North Inlet-Winyah Bay Reserve, South Carolina

North Inlet-Winyah Bay Reserve, South Carolina

Flora (Plant Life)

The entire Winyah Bay system has an extremely diverse plant community arising from the broad range of salinities in the estuary. Low marsh, in the more saline reaches of the bay, is dominated by smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora). Black needlerush, sea ox-eye, salt grass, salt marsh fimbristylis, glassworts, marsh elder and sea lavender are common in the high marsh. Brackish marsh species include giant cordgrass (Spartina cynosuroides), salt marsh bulrush, common three-square, soft-stem bulrush, broadleaf cattail, arrowhead, spider-lily, salt reedgrass, reed and arrow arum.

Giant cutgrass is a common plant in freshwater marshes, along with pickerel weed, sawgrass, jewelweed, water parsnip and smartweeds. The intertidal marsh in North Inlet is dominated by smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora), while the high marsh community contains a mix of species, including smooth cordgrass, black needlerush, sea oxeye, salt grass, salt hay, salt marsh fimbristylis, glassworts, marsh elder and others.