Southeastern Shrubs and Trees That Grow in Old Fields

Southern wildlife feasts on old field persimmon tree fruit.

The plant varieties present in Southeastern old field habitats depend on the length of time since the fields were cultivated. Perennial herbs and bunch grasses dominate fields idle between 3 and 10 years. Small shrubs appear after a decade. When shrubs and trees greater than 4 inches in diameter form more than one-half the canopy, the habitat's classification changes from old field to early woodland.

Fruit-Bearing Shrubs

Black elderberry (Sambucus nigra canadensis) and highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) shrubs grow on old fields from Tennessee south to Florida and across the Gulf Coast states. The 10 to 20 foot tall black elderberry shrub spreads as much as 12 feet. Each of its fernlike, opposite green leaves measures up to 1 foot long with four to six pairs of elliptical leaflets. The shrub's showy, flat clusters of white flowers open in late spring. They give way to edible, deep-purple berries. Highbush blueberry, a dense, rounded 6- to 12-foot bush, has delicate, pinkish-white spring flowers. Its edible summer berries progress from green to pink, to lavender and finally muted blue.

Fragrant Shrubs

Fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica) illuminates old Southeastern fields with autumn shades of yellow, purple and orange. From spring to early summer, the female shrubs' velvety-textured twigs bear fragrant, upright cones of yellow blooms. Large, compound, green leaves emerge after the blooms. Fragrant sumac also produces red autumn and winter berries. Dark-barked Chickasaw plum (Prunus angustifolia) typically forms up-to-12-foot high thickets from Tennessee to Texas. Its thorny twigs have serrated, red- or yellow-tipped foliage. From late winter into spring, small, fragrant yellow-stamened white blooms nearly obscure the shrub's leafless branches. Tart, red oval plums that follow the blossoms feed a variety of wildlife.

Evergreen Shrubs

Mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) and Japanese privet (Ligustrum japonicum) form thickets on old fields across the Southeast. The glossy, oval, green leaves of its thick, spreading branches deepen to purple in the autumn. The foliage makes an effective backdrop for showy clusters of white or pale-pink bell-shaped flowers in the summer. Japanese privet (Ligustrum japonicum) shrubs grow as high as 20 feet on old fields from the Carolinas to Florida and Texas. Its white, summer flowers and purple, fall berries make the shrub a widely grown garden plant. The phenols in its glossy green leaves boost its resistance insects and browsing wildlife. This advantage compared to native species allows Japanese privet to spread unchecked.

Trees

Common persimmon trees (Diospyros virginiana) typically grow to 15 feet high. Their branches, covered in thick, nearly black bark, pair with oval, green foliage with yellow, bell-shaped spring blooms. The trees' sweet, soft fruit, a wildlife favorite, ripens to orange in autumn. Forty- to 50-foot Eastern redcedar's (Juniperus virginiana) reddish-barked, pyramidal form is a familiar site on Southeastern habitats from old fields to moist hammocks. Its flat, scalelike green foliage develops a silvery sheen before browning and dropping. The aromatic trees entice birds and a host of wild animals with clusters of small, blue berries.

References

• Rutgers University: Old Field Succession
• Ohio Division of Wildlife: Old Field Habitat Management for Wildlife
• Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Sambucus Nigra ssp. Canadensis
• Fine Gardening: Showy Shrubs for Fall
• Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Vaccinium Corymbosum
• Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Rhus Aromatica

Resources

• Flordata; Prunus Angustifolia; Steve Cristman; June 18, 2008
• Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Kalmia Latifolia
• The Univertsity of Tennessee Knoxville: The Dirty Dozen (Invasive Exotic Plants)
• USDA NCRS Plants Profile: Ligustrum Japonica
• Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Diospyros Virginiana
• University of Florida IFAS Extension; Florida Forest Trees Easter Redcedar