Native Plants

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Friday - September 16, 2011

From: Blue Ridge, GA
Region: Southeast
Topic: Plant Identification, Groundcovers
Title: Identification of groundcover plant in north Georgia mountains
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

Was trail riding in N GA mountains - saw pretty ground cover plant ? vine - small green leaves with whitish borders almost look like clover leaves and has small bright red red berries - this was Aug 2011 - have never seen this anywhere but in the mountains - a shady area..

ANSWER:

Mitchella repens (Partridgeberry) is a very good candidate for your groundcover plant. It is a low creeping plant with scarlet berries and the light-colored veins makes it look as if its leaves are variegated. Also, the USDA PLANTS Database distribution map shows it occurring in Fannin County. Here are more photos from Duke University and the Connecticut Botanical Society.

If this isn't your plant and you have a photo of it, please visit our Plant Identification page to find links to plant identification forums that accept photos for identification.

From the Image Gallery

Partridgeberry
Mitchella repens