Peppervine

Description:

Deciduous to semi-evergreen vine that can be ground cover-like, but is often high-climbing and bushy. Grows 35 ft. or more. Foliage is bi- or tri-pinnately compound and dark-green, turning pale-yellow in fall. Leaves up to 6 inches or more long and equally wide, with a central axis and 1 to 3 pairs of lateral axes supporting leaflets. Leaflets roughly Ovate (Shaped like an egg, with the narrow end at the apex.) coarsely toothed, dark green on the upper surface, lighter on the lower. Flat-topped clusters of tiny, green flowers are followed by clusters of pea-sized, bluish-purple berries. Fruit fleshy, up to 5/8 inch in diameter, black and shiny when ripe, inedible.

Habitat:

The Miller Springs Nature Center is located at the northeast end of Miller Springs Park. It is the principal trailhead for hikers, and includes a large parking lot, picnic tables, a covered pavilion, and handicap-accessible trails. The Center is a 260-acre scenic natural area located between the Leon River and 40 foot high bluffs, immediately east of the Lake Belton Dam. Miller Springs Park is a 360-acre park located below Belton Lake, on the Leon River, in Bell County, Texas. It contains diverse riparian terrain, including limestone bluffs, estuarial wetlands, mountain cedar hilltops, and riverside cottonwood stands. Numerous trails traverse prairie-like open spaces and forests of native cedar elm, live oak, and red oaks. Recent floods have created a new canyon that reveals numerous layers of sedimentary rock and fossils. Area wildlife includes white-tail deer, red foxes, coyotes, black squirrels, armadillos, and about 200 species of birds in the course of the year.