14 November 2024.
Okaloosa County, Florida, United States
Locality: Both sides of Kennedy Bridge Road approximately 0.27 kilometers west of the junction with Hurricane Lake South Entrance Road.
Coordinates: 30.9316, -86.7493
(Map it)
Elevation: 43m.
Georeference protocol: Lat/lon determined by GPS
Habitat: Wild Habitat
Environment description: Mesic to mesic-moist conditions in a mixed and deciduous evergreen forest in part shade. Slope: 5 to 10 percent. Aspect: Various. The underlying geology of this area is characterized as Citronelle Formation of the Pliocene period. The Citronelle Formation is widespread in the Gulf Coastal Plain. The type section for the Citronelle Formation, named by Matson (1916), is near Citronelle, Alabama. The Citronelle Formation grades laterally, through a broad facies transition, into the Miccosukee Formation of the eastern Florida panhandle. Coe (1979) investigated the Citronelle Formation in portions of the western Florida panhandle. The Citronelle Formation is a siliciclastic, deltaic deposit that is lithologically similar to, and time equivalent with, the Cypresshead Formation and, at least in part, the Long Key Formation (Cunningham et al., 1998) of the peninsula. In the western panhandle, some of the sediments mapped as Citronelle Formation may be reworked Citronelle. The lithologies are the same and there are few fossils present to document a possible younger age. The Citronelle Formation 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. Marine fossils are rare but fossil pollen, plant remains and occasional vertebrates are found. Much of the Citronelle Formation is highly permeable. It forms the Sand and Gravel Aquifer of the surficial aquifer system contain organics. The dominant fossils in the freshwater carbonates are mollusks. (Source: USGS Florida Geologic Map Data). The soils of this are characterized as Dothan Series loamy sand, 5 to 8 percent slopes. The Dothan Series consists of very deep, well drained soils that formed in thick beds of unconsolidated, medium to fine-textured marine sediments. Dothan soils are on interfluves. Slopes range from 0 to 15 percent. The surface 0-33 cm is characterized by sandy-loam, well-drained soils that are strongly acid. From 33-200 cm they are characterized by sandy clay loam soils that are more moisture retentive and strongly acid. (Source: California Soil Resource Lab/NRCS Official Soil Series Descriptions).
Number of plants sampled: 2
Associated species: Ilex glabra; Pinus palustris; Quercus marilandica; Vaccinium elliottii; Ilex vomitoria; Quercus falcata; Smilax pumila; Smilax sp.; Magnolia virginiana; Vaccinium sp.; Pteridium aquilinum; Liquidambar styraciflua; Cyrilla racemiflora; Quercus nigra; Ilex opaca; Callicarpa americana; Vitis rotundifolia (listed as Muscadinia rotundifolia); Gelsemium sempervirens; Morella cerifera.
Comment: Trees are deciduous and typically single-stemmed a DBH of about 10-20 cm and height of about 5-7 meters. Leaves are alternate, simple, and bright green; the foliage is showing virtually no signs of environmental or insect damage despite the late season. The fruit of this tree are dark red and borne in clusters on long pedicels. Occasional and scattered occurrence. Seed collected from two plants.