BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Mitchella repens | Partridgeberry 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Partridgeberry is a creeping, rhizomatous, evergreen, woody vine up to
1.5 feet (50 cm) tall.  It roots at the nodes and often forms loose
mats.  The flowers are borne in axillary, single stalks at the tip of
the branchlets.  The fruit is a drupe containing eight seeds
[11,19,22,24].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Hemicryptophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Although partridgeberry is a seed producer, information regarding its
propagation by seed is scant. The primary mode of reproduction is
vegetative [3].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Partridgeberry grows on a variety of sites but generally prefers mildly
acidic, well-drained mesic soils [1,17] It grows on leached banks,
shaded sandstone ledges, and mossy hammocks and bogs [4,10,11].

In addition to those identified under Distribution and Occurrence,
common associates of partridgeberry include red mulberry (Morus rubra),
strawberry-bush (Euonymus americanus), Carolina silverberry (Halesia
carolina), southern black-haw (Viburnum prunifolium), devil's
walkingstick (Aralia spinosa), Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus
quinquefolia), Canada mayflower (Maianthemum canadense), yaupon (Ilex
vomitoria), huckleberry (Gaylussacia spp.), blueberry (Vaccinium spp.),
hickory (Carya spp.), grape (Vitis spp.), wintergreen (Gaultheria
procumbens), and fetterbush (Lyonia ferruginea) [3,4,16,26].  A complete
list of trees associated with partridgeberry would include a majority of
trees growing in the eastern United States.


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Facultative Seral Species

Partridgeberry is a shade tolerant, mid- to late-seral species.  It is a
component of climax forests in the eastern United States [3,16,26].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Partridgeberry flowers between April and June, and often again in
autumn.  The fruit ripens between July and October, and often persists
throughout the year [3,10,28].

Related categories for Species: Mitchella repens | Partridgeberry