12 September 2022.
Chesapeake City County, Virginia, United States
Locality: Woodlands adjacent to and bounded by the interchange of Business Route 168 (N. Battlefield Avenue) and Route 168, next to a detention basin and shopping plaza on the west side of Battlefield Avenue. Accessed by parking in the cul-de-sac at the south end of Kingsborough Square Street. This plant is uncommon at this location.
Coordinates: 36.7389, -76.2433
(Map it)
Elevation: 9m.
Habitat: Wild Habitat
Environment description: Plant is growing in rich mesic, moist but well-drained conditions in the high understory shade of a mixed deciduous and evergreen woodland, primarily comprised of deciduous trees in the over-story and a mixture of deciduous and evergreen species in the sub-canopy.
Soils: The underlying geology of this area is the Tabb Formation of Quaternary origin which is comprised of undifferentiated sand, silt, and peat and subdivided into three members. Within the Tabb Formation lies the Sedgefield Member, a pebbly to bouldery, clayey sand and fine to medium, shell-rich sand that grades upward into sandy and clayey silt; locally, channel fill at the base of unit includes as much as 15 meters of fine to coarse, cross-bedded sand and clayey silt and peat containing in-situ tree stumps. Sandy bay facies commonly contain numerous mollusks as well as coral. Thickness is 0 to 15.8 meters.
Source: USGS Virginia Geologic Map Data (https://mrdata.usgs.gov/geology/state/sgmc-unit.php?unit=VAQts%3B0)
The surface soil profile of this area is Tetotum fine sandy loam, 0 to 2 percent slopes. Forming primarily terraces, these soils are moderately well-drained and highly acidic. They are generally 100-150 cm thick, the upper 20 inches of the horizon averages more than 30 percent silt or more than 40 percent silt plus very fine sand.
Number of plants sampled: 1
Associated species: Acer rubrum, Aralia spinosa, Arundinaria gigantea, Asimina triloba, Carpinus caroliniana, Carya glabra, Clethra alnifolia, Fagus grandifolia, Gelsemium sempervirens, Hamamelis virginiana, Ilex opaca, Eubotrys racemosus, Kalmia latifolia, Liquidambar styraciflua, Liriodendron tulipifera, Magnolia grandiflora, Mitchella repens, Muscadinia rotundifolia, Nyssa sylvatica, Oxydendrum arboreum, Pinus taeda, Quercus alba, Quercus falcata, Quercus michauxii, Quercus nigra, Smilax sp., Stewartia malacodendron, Symplocos tinctoria, Tamala (formerly Persea) palustris, Vaccinium corymbosum
Comment: This plant is 1.5 meters tall and an upright, deciduous, multi-stemmed shrub with narrow to irregular spreading habit. Almost all stems are dark green with oldest stems having patches of tan; youngest stems are 4-angled. Leaves are deciduous, alternate, simple and ovate to lanceolate ranging in size from 3-10 cm long x 1-3 cm wide. Leaf margins are crenate-serrate. Fruit is a capsule, pink at maturity, sub-globose, 1.0-1.5 cm in diameter and unlobed to 4-5 lobed. Fruit has a spiny surface. At maturity the capsule opens to reveal the red arils attached inside.
Collector(s):