This member of the Barberry family
tends to grow in circular colonies,
each of which is a single plant and its clonal line. A beautiful,
but somewhat hidden, flower
blooms on mature plants frm April until early June.This is a
favorite food of the Eastern Box Turtle, which is the primary
means by which the plant is distributed throughout the region.
As the fruit matures and droops close to the ground, the turtles
consume it voraciously. They then move on, eventually planting
the seeds at some other location. This plant is highly toxic
and may cause contact dermatitis, the leaves and stem were reportedly
used by some Indian tribes as a means of ritual suicide.
