14 December 2022.
Santa Rosa County, Florida, United States
Locality: Eglin Air Forece Base: growing along the east side of Eglin AFB Choctaw Nolf Road northwest of Choctaw Navy Outlying Field. This road goes west and takes a circuitous route to the north around the Field en route to Escribano Point Wildlife Management Area.
Coordinates: 30.5265, -86.9647
(Map it)
Elevation: 10m.
Georeference protocol: Lat/lon determined by GPS
Habitat: Wild Habitat
Environment description: Part shade to sun in permanently wet areas of mixed evergreen and deciduous woodlands, mostly along the edges where higher light conditions prevail. The underlying geology of this area is the Citronelle Formation, of Pliocene origin, and consists of gray to orange, often mottled, unconsolidated to poorly consolidated, very fine to very coarse, poorly sorted, clean to clayey sands. It contains significant amounts of clay, silt and gravel which may occur as beds and lenses and may vary considerably over short distances. Limonite nodules and limonite-cemented beds are common. (Source: USGS Florida Geologic Map Data). The primary soil types in the collection area are classified as Pactolus Loamy Sand soils (0 to 5 percent slopes). The Pactolus Series consists of very deep, moderately well to somewhat poorly drained soils. Permeability is rapid. These Coastal Plain soils, typically found with streams and marine terraces and were formed by loamy and sandy fluvial sediments and marine sediments. The strata is, generally, uniformly loamy sand that is very friable and strongly acid from the surface to a depth of 1.8 meters. (Source: NRCS Web Soil Survey).
Number of plants sampled: 10
Associated species: Cliftonia monophylla; Cartrema americana; Ludwigia sp.; Quercus virginiana; Vaccinium sp.; Magnolia grandiflora; Morella cerifera; Osmundastrum cinnamomeum; Aronia arbutifolia; Nyssa biflora; Arundinaria gigantea; Lyonia lucida; Xyris sp.; Vaccinium corymbosum; Ilex glabra; Magnolia virginiana; Ilex vomitoria; Smilax laurifolia; Acer rubrum; Pinus palustris; Hypericum sp.; Persea borbonia; Ilex coriacea.
Comment: This species is a single- to multi-stemmed, broad-leaved evergreen large shrub to small tree forming an upright to upright-oval spreading, loose, and open habit. Plants are approximately 5-8 meters tall x 4-6 meters wide. Leaves are simple, alternate and evergreen. They range from elliptic and narrowly lanceolate to oblanceolate with entire margins and are 20-35 mm long x 5-10 mm wide. Fruits are berries, 6-9 mm in diameter that mature in autumn and range from red to orange and occasionally yellow in color. Seed collected from 10 plants. Occassional occurrence.
Collector(s):