Hoverter and Sholl Box Huckleberry Natural Area facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hoverter and Sholl Box Huckleberry Natural Area |
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 Hoverter and Sholl Box Huckleberry Natural Area
Location in Pennsylvania
Hoverter and Sholl Box Huckleberry Natural Area
Location in the United States
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| Location | Perry County, Pennsylvania |
| Nearest city | New Bloomfield |
| Area | 10 acres (4.0 ha) |
| Designated: | 1967 |
The Hoverter and Sholl Box Huckleberry Natural Area is a special place in Perry County, Pennsylvania. It's a small natural area, about 10-acre (4.0 ha) (which is like 10 football fields). This area is super important because it protects a very old group of plants called box huckleberry. Some of these plants are over 1,000 years old!
This natural area is the smallest one in all of Pennsylvania. It's looked after by the Tuscarora State Forest. In April 1967, it was named a National Natural Landmark. This means it's a nationally important natural site.
Exploring the Natural Area
This special area is located on the side of a hill. There's a path that goes around the site, about 0.25-mile (0.40 km) long. As you walk along the path, you'll find 27 special stops. These stops help you learn about the plants and nature around you.
Besides the low-growing box huckleberry plants, the hillside is covered with tall white pine trees and oak trees. You can also spot other types of trees and many beautiful wildflowers. It's a great place to explore nature!
The Amazing Box Huckleberry
The box huckleberry plants here are incredibly old. Scientists believe they are between 1,200 and 1,300 years old! They figured this out by studying how fast the plants grow and how they spread. These plants are even older than the United States itself!
The box huckleberry colony was first found by a man named Spencer Baird in 1845. Before his discovery, no one had collected a sample of this plant since 1805. Baird's find helped another scientist, Asa Gray, to properly name and classify the species. This discovery also led to a long friendship between Baird and Gray. It even helped Baird get a job at the famous Smithsonian Institution.
Protecting This Special Place
For a while, the box huckleberry wasn't very well known. But in 1918, a scientist named Frederick V. Coville studied the site. He learned that box huckleberry plants spread by making copies of themselves, like a clone.
Sadly, some people came and took a lot of plants from the site. This made Coville write an article in a science magazine called Science. He wanted to tell everyone about the problem and protect the plants. His article helped create new interest in the box huckleberry. This led to the discovery of other box huckleberry groups in the Appalachian Mountains.
The New Bloomfield site was first protected in 1929. At that time, 4 acres of land were given to the state. This was the beginning of the Hoverter and Sholl Box Huckleberry Natural Area we know today. It's a great example of how people can work together to protect unique parts of nature.
