Mitchella repens
Photo by Eleanor Dietrich. Photograph belongs to the photographer who allows use for FNPS purposes only. Please contact the photographer for all other uses.
Natural Range in Florida
USDA Zones
Suitable to grow in:
8A 8B 9A 9B
2002-2022, Copyright Florida Native Plant Society
Partridge Berry, Twinberry
Rubiaceae
Plant Specifics
| Size: | 1-2 inches ft | |
| Life Span: | Short-lived perennial | |
| Flower Color: | White | |
| Fruit Color: | Red | |
| Phenology: | Evergreen | |
| Habitats: | Hammocks, upland hardwood forests, upland mixed forest, seep slopes, second bottom and levees in floodplains. |
Landscaping
| Recommended Uses: | Typically grown as a curiosity. This is a very small plant that acts as a groundcover with the caveat that the plants are very small. Keep it in a natural forested setting or establish in such an area. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Light: | Shade | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Moisture Tolerance: |
always floodedextremely dry |
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| Moisture Tolerance: | Somewhat moist, no flooding ----- to ----- Not wet but not extremely dry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Salt Water Flooding Tolerance: | Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Salt Spray Tolerance: | Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Soil/Substrate: | Loam, Sand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wildlife
Birds and small mammals consume the berries which mature in the fall and are retained through the winter and spring.
Bumblebees pollinate the flowers. Cross-pollination, required for seed set, is controlled by factors that permit germination of pollen from long anthers only on the stigmas of a different flower with a long styles; conversely, pollen from short anthers can germinate only on the stigmas of a different flower with a short styles. (VNPS).