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       Cultural Features > Coastal Habitats > Tributaries > Plants > Animals > Sapelo Island

Georgia Plume Elliottia racemosa Muhl.

This is a clonal, ericaceous shrub or small tree. It produces beautiful erect panicles of white flowers in early summer and sporadically to September. It has bright orange-red foliage in the fall. It prefers moist to dry acidic sandy soils, and is found only in east Georgia. The largest population is at Big Hammock Natural Area near the Altamaha River.

Male and female plants are often widely separated; therefore, the seeds that are produced are generally sterile. The Georgia Plume is thought to have existed for about 70 million years and is a member of the primitive heath family and only exists in Georgia. Because 80% of the Georgia Plume's population is sterile, no seedlings have been documented in the wild. Rather than propagating from seeds, it reproduces asexually from underground roots. The Georgia Plume was originally discovered by William Bartram in 1777.