Anyone know what this is? Growing wild in western NC mountains. Birch/Corylus-like leaves but very low growing...has been in place for 20+ yrs but does not grow taller than a couple of feet, if that. Produces catkin type flowers...have not seen fruit though I'm usually not there when fruit would be produced so not saying that it never fruits. Plenty of Corylus cornuta in the area but that is much taller and courser in features...it is not that. Extremely acidic pine/sandy/peaty soil. Lots of plants from Ericaceae family around. Thanks for ANY input!
You are probably correct....I see on the wikipedia page that it is smaller in shadier locations....this is REALLY small and has been like this for 20 yrs but it is a healthy population...just acts more like groundcover than shrub. Thank-you for your input Sulev.
In some places animals keep bushes compact, in some places soil conditions cause dwarfed trees. For instance, near to my home there are oaks understorey under pine forest on dry acidic sands. They rarely reach above 2 m of height, although I know several of them growing there since my childhood.
I think you are right...not animals...I am all too familiar with deer torn leaves and rabbits with scissors! No, it is most likely that the Corylus originated 1/2 mile from the plant in question down a very steep slope and next to a river....here the habitat is much wetter, still acidic and sandy but WET ! and there is more sun and the plants attain shrub height. It is interesting to me that even though the plant in question was dwarfed, it was thriving. So often if a plant is not in optimum conditions it gets weaker and eventually dies. This species adapts easily. I am going to see if it will grow in a limestone region....maybe there's another limiting factor for it?
Could be a dwarf genotype. As an aside, writing Betulaceae family is a bit like saying ATM machine or PIN number -- the "-aceae" ending implies family.
