12 December 2022.
Clarke County, Alabama, United States
Locality: Plants growing on woodland slopes below the hilltop parking area leading down to the Silver Creek Lake Campground off of Silver Creek Lake Road. Occasional in the woodlands.
Coordinates: 31.6655, -87.5762
(Map it)
Elevation: 45m.
Habitat: Wild Habitat
Environment description: Plants are growing in shade of moist mesic deciduous and evergreen woodland, mid-slope between the upland dry mesic zone and the creekside habitat below.
Soils: The underlying geology of this area is Claiborne Group, Tallahatta Formation, of Eocene origin, with white to very light-greenish-gray thin-bedded to massive siliceous claystone; interbedded with thin layers of fossiliferous clay, sandy clay, and glauconitic sand and sandstone.
Source: USGS Alabama Geological Map Data (https://mrdata.usgs.gov/geology/state/state.php?state=AL)
The primary soil types in the collection area are classified as Luverne Sandy Loam soils (15 to 35 percent slopes). The Luverne Series consists of very deep, well drained, moderately slowly permeable soils on dissected uplands of the Southern Coastal Plain. They formed in stratified marine sediments and are strongly acid. The lower strata of this series are clay and clay loam. Slopes range from 1 to 45 percent.
Source: NRCS Web Soil Survey (https://websoilsurvey.sc.egov.usda.gov/App/WebSoilSurvey.aspx)
Number of plants sampled: 5
Associated species: Magnolia macrophylla, Magnolia grandiflora, Ostrya virginiana, Chasmanthium sessiliflorum, Mitchella repens, Pinus taeda, Fagus grandifolia, Quercus alba, Morella cerifera, Benthamidia florida, Quercus laurifolia, Prunus serotina, Crataegus sp., Ditrysinia fruticosa, Callicarpa americana, Ilex opaca, Liquidambar styraciflua, Polystichum acrostichoides, Symplocos tinctoria, Oxydendrum arboreum, Calycanthus floridus, Hamamelis virginiana, Nyssa sylvatica, Arundinaria gigantea, Rhododendron colemanii, Carex sp., Cartrema americana, Pinus glabra, Ilex longipes, Prunus alabamensis, Aesculus pavia, Gelsemium sempervirens, Acer rubrum, Hypericum sp., Crataegus marshallii, Ilex decidua
Comment: This species is a multi-stemmed, deciduous shrub, forming an upright, spreading-habit in maturity. Mature shrubs in this population are approximately 3-4 meters tall x 2-3 meters wide. Plants are dormant and have no leaves. Fruits are brown, upright, dehiscent capsules borne terminally in clusters. Capsules are approximately 15-30 mm long × 5-8 mm wide, usually with eglandular-hairs.
Collector(s):