20 September 2024.
Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States
Locality: Along gated road about 0.33 kilometers southwest of the Lake Ontelaunee Trail parking lot.
Coordinates: 40.5006, -75.8900
(Map it)
Elevation: 94m.
Georeference protocol: Lat/lon determined by GPS
Habitat: Wild Habitat
Environment description: Plants are growing on moist, well-drained in part shade of a deciduous forest. Slope: 0 percent. Aspect: N/A. Geology: The underlying geology of this area is of Ordovician origin and characterized as Shale and graywacke of Hamburg sequence. It is characterized by shale containing zones of conspicuous graywacke. (Source: USGS Pennsylvania Geologic Map Data). Soils: The primary soil type in the area of this collection is classified as Holly Series Silt Loam (Ho). The Holly Series consists of very deep, very poorly and poorly drained soils formed in loamy alluvium on flood plains. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high through high in the mineral soil. Slope ranges from 0 through 3 percent. (Source: USDA-NRCS Official Soil Series Descriptions). EPA Ecoregion (Level III): Ridge and Valley (67). EPA Ecoregion (Level IV): Northern Shale Valleys (67b).
Number of plants sampled: 7
Associated species: Fraxinus pennsylvanica; Cornus racemosa [listed as Swida racemosa]; Lindera benzoin; Rosa multiflora; Lonicera japonica; Celtis occidentalis; Symphyotrichum cordifolium; Juglans nigra; Carya ovata; Quercus rubra; Platanus occidentalis; Impatiens pallida; Persicaria sp.; Dioscorea villosa; Vitis sp.; Acer saccharum; Ulmus americana; Maianthemum racemosum; Acer negundo.
Comment: Plants are single and multi-stemmed, deciduous upright spreading trees, producing one to a few main trunks to 15 cm+ diameter. Mature plants range from 5 to 7 meters tall x 3 to 5 meters wide. Leaves are simple, opposite, entire, and thin. Leaves are ovate, ranging in size from 7.5-10 cm long. Fleshy fruits with a single seed are borne terminally on branches in large clusters, typically 5-20 fruits per cyme. Fruits are elongate-cylindrical and dark purple-black when fully mature and approximately 8-12 mm in diameter; at maturity, the fruiting cymes often turn red. Plants are common in the lower mesic areas along either side of the road. Seed collected from approximately 7 plants; approximately 400 fruits collected.
Collector(s):