05 December 2023.
Santa Rosa County, Florida, United States
Locality: Yellow River Wildlife Management Area, along DOF [Department of Forestry] Y9 dirt road 0.08 kilometers east of Miller Bluff Road.
Coordinates: 30.6529, -86.8760
(Map it)
Elevation: 44m.
Georeference protocol: Lat/lon determined by GPS
Habitat: Wild Habitat
Environment description: Growing in part shade to sun in very dry, highly competitive site still recovering from the logging of pines in the past decade. This young woodland is comprised of a combination of evergreen and deciduous species competing for available resources and light before the young sand pines begin to dominate the upper canopy. Slope: 0 percent. Aspect: N/A. 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 type in the collection area is classified as Lakeland Sand soils (0 to 5 percent slopes). The surface soil profile of this area is primarily the Lakeland series which consists of very deep, excessively drained, rapid to very rapidly permeable soils on uplands. They formed in thick beds of eolian or marine and/or fluvio-marine sands. Thickness of the sand exceeds 2 meters. Silt plus clay in the upper meter ranges from 5-10 percent. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to moderately acid throughout. (Source: NRCS Web Soil Survey.)
Number of plants sampled: 10
Associated species: Ilex vomitoria; Diospyros virginiana; Vaccinium arboreum; Vaccinium elliottii; Pinus palustris; Vaccinium corymbosum [listed as V. fuscatum]; Pteridium aquilinum; Serenoa repens; Smilax sp.; Licania michauxii; Pinus clausa; Quercus virginiana; Vaccinium corymbosum; Chrysoma pauciflosculosa; Antennaria sp.; Lupinus diffusus; Sporobolus sp.; Andropogon sp.; Quercus laevis; Prunus serotina subsp. alabamensis [originally listed as P. alabamensis]; Quercus geminata; Clinopodium coccineum; Quercus hemisphaerica; Rubus sp.; Smilax bona-nox; Symplocos tinctoria.
Comment: These plants are multi-stemmed, dioecious, deciduous shrubs, forming an upright to upright spreading habit. The plants range from 3-4 meters tall x 1-3 meters wide. Some plants have leaves that are developing good yellow fall color. Fruits are drupe-like berries borne along the stems on short to nearly sessile stalks, 4-10 mm in diameter. Fruits range from dark red to bright red color and becoming soft; it appears that many are almost ready to drop. Plants are occasional in the dense growth of vegetation recovering from logging of pines in the past decade. Seeds collected from 10+ plants.
Collector(s):