Hoverter and Sholl Box Huckleberry Natural Area | |
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Map of
Pennsylvania | |
Location | Perry County, Pennsylvania |
Nearest city | New Bloomfield |
Coordinates | 40°24′22″N 77°10′26″W / 40.40611°N 77.17389°W |
Area | 10 acres (4.0 ha) |
Designated | 1967 |
Hoverter and Sholl Box Huckleberry Natural Area is a 10-acre (4.0 ha) natural area in Perry County, Pennsylvania, near New Bloomfield, which protects a colony of box huckleberry over 1,000 years old. [1] [2] The smallest Natural Area in Pennsylvania, [3] it is administered as part of Tuscarora State Forest. [2] It was designated a National Natural Landmark in April 1967. [4]
A 0.25-mile (0.40 km) path forms a loop around the site, which is located on the west side of a hill slope. [3] Twenty-seven interpretive stations are located along the trail. [1] In addition to the low growth of the box huckleberry itself, the hillside is covered with white pine and oak forest, with a scattering of other trees and various wildflowers. [3]
The specimen of box huckleberry at the natural area has been estimated, based on its observed rate of growth and clonal reproduction, to be 1,200 [5] to 1,300 years old, [1] only a tenth of the estimated age for a nearby colony at Losh Run. [6] The colony was discovered by Spencer Baird in 1845. [7] No specimens of box huckleberry had been collected since 1805, and Baird's discovery allowed Asa Gray to classify the species as Gaylussacia brachycera. [8] The resulting correspondence sparked a lifelong friendship between the two, and helped Baird attain a post at the Smithsonian Institution. [5]
The box huckleberry remained largely obscure until 1918, when Frederick V. Coville examined the site. On the basis of his observations there, he concluded that box huckleberry was self-sterile and spread clonally. After commercial nurserymen removed a truckload of plants from the site, Coville called attention to its plight with an article in Science. [5] Renewed interest sparked the discovery of other box huckleberry colonies elsewhere in the Appalachians. [9]
The New Bloomfield site was first protected with the donation of 4 acres (1.6 ha) to the state in 1929, the beginning of the Natural Area. [3]