North Carolina Wildlife Federation

Recommended Native Plants for Wildlife

This list is intended to provide general information when making decisions about native plants that are beneficial to wildlife. It is not exhaustive as there are thousands of Native Plants in North Carolina. For additional information, please contact our offices in Raleigh and Charlotte.

Tall Trees

Botanical Name	Common Name	Food for Songbirds	Butterflies/ Hummingbirds	Other Uses
Acer barbatum	Southern Sugar Maple	Seeds		Riparian
Betula nigra	River Birch	Seeds	Butterflies	Riparian
Carya glabra, ovata and tomentosa	Pignut, Shagbark and Mockernut Hickory	Seeds	Butterflies	Riparian
Celtis laevigata	Sugarberry/Hackberry	Fruit	Butterflies	Riparian
Diospyros virginiana	Persimmon	Fruit		Riparian
Fagus grandifolia	American Beech	Seeds		Riparian
Juniperus virginiana	Eastern Red Cedar	Fruit	Butterflies	Cover
Liriodendron tulipifera	Yellow Poplar/Tulip Poplar	Seeds	Hummingbirds/ Butterflies	Riparian
Magnolia acuminata	Cucumber Magnolia	Seeds		Riparian
Magnolia grandiflora	Southern Magnolia	Seeds		Cover
Pinus echinata	Short-leaf Pine	Seeds	Butterflies	Riparian/ Cover
Pinus teada	Loblolly Pine	Seeds	Butterflies	Cover
Platanus occidentalis	Sycamore	Seeds		Riparian
Prunus serotina	Black Cherry	Fruit	Butterflies	Riparian
Quercus alba, coccinea, falcate, pagoda, michauxii, nigra, phellos, rubra, stellata, velutina and shumardii	White, Scarlet, Southern Red, Cherrybark, Swamp Chestnut, Water, Willow, Red, Post, Black and Shumard Oak	Seeds	Butterflies	Riparian
Sassafras albidum	Sassafras	Fruit	Butterflies	Riparian
Tsuga canadensis	Eastern Hemlock	Seeds		Riparian/ Cover
Ulmas alata and Americana	Winged and American Elm	Seeds	Butterflies	Riparian

Small Trees/Shrubs

Amelanchier arborea	Serviceberry	Fruit	Butterflies	Riparian
Aralia spinosa	Devil’s Walking Stick	Fruit	Butterflies
Asimina triloba	Paw-paw	Fruit	Butterflies	Riparian
Carnus florida	Flowering Dogwood	Fruit	Butterflies	Riparian
Cercis canadensis	Eastern Redbud	Seeds	Butterflies	Riparian
Crataegus	Hawthorn	Fruit	Hummingbirds/ Butterflies
Halesia tetraptera	Carolina Silverbell		Butterflies	Riparian
Hamamelis virginiana	Witch-Hazel	Seeds		Riparian
Ilex opaca	American Holly	Fruit	Butterflies	Riparian/ Cover
Ilex verticillata	Winterberry	Fruit	Butterflies
Morus rubra	Red Mulberry	Fruit	Butterflies	Riparian
Myrica cerifera	Wax Myrtle	Fruit	Butterflies	Cover
Prunus Americana and angustifolia	Wild and Chickasaw Plum	Fruit	Butterflies
Rhus hirta, copallina and glabra	Staghorn, Winged and Smooth Sumac	Fruit	Butterflies
Symplocos tinctoria	Sweetleaf	Seeds	Butterflies	Riparian

Small Shrubs

Callicarpa Americana	American Beautyberry	Fruit		Riparian
Calycanthus floridus	Sweet-shrub		Butterflies	Riparian
Cephalanthus occidentalis	Buttonbush	Seeds	Hummingbirds/ Butterflies	Riparian
Clethra alnifolia	Sweet Pepperbush	Fruit	Hummingbirds/ Butterflies	Riparian
Corylus Americana	Hazelnut	Seeds		Riparian
Euonymus Americana	Strawberry Bush	Seeds		Riparian
Gaylussacia dumosa and frondosa	Dwarf and Blue Huckleberry	Fruit	Hummingbirds/ Butterflies
Hydrangea arborescens	Wild Hydrangea	Seeds	Butterflies	Riparian
Itea virginica	Virginia Willow/Sweetspire	Seeds	Butterflies	Riparian
Kalmia latifolia	Mountain Laurel		Hummingbirds/ Butterflies	Riparian/ Cover
Lindera benzoin	Spicebush	Fruit	Butterflies	Riparian
Rhododendron catawbiense and maximum	Catawba and Rosebay Rhododendron		Hummingbirds/ Butterflies	Riparian/ Cover
Rhododendron periclimenoides	Wild Azalea		Hummingbirds/ Butterflies	Riparian
Rubus	Blackberry/Dewberry	Seeds/Fruit	Butterflies	Riparian/ Cover
Sorbus arbutifolia	Red Chokeberry	Fruit	Butterflies	Riparian
Vaccinium arboreum	Sparkleberry	Fruit	Butterflies	Riparian/ Cover
Vaccinium corymbosum and vacillans	High-bush and Low-bush Blueberry	Fruit	Butterflies	Riparian
Viburnum acerifolium	Maple leaf Viburnum	Fruit	Butterflies	Riparian

Vines

Bignonia capreolata	Crossvine		Hummingbirds
Campsis radicans	Trumpet Vine		Hummingbirds
Gelsemium sempervirens	Carolina Jessamine		Hummingbirds/ Butterflies	Cover
Lonicera sempervirens	Coral Honeysuckle		Hummingbirds
Parthenocissus quinquefolia	Virginia Creeper	Fruit
Passiflora incarnata	Passion Flower