What's this plant?: SOLVED: Small tree with brilliant foliage, pretty berries. Pls. I.D.

Replies: 17 Views: 240

Author

Comment

Lily_love
Central, AL
(Zone 7b)

November 01, 2009 07:28 PM

These small trees are found atop Cheaha Mountain, Alabama. Most are roughly 7-9 feet tall. Some are twice as tall. Leathery, small oval foliage.

View Larger

Lily_love
Central, AL
(Zone 7b)

November 01, 2009 07:32 PM

Close up of the brilliant fall foliage:

View Larger

Lily_love
Central, AL
(Zone 7b)

November 01, 2009 07:38 PM

Tiny berries, roughly the size of cottonester's berries.

View Larger

Malus2006
Coon Rapids, MN
(Zone 4a)

November 01, 2009 07:46 PM

That's a lovely tree! Interesting it have thick leaves and both alternative and opposite or subopposite leaves. Also the branches seem rather distinct, having a zigzag to them but remain straight for long stretches of the branches.

Resin
Northumberland
United Kingdom
(Zone 9a)

November 01, 2009 07:56 PM

Chokeberry Aronia? Far from certain, though.

Resin

Lily_love
Central, AL
(Zone 7b)

November 01, 2009 09:22 PM

Thanks Resin. I collected some berries, hopefully they can be sown to the back of the garden for my birds' treats in the future.

altagardener
Calgary, AB
(Zone 3b)

November 01, 2009 10:23 PM

The fruit arrangement (hence, inflorescence shape) looks rather odd for Aronia, doesn't it? It doesn't look like the cyme or compound umbel of Aronia... I have no other suggestions, though.

This message was edited Nov 1, 2009 7:25 PM

Lily_love
Central, AL
(Zone 7b)

November 02, 2009 08:21 AM

altagardener, agreed. I've googled Aronia's images and I've noticed their fruits formation in clusters. These are seen singly, so I'll keep this thread open for further evaluation?

Resin
Northumberland
United Kingdom
(Zone 9a)

November 02, 2009 10:11 AM

Quoted:

The fruit arrangement (hence, inflorescence shape) looks rather odd for Aronia, doesn't it?

Yep, that's the main reason I am dubious about suggesting Aronia. But maybe they could be single if fruit set was very poor.

Also looks a bit like some Cotoneaster species, but given the situation, I'd suspect it is a local native rather than an introduced plant.

Resin

Malus2006
Coon Rapids, MN
(Zone 4a)

November 02, 2009 08:58 PM

Another problem is common Aronia species have fine teeth on its leaves - mystery plant have very smooth edge leaves. Cotoneaster species I couldn't find any native or even invasive species for your area except for common cotoneaster which have very different foliages. I bet it's a localized species of whatever doesn't show up on general online search or field guides (they often omit the least common species at least for inland United States) as I can't find anything about it in some of my field guide books.

Lily_love
Central, AL
(Zone 7b)

November 02, 2009 10:12 PM

Thank you M2006 for your observation/contribution.

Kalpavriksha
Sarasota, FL

November 04, 2009 07:01 PM

Might it be a Prunus species?
Here's a link to an online book called Guide to Southern trees:
http://books.google.com/books?id=NS8SHHC0ORAC&pg=PP1&dq=guid...
On p 340 (drag the slider a little past 1/2 way down) there's a botanical key to help sort through these choke cherries.
I don't know; it's just a possibility. There are more experts on this than me!

Lily_love
Central, AL
(Zone 7b)

November 05, 2009 09:19 AM

Thank you Kalpavriksha. I went to the link, unfortunately pages 297-366 are not part of the online review! I may just have to buy the book.

Fepup
Duluth, GA

November 06, 2009 06:54 PM

Sparkleberry Vaccinium arboreum

Lily_love
Central, AL
(Zone 7b)

November 06, 2009 07:17 PM

Fepup, you're spot on! Many thank, sparkleberry, tree-hackleberry it's! Love those native tree-like shrubs and berries. Though, it's said to be edible, I haven't tasted it yet.

Malus2006
Coon Rapids, MN
(Zone 4a)

November 06, 2009 09:50 PM

Never thought it was a species of blueberry!

JulieQ
Cullman, AL
(Zone 7b)

November 07, 2009 01:28 AM

I have some of these, but they are never a pretty red in the fall. The following is a thread I posted a couple years ago in late October.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=4132655

Lily_love
Central, AL
(Zone 7b)

November 07, 2009 09:13 AM

Hi Julie, we still have alot of "green" here in central Alabama, though maples are orange and red, even this Tupelo was green as can be at the first of the month. It's now red, I'll post a pix of this magnificent tree this evening. I'm currious if yours doesn't receive enough sunlight (to give it a brilliant orange/red coloring in the Fall). Like my burning bush, their color up real late because they're under shade.

View Larger

You cannot post until you register and login.

Other What's this plant? Threads you might be interested in:

Subject	Thread Starter	Replies	Last Post
in australia - shrub vanilla scented small white flower - id	momomo	6	Nov 22, 2009 6:58 PM
Silverish trailing groundcover	mygardens	0	Nov 22, 2009 6:57 PM

Other Forums you might be interested in:

Flowers

Gardening Questions

Houseplants

Landscaping

Vegetables

What's This Plant?