Like other freshwater mussels, the Carolina heelsplitter (Lasmigona decorate) feeds by filtering food particles from the water column. It is known to only a few river systems in the Carolinas. The species has been reduced to a few short reaches of each of these streams, primarily as a result of impoundments and channelization projects and the general deterioration of water quality.

Photo credit: John Fridell, USFWS

In South Carolina, the Miccosukee gooseberry (Ribes echinellum) is found only at Steven's Creek Heritage Preserve and Sumter National Forest in McCormick County. This perennial shrub produces green berries and is usually found in mixed hardwood forests dominated by cherrybark oak, swamp chestnut oak, painted buckeye and southern sugar maple. They are protected on public lands, but herbivory and invasive species continue to pose a threat.

Photo credit: Vivian Negron Ortiz, USFWS