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Partridgeberry

Mitchella repens

Summary 4

Mitchella repens, or partridge berry, or Squaw Vine, is the best known plant in the genus Mitchella. It is a creeping prostrate herbaceous woody shrub, occurring in North America and Japan, and belonging to the madder family (Rubiaceae).

Barcode data: mitchella repens 5

The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.


Faunal associations 6

The flowers are cross-pollinated by bumblebees (Hicks et al., 1985). The primary floral reward for these insects is nectar. Apparently very few insects feed on the foliage of Partridge Berry. Some upland gamebirds feed on the fruits of this vine, including such species as the Ruffed Grouse, Bobwhite Quail, Wild Turkey, and the now extinct Passenger Pigeon (Martin et al., 1951/1961; Bennetts, 1900; Schorger, 1955). Mammals that feed on the fruits include the Red Fox, Eastern Skunk, Eastern Chipmunk, White-Footed Mouse, and Woodland Deer Mouse (Martin et al., 1951/1961; Hamilton, 1941). These animals spread the seeds of the berries to new locations.

Flower visiting insects of partridge berry in illinois 7

Mitchella repens (Partridge Berry)
(bumblebees suck nectar; observations are from Hicks et al.)

Bees (long-tongued)
Apidae (Bombini): Bombus impatiens sn, Bombus vagans sn

Habitat characteristics 8

More info for the term: mesic

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.

Importance to livestock and wildlife 9

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.

Sources and Credits

  1. (c) Calin Darabus, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://www.flickr.com/photos/53952623@N02/5040074595
  2. (c) coloneljohnbritt, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/coloneljohnbritt/14447212056/
  3. (c) BlueRidgeKitties, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/blueridgekitties/19798609462/
  4. Adapted by Jonathan (JC) Carpenter from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitchella_repens
  5. (c) Barcode of Life Data Systems, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/30701610
  6. (c) John Hilty, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/29445428
  7. (c) John Hilty, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/31872767
  8. Public Domain, http://eol.org/data_objects/24637317
  9. Public Domain, http://eol.org/data_objects/24248308

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