A tropical storm picks up seawater and gains strength. When it makes landfall the rain is freshwater. Where does all the salt go?
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The coastal plain is pretty much void of rocks that can leach minerals into the sandy soil. While I once lived in the Cape Fear region of North Carolina, hurricanes were recorded as dropping a cup of sea salt per meter of ground at UNC Wilmington. Tropical storms might drop nearly pure water as rain, but they blow tons of oceanic salt water far inland.
We lived in the region for years never noticing the plants that were all over the place until a storm blew in the nutrients they needed. Coastal elderberries need that blown in fertilizer.
I now live a bit south of Charlotte and we have the plant that goes by a number of named the indicate its coastal origins, “beach aster” “high tide bush.”
It has invaded the piedmont along salted roadways.
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