Index of Species Information
SPECIES: Mitchella repens
Introductory
SPECIES: Mitchella repens
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Coladonato, Milo. 1993. Mitchella repens. In: Fire Effects Information System,
[Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain
Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/shrub/mitrep/all.html [].
ABBREVIATION :
MITREP
SYNONYMS :
NO-ENTRY
SCS PLANT CODE :
MIRE
COMMON NAMES :
partridgeberry
two-eyed berry
running-fox
TAXONOMY :
The currently accepted scientific name for partridgeberry is Mitchella
repens L. [5,10]. There are no recognized subspecies, varieties, or
forms.
LIFE FORM :
Shrub
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Mitchella repens
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Partridgeberry is widely distributed throughout the eastern United
States. It ranges from Newfoundland south to central Florida and from
southern Ontario and Minnesota south to eastern Texas [4,5,22,24,31].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES10 White - red - jack pine
FRES11 Spruce - fir
FRES12 Longleaf - slash pine
FRES13 Loblolly - shortleaf pine
FRES14 Oak - pine
FRES15 Oak - hickory
FRES16 Oak - gum - cypress
FRES17 Elm - ash - cottonwood
FRES18 Maple - beech - birch
FRES19 Aspen - birch
STATES :
AL AR CT DE FL GA IL IN IA KS
KY ME MD MA MI MN MS MO NH NJ
NY NC OH OK PA SC TN TX VT VA
WV WI NB NF NS ON PQ
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
NO-ENTRY
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K095 Great Lakes pine forest
K096 Northeastern spruce - fir forest
K097 Southeastern spruce - fir forest
K100 Oak - hickory forest
K101 Elm - ash forest
K102 Beech - maple forest
K104 Appalachian oak forest
K106 Northern hardwoods
K111 Oak - hickory - pine forest
K112 Southern mixed forest
K113 Southern floodplain forest
SAF COVER TYPES :
14 Northern pin oak
17 Pin cherry
19 Gray birch - red maple
20 White pine - northern red oak - red maple
21 Eastern white pine
22 White pine - hemlock
23 Eastern hemlock
25 Sugar maple - beech - yellow birch
28 Black cherry - maple
31 Red spruce - sugar maple - beech
43 Bear oak
44 Chestnut oak
51 White pine - chestnut oak
52 White oak - black oak - northern red oak
53 White oak
55 Northern red oak
59 Yellow-poplar - white oak - northern red oak
60 Beech - sugar maple
62 Silver maple - American elm
64 Sassafras - persimmon
80 Loblolly pine - shortleaf pine
82 Loblolly pine - hardwood
83 Longleaf pine - slash pine
93 Sugarberry - American elm - green ash
97 Atlantic white-cedar
108 Red maple
110 Black oak
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
Partridgeberry is part of the climax undergrowth vegetation in several
forest communities in the eastern United States. It is not an indicator
or dominant species in any habitat types [12,16,21,26].
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
SPECIES: Mitchella repens
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
The fruit of partridgeberry is eaten by ruffed grouse, northern
bobwhite, sharp-tailed grouse, and prairie chicken. The fruit is also
frequently eaten by raccoons and red fox [5,28]. Keegan [13] reported
that partridgeberry made up 2.9 to 3.4 percent (dry weight) of the
summer and fall diets of white-tailed deer.
PALATABILITY :
NO-ENTRY
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
COVER VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
Partridgeberry has been planted as an ornamental in several parts of its
range [2]. In Newfoundland, the berry is made into jam and sold
commercially [15].
OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Mitchella repens
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].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Mitchella repens
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Partridgeberry is not well adapted to fire. The rhizomes are usually in
the litter layer and not well protected from fire [6,18]. However,
protected and underground rhizomes probably sprout following fire.
Partridgeberry probably colonizes burned area by animal-dispersed seed
or by trailing vines, but these regeneration strategies have not been
documented in the literature.
FIRE REGIMES :
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find Fire Regimes".
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
Rhizomatous low woody plant, rhizome in organic mantle
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Mitchella repens
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Most fires probably top-kill partridgeberry, and severe fires may kill
the plant.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
Partridgeberry's response to fire is not well documented. Reports in
the literature suggest that it is a fire decreaser, although postfire
density, frequency, or growth rates for partridgeberry were not given
[9,23,29,30].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
The Research Project Summary Effects of surface fires in a mixed red and
eastern white pine stand in Michigan provides information on prescribed
fire and postfire response of plant community species, including
partridgeberry, that was not available when this species review was written.
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Mitchella repens
REFERENCES :
1. Archambault, Louis; Barnes, Burton V.; Witter, John A. 1989. Ecological
species groups of oak ecosystems of southeastern Michigan. Forest
Science. 35(4): 1058-1074. [9768]
2. Bare, Janet E. 1979. Wildflowers and weeds of Kansas. Lawrence, KS: The
Regents Press of Kansas. 509 p. [3801]
3. Bierzychudek, Paulette. 1982. Life histories and demography of
shade-tolerant temperate forest herbs: a review. New Phytologist. 90:
757-776. [19197]
4. Braun, E. Lucy. 1961. The woody plants of Ohio. Columbus, OH: Ohio State
University Press. 362 p. [12914]
5. Brinkman, K. A.; Erdmann, G. G. 1974. Mitchella repens L.
partridgeberry. In: Schopmeyer, C. S., ed. Seeds of woody plants in the
United States. Agric. Handb. 450. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service: 543. [7709]
6. Chapman, Rachel Ross; Crow, Garrett E. 1981. Application of Raunkiaer's
life form system to plant species survival after fire. Torrey Botanical
Club. 108(4): 472-478. [7432]
7. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and
Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]
8. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others].
1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range
ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]
9. Gilliam, Frank S. 1991. The significance of fire in an oligotrophic
forest ecosystem. In: Nodvin, Stephen C.; Waldrop, Thomas A., eds. Fire
and the environment: ecological and cultural perspectives: Proceedings
of an international symposium; 1990 March 20-24; Knoxville, TN. Gen.
Tech. Rep. SE-69. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest
Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station: 113-122. [16641]
10. Godfrey, Robert K. 1988. Trees, shrubs, and woody vines of northern
Florida and adjacent Georgia and Alabama. Athens, GA: The University of
Georgia Press. 734 p. [10239]
11. Godfrey, Robert K.; Wooten, Jean W. 1981. Aquatic and wetland plants of
southeastern United States: Dicotyledons. Athens, GA: The University of
Georgia Press. 933 p. [16907]
12. Hough, A. F. 1936. A climax forest community on East Tionesta Creek in
northwestern Pennsylvania. Ecology. 17(1): 9-28. [3460]
13. Keegan, Thomas W.; Johnson, Mark K.; Nelson, Billy D. 1989. American
jointvetch improves summer range for white-tailed deer. Journal of Range
Management. 42(2): 128-134. [9840]
14. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation
of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York:
American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]
15. Kudish, Michael. 1992. Adirondack upland flora: an ecological
perspective. Saranac, NY: The Chauncy Press. 320 p. [19376]
16. Kurz, Herman. 1944. Secondary forest succession in the Tallahassee Red
Hills. Proceedings, Florida Academy of Science. 7(1): 59-100. [10799]
17. Lemieux, G. J. 1963. Soil-vegetation relationships in northern hardwoods
of Quebec. In: Forest-soil relationships in North America. Corvallis,
OR: Oregon State University Press: 163-176. [8874]
18. McKinley, Carol E.; Day, Frank P., Jr. 1979. Herb. prod. in cut-burned,
uncut-burned & contl areas of a Chamaecyparis thyoides (L.) BSP
(Cupressaceae) stand in the Great Dismal Swamp. Bulletin of the Torrey
Botanical Club. 106(1): 20-28. [14089]
19. Radford, Albert E.; Ahles, Harry E.; Bell, C. Ritchie. 1968. Manual of
the vascular flora of the Carolinas. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of
North Carolina Press. 1183 p. [7606]
20. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant
geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]
21. Roberts, Mark R.; Christensen, Norman L. 1988. Vegetation variation
among mesic successional forest stands in northern lower Michigan.
Canadian Journal of Botany. 66(6): 1080-1090. [14479]
22. Roland, A. E.; Smith, E. C. 1969. The flora of Nova Scotia. Halifax, NS:
Nova Scotia Museum. 746 p. [13158]
23. Sidhu, S. S. 1973. Early effects of burning and logging in pine-mixed
woods. I. Frequency and biomass of minor vegetation. Inf. Rep. PS-X-46.
Chalk River, ON: Canadian Forestry Service, Petawawa Forest Experiment
Station. 47 p. [7901]
24. Soper, James H.; Heimburger, Margaret L. 1982. Shrubs of Ontario. Life
Sciences Misc. Publ. Toronto, ON: Royal Ontario Museum. 495 p. [12907]
25. Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern
Rocky Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire
Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT; RWU 4403 files. 7 p. [20090]
26. Stransky, John J.; Huntley, Jimmy C.; Risner, Wanda J. 1986. Net
community production dynamics in the herb-shrub stratum of a loblolly
pine-hardwood forest: effects of clearcutting and site prepar. Gen.
Tech. Rep. SO-61. New Orleans, LA: U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station. 11 p. [9835]
27. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982.
National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names.
SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p. [11573]
28. Van Dersal, William R. 1938. Native woody plants of the United States,
their erosion-control and wildlife values. Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of Agriculture. 362 p. [4240]
29. Waldrop, Thomas A.; White, David L.; Jones, Steven M. 1992. Fire regimes
for pine-grassland communities in the southeastern United States. Forest
Ecology and Management. 47: 195-210. [17763]
30. White, David L.; Waldrop, Thomas A.; Jones, Stephen M. 1991. Forty years
of prescribed burning on the Santee fire plots: effects on understory
vegetation. In: Nodvin, Stephen C.; Waldrop, Thomas A., eds. Fire and
the environment: ecological and cultural perspectives: Proceedings of an
international symposium; 1990 March 20-24; Knoxville, TN. Gen. Tech.
Rep. SE-69. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest
Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station: 51-59. [16633]
31. Wunderlin, Richard P. 1982. Guide to the vascular plants of central
Florida. Tampa, FL: University Presses of Florida, University of South
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FEIS Home Page
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