterson Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes. Second Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company. 663 pp.
- Rohde, F. C., R.G. Arndt, D.G. Lindquist, and J.F. Parnell. 1994. Freshwater Fishes of the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. University of North Carolina Press. 222 pp.
- Bogan, A. 2017. Workbook and Key to the Freshwater Bivalves of North Carolina. North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC. Download Free or order a copy from: http://naturalsciences.org/docs/Bogan_NC_Bivalve_Workbook_2017.pdf
- North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission Mollusk information: https://www.ncwildlife.org/wildlife-habitat/species?combine=&field_catalog_categories_target_id_6%5B1582%5D=1582
- Beadle, D., and S. Leckie. 2012. Peterson Field Guide to Moths of Northeastern North America. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston. 611 pp.
- Brock, J. P. and K. Kaufman. 2003. Butterflies of North America. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 392 pp.
- Butterflies of North Carolina
- Cech, R., and G. Tudor. 2005. Butterflies of the East Coast – an Observer’s Guide. Princeton University Press. 345 pp.
- Moths of North Carolina
- North American Moth Photographers Group
- Wagner, D. L. 2005. Caterpillars of Eastern North America. Princeton Field Guides. Princeton University Press.
- Dunkle, S. W. 2000. Dragonflies through Binoculars: a field guide to Dragonflies of North America. Oxford University Press, USA. 266 pp.
- Paulson. D. 2011. Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East. Princeton University Press. 538 pp.
- The Dragonflies and Damselflies of North Carolina
- Gaddy, L. L. 2009. Spiders of the Carolinas. Adventure Publications, Cambridge, MN.
- Knisely, C. B. and T. D. Schultz. 1997. The Biology of Tiger Beetles and a Guide to the Species of the South Atlantic States. Virginia Museum of Natural History. 210 pp.
- Blevins, D. and M. P. Schafale. 2011. Wild North Carolina: Discovering the Wonders of Our State's Natural Communities. The University of North Carolina Press. 176 pp.
- Jeffries, S. B. and T. R. Wentworth. 2014. Exploring Southern Appalachian Forests: An Ecological Guide to 30 Great Hikes in the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia. The University of North Carolina Press. 310 pp.
- Krings et. al. 2021. Rare plants of North Carolina: Federally listed species and their congeners. http://herbarium.ncsu.edu/rare/
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered and Threatened species of North Carolina website