About Corema conradii (Torr.) Torr.
Corema conradii (Torr.) Torr. is one of only two species in the genus Corema, and is a small perennial shrub or subshrub. It branches to a maximum height of around 60 centimeters; individuals are shorter in the southern portion of its range, and sometimes grow in a cushionlike form. It can grow colonially, forming a dense stand that gives up to 100% ground cover. It has gray or reddish orange shreddy bark. Its yellow-green leaves are linear and needlelike, reaching up to 6 millimeters long, and are less than a millimeter wide. The above-ground herbage of the plant is aromatic. This species is dioecious, meaning male and female reproductive structures grow on separate individual plants. Its tiny sepals are reddish or purplish, and flowering generally begins in March. The fruit is a gray drupe less than two millimeters wide. Ecologically, this plant grows on the coastal plain, very often in very sandy soils. In Maine, it grows in association with Empetrum nigrum, Pinus rigida, and small oaks. In Massachusetts, it occurs alongside Pinus rigida, Betula populifolia, Vaccinium vacillans, and Comptonia peregrina. It is a dominant species on Nantucket and Cape Cod, where it forms heathland. It is a fire-adapted species that grows in forest openings created when fire burns away the forest canopy. It is adapted to disturbance, and grows in disturbed soils and on sites that have been recently burned. It also grows in pine barrens, which experience a regime of frequent fires. Areas that have been recently burned see high levels of C. conradii seedling recruitment. In June 2001, an F-16 conducting bombing practice at the Warren Grove, New Jersey range missed its target and started a fire that burned patches of C. conradii where no seedlings had been observed since systematic observations began in 1996. After the fire killed the existing adult plants, many new seedlings emerged over the following two years; nearby unburned stands of C. conradii did not produce any new seedlings during this period. Heavily grazed, burned areas on Nantucket exposed to harsh conditions support wide stands of this plant. It may act as a pioneer species, establishing on recently cleared soil. Its fruits are collected by the ant species Aphaenogaster rudis, which may help disperse the plant's seeds.
