19 September 2024.
Clarke County, Alabama, United States
Locality: Woodland slopes around and below the hilltop parking area leading down to the Silver Creek Lake Campground off of Silver Creek Lake Road.
Coordinates: 31.6661, -87.5757
(Map it)
Elevation: 39m.
Georeference protocol: Lat/lon determined by GPS
Habitat: Wild Habitat
Environment description: Plants are growing in part-shade to shade of a moist mesic deciduous and evergreen woodland on dry, well-drained soil to an area 1-2 meters above a small seasonally spring-fed creek at 31.664428°, -87.574614°. Slope: 5 to 10 percent. Aspect: Southeast. Geology: The underlying geology of this area is Claiborne Group, Tallahatta Formation, of Eocene origin, with white to very light-greenish-gray thin-bedded to massive siliceous claystone; interbedded with thin layers of fossiliferous clay, sandy clay, and glauconitic sand and sandstone. (Source: USGS Alabama Geologic Map Data). Soils: The primary soil types in the collection area are classified as Arundel-Cantuche Complex soils (15 to 35 percent slopes). The Arundel Series consists of moderately deep, well drained, very slowly permeable soils on dissected uplands of the Southern Coastal Plain. They formed in marine deposits consisting of acid clays underlain by horizontally bedded sandstone, buhrstone and siltstone. These soils are strongly acid. Slopes range from 2 to 60 percent. The Cantuche Series consists of shallow, well drained, moderately permeable soils that formed over horizontally bedded claystone. These soils are on narrow ridgetops and narrow benches on steep side-slopes of dissected landscapes in the Coastal Plain. They are strongly acid. Slopes range from 2 to 35 percent. (Source: California Soil Resource Lab/NRCS Official Soil Series Descriptions). EPA Ecoregion (Level III): Southeastern Plains (65). EPA Ecoregion (Level IV): Buhrstone/Lime Hills (65q).
Number of plants sampled: 4
Associated species: Magnolia macrophylla; Magnolia grandiflora; Ostrya virginiana; Chasmanthium sessiliflorum; Mitchella repens; Pinus taeda; Fagus grandifolia; Quercus alba; Morella cerifera; Cornus florida; Quercus laurifolia; Prunus serotina; Crataegus sp.; Ditrysinia fruticosa; Callicarpa americana; Ilex opaca; Liquidambar styraciflua; Polystichum acrostichoides; Symplocos tinctoria; Oxydendrum arboreum; Calycanthus floridus; Hamamelis virginiana; Nyssa sylvatica; Arundinaria gigantea; Rhododendron canescens; Carex sp.; Cartrema americana; Pinus glabra; Rhododendron colemanii; Aesculus pavia; Gelsemium sempervirens; Acer rubrum; Hypericum sp.; Ilex decidua.
Comment: This species is a deciduous, single-stemmed small tree that is dioecious, forming an upright, narrow habit. At maturity this plant is approximately 4-7 meters tall x 2-3 meters wide. Fruits are round, bright red and 5-10 mm in diameter. They are borne singly or in loose clusters on spurs of branches on a very long pedicel, 10-30 mm long, compared to other native Ilex species. This species is infrequent and uncommon. Seed collected from 4 plants; approximately 350 to 400 fruits collected. [Collecting notes prepared by Rick Lewandowski.]
Collector(s):