14 November 2023.
Charleston County, South Carolina, United States
Locality: Francis Marion National Forest: plants growing in wetlands/swamps on US Forest Service Road 223 approximately 0.57 kilometers southeast from the junction with Halfway Creek Road.
Coordinates: 33.0679, -79.6776
(Map it)
Elevation: 11m.
Georeference protocol: Lat/lon determined by GPS
Habitat: Wild Habitat
Environment description: Plants are growing in shade to part-shade in the swamp in seasonally inundated acidic wetland habitat. Slope: N/A. Aspect: N/A. The underlying geology of this area is of Pleistocene origin and characterized as an Socastee Formation. This is a low coastal formation in the Carolinas like Penholoway but younger and lower in altitude. It is comprised primarily of unconsolidated, fine-detrital clay. It is described as variegated quartzose sands, argillaceous sands, and clays, 5 m thick at the type section near Socastee Swamp. (Source: USGS South Carolina Geologic Map Data.) The primary soil type in this collection area is classified as Rutlege Series loamy fine sand. Rutlege Series soils are very deep, very poorly drained soils that are sandy, siliceous, thermic Typic Humaquepts. Upper strata soils (0-38 cm) are black loamy sand with weak medium granular structure. They are loose and very strongly acid. Lower strata (38-175 cm) range from dark gray to dark brown sand that is single grained, loose, and very strongly acid. (Source: NRCS Web Soil Survey.)
Number of plants sampled: 5
Associated species: Arundinaria tecta; Liquidambar styraciflua; Smilax laurifolia; Nekemias arborea (listed as Ampelopsis arborea); Acer rubrum; Viburnum dentatum; Clethra alnifolia; Gordonia lasianthus; Ilex opaca; Persea palustris; Magnolia virginiana; Pinus taeda; Leucothoe axillaris; Ilex coriacea; Vitis rotundifolia (listed as Muscadinia rotundifolia); Morella cerifera; Woodwardia areolata; Gelsemium sempervirens; Vaccinium corymbosum; Cephalanthus occidentalis; Taxodium distichum; Quercus laurifolia; Itea virginica; Hydrangea barbara (listed as Decumaria barbara); Pontederia cordata; Chamaecyparis thyoides; Lyonia lucida; Hypericum sp.; Smilax walteri; Aronia arbutifolia; Baccharis halimifolia; Cornus foemina (listed as Swida foemina); Hydrocotyle verticillata; Ilex glabra; Carex sp.; Viburnum nudum; Nyssa aquatica.
Comment: This species is a dioecious, single- or, occasionally, multi-stemmed broadleaved evergreen tree with an upright irregular shape and dense branching; it can reach up to 10 m tall and 4 m wide. Bark on mature stems is dark gray; very smooth to warty when young but later becoming finely scaly. Young twigs are grayish brown and finely hairy. Leaves are alternate, simple, evergreen, thickened and ovate, obovate, or lanceolate; they range from 1.2-5 cm long and 0.5-1 cm wide. Leaf margins are entire or sometimes a few sharp teeth above the middle; shiny dark green above, paler below. Fruit is a drupe-like round berry, 5-7 mm in diameter, and usually red (may be yellow); they are persistent into winter. Plants are occasional at this site. Seeds collected from five plants.
Collector(s):