How to Identify Southeastern Understory Shrubs

Understory shrubs are bushes that grow beside tall trees, beneath their canopies. These types of shrubs naturally enjoy shade and usually grow in forested areas or in thickets of trees. Understory shrubs that grow in the Southeastern United States include the beauty berry, wild coffee, buckeye, deciduous holly, common pawpaw and spicebush shrubs. You can identify Southeastern understory shrubs by inspecting their leaves, flowers and fruits, if they produce any.

Instructions

1. Look for a deciduous understory shrub that blooms tiny pink flowers during the spring and summer to identify the beauty berry shrub (Callicarpa americana). The beauty berry grows to 6 feet tall at most and has purple berries in the autumn.

2. Identify the wild coffee shrub (Psychotria nervosa) by its shiny leaves and small whitish-pink flowers in the spring followed by red berries. The wild coffee is an evergreen shrub that grows up to 4 or 5 feet tall.

3. Spot a buckeye or painted buckeye understory shrub (Aesculus sylvatica) by looking for its yellow, cream or pink flowers and ovular, pointed leaves that grow in groups of five to seven per stem. The buckeye grows up to 10 feet tall and is usually one of the first deciduous understory shrubs to sprout leaves in the Southeast.

4. Look for a larger understory tree-like shrub in the Southeast to spot the deciduous holly or "possum haw" (Ilex deciduas). The deciduous holly can grow to more than 30 feet tall, with oval, 1- to 2-inch long leaves and red berry-like fruits that remain on the shrub after the leaves drop.

5. Identify the common pawpaw (Asiminia triloba) by its large burgundy flowers that have six petals and its 4 1/2-inch long, yellow fruits that resemble bananas. The common pawpaw shrub can grow to more than 30 feet tall and has oblong leaves that are about 9 inches long and 3 inches wide.

6. Look for a deciduous understory shrub that has thin, oblong leaves that are up to 5 1/2 inches long and 2 1/2 inches wide with light green undersides. This is the spicebush (Lindera benzoin), which grows in groups, reaching less than 10 feet tall. The spicebush produces small yellow flowers followed by tiny red berry-like fruits that are 1/2-inch wide at most.

Tips & Warnings

• If you're having trouble correctly identifying the spicebush, crush a leaf from the shrub in your fingers. The leaf should emit a lemony fragrance.

• Although not technically a shrub, the hop hornbeam (Ostrya virginiana) is a small understory tree found in Southeastern wetlands. You can identify the hop hornbeam by its scaly, hairy leaves and flaky bark. The hop hornbeam produces papery, flat, nut-like fruits.

• Don't confuse the swamp rose for a beauty berry shrub, which both produce pink flowers and grow to about the same height. The swamp rose, however, is not an understory shrub and has larger, five-petal flowers that form red "rose hips."

References

• Florida Native Plants: Florida Native Plants for Shade
• NCDENR: Common Wetland Plants of North Carolina - Shrubs

Resources

• USDA Forest Service: Southern Research Station Science Areas