Pennsylvania has 22 designated natural areas, which are areas set aside to preserve plants, animals, and archeological sites, as well as protect “outstanding examples of natural interest and beauty”. Natural areas are managed by DCNR, the same folks that manage our state forests.
The Hoverter and Sholl Box Huckleberry Natural Area is an area of land set aside to protect a colony of Box Huckleberry, a rare local plant that spreads clonally and can be very old. It is located in an exclave of Tuscarora State Forest, in Perry County. I drove for about an hour from Ship, all on paved roads, and it was a lovely drive. There isn’t really a parking lot for the area, just a spot to pull off the side of the road. You could probably put 3 cars there, but it was empty today. Aside from the map on the brochure, the only way to know you have arrived is a small grey sign tucked up in the trees, a couple feet off the road.
The brochure box was empty, but I had already downloaded a copy ahead of time. I’m glad I did, because this area is well-marked with numeric posts – but you need the brochure to tell you what the number means. I didn’t find any map of the trails, but I decided it was a small enough area I would saunter forth regardless. It was worth it.
Box Huckleberry is a neat plant. It spreads by creeping along the ground, about 6” a year. That’s about how tall it is too, about 6” from the ground, with new green leaves bright against the leaves it kept through last winter. It is found in isolated colonies, and reproduces clonally – which means this whole area, about 10 acres, is covered in just one box huckleberry. Billions of leaves, millions of runners, half a million square feet of forest floor, and all one plant. Dating a box huckleberry is done by measuring it, and assuming average growth of about 6” per year. That dates the Hoverter and Sholl box huckleberry to about 1300 years old.
That’s neat.
The brochure (download it ahead of time!) mentions another box huckleberry colony along the Juniata River, but doesn’t give a location. Age estimates for this colony vary between 8000 and 13,000 years, though accurately dating it is probably impossible now that a state road runs through it. There are many articles about these colonies around the web, and they really are fascinating.
The brochure also leads the adventurer along a descriptive trail. There are numbered posts at different stations, and descriptions in the brochure. There were stations for Oaks, Hemlocks, Box Huckleberry (of course), Poison Ivy (of course), and dozens more. Some descriptive stations were a little less obvious, and I think some needed to be updated. I did enjoy trying to identify each plant on the trail. I should have kept track of which I picked out and given myself a score at the end. The end of the trail has a metal plaque set in stone, marking this as a registered natural landmark. This would be a great spot to tally up your spotting score.
I’m not entirely sure I saw all the sights, as I didn’t see any maps, and there were a few side trails. This natural area is surrounded by homes and private property, and it looks like locals have made their own connectors, so it’s hard to be sure. I was in the area about an hour or so, and really had a nice walk. The natural area is very small, only 10 acres, so this one is definitely more learning than adventuring. I’d recommend this if you’ve never been before, or if you’re interested in neat plants.
If you do plan to visit, download the DCNR brochure ahead of time and check out this article about the box huckleberry.