I apologize for being such a stranger to the GW these days...

here we go.

Was in our woods just this afternoon and was checking out all the incredible effects the current drought is having on every living thing. I pity the creatures that mainly need succulent green things to eat, as there just isn't any. Good mast year though, and you can find the nuts/acorns easiy as it's down to bare dirt in most areas. Anyway, I was crossing the creek on a deer trail and something brilliant red caught my eye. I stooped and picked it up, and realized it was a cluster of seeds attached to the last shreds of what had once been the plant.

Immediately I was thinking "ginseng", but while we have the plants growing here where the house is, I've never located any there (not that there isn't any, it's just not been spotted yet--my fingers are crossed).

My question for you all is this: aside from green dragon, goldenseal, and ginseng, are there any other woodland plants that sport that same general kind of dazzling red, clustering fruits? The plant it was attached to was completely reduced to a strand of ash-like material but it almost looked more like a vine than an upright plant.

Just wondering if I'm leaving out any possibilities here.