01 October 2023.
Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States
Locality: Collected primarily along the woodland edge along Northside Road on Pennsylvania State Gamelands No. 43 as well as a few on nearby roads.
Coordinates: 40.1797, -75.7679
(Map it)
Elevation: 176m.
Georeference protocol: Lat/lon determined by GPS
Environment description: Plants were growing in mesic well-drained conditions on moderately sloping sites of a deciduous upland forest. This species grows well in shade to part-sun. Most abundant fruit development is found where plants are exposed to sunlight for a portion of the day. Slope: 15%. Aspect: North-northwest. The underlying geology of this area is of Precambrian origin and characterized as the Graphitic Felsic Gneiss. This includes Pickering Gneiss and small areas of marble; dominantly quartz and feldspar with varying amounts of graphite and various metamorphic minerals; medium grained, light to dark gray and greenish gray; sedimentary origin. (Source: USGS Pennsylvania Geologic Map Data.) The primary soil type in the area of this collection is classified as Gladstone Gravelly Loam Series (8 to 15 percent slopes). The Gladstone Series consists of very deep, well drained soils formed in residuum and colluvium from granitic gneiss. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high to high. Solum thickness ranges from 75 to 125 cm. Depth to granitic gneiss bedrock is 1.6 meters or more. The bedrock may be strongly weathered in the upper part. Gravel content ranges from 5 to 35 percent throughout the solum, and 10 to 40 percent in the C horizons. Fragments, larger than 3 inches in diameter, range from 0 to 20 percent by volume in the surface layer and 0 to 10 percent in the subsoil and substratum layers. Reaction is strongly or very strongly acid throughout the soil, unless limed. Areas that have been limed range to moderately acid in the upper part of the profile. (Source: NRCS Web Soil Survey.)
Number of plants sampled: 15
Associated species: Liriodendron tulipifera; Toxicodendron radicans; Quercus rubra; Ulmus americana; Lindera benzoin; Fraxinus americana; Quercus montana; Carex sp.; Vitis sp.; Amelanchier sp.; Nyssa sylvatica; Quercus alba; Carya ovata; Solidago sp.; Rubus sp.; Acer rubrum; Carpinus caroliniana; Vaccinium stamineum; Smilax rotundifolia; Viburnum acerifolium; Pinus strobus; Actaea racemosa; Thalictrum thalictroides; Polystichum acrostichoides; Pyrola rotundifolia; Sanguinaria canadensis; Fagus grandifolia; Sassafras albidum; Rhododendron periclymenoides; Prunus serotina; Viburnum prunifolium; Cornus florida; Amelanchier sp.; Betula lenta; Cornus alternifolia [as Swida alternifolia]; Mitchella repens; Chimaphila maculata.
Comment: Plants are multi-stemmed, deciduous, broad-spreading shrubs to small trees. Mature plants can reach 4-6 meters tall and wide. Fruits are woody capsules, containing 1-2 shiny, narrow football-shaped black seeds, are borne along the stems and in the leaf axils singly and in small clusters. Leaves are broad-elliptic to nearly rounded or obovate, 5-10 cm long x 2.5-10 cm wide; the leaf base is typically strongly oblique and rounded. The leaf surfaces abaxially are pale green, not glaucous. Flowers are beginning to appear. The strap-shaped yellow flowers are sometimes faintly fragrant. Plants are commonly found in the woodlands. Unfortunately, few plants in the woodlands produce fruit in full shade. Even so, several plants growing along the woodland edge produced abundant fruit. Approximately 500 to 1,000 seeds collected from about 15 plants.