Triosteum aurantiacum, Horse Gentian. Funny, I'm seeing it here in NJ for the first time too.

WW

Here is a link that might be useful: Horse Gentian

Maybe there is some horseplay taking place.

I never saw the flowers even though I make it a point of hiking through this area regularly. Due to the chewed off tops, it is quite possible if I had visited a few days or a week later I may not have seen these plants either.

bboy - not sure if you are referring to the plant's odd name or if you think they were eaten by horses, but on that note, while I was looking up info about "horse gentain" it was noted that nobody really knows why it was given this name :-)

My old (but well-used) Peterson field guide calls it Wild Coffee. No explanation for that, either.

Maybe it's 'galloping' into new territory. Seriously, it's a big, distinctive looking plant - I never saw it before 2 years ago and last year I found another big patch in a different part of the park; I'd say it's spreading.

WW

Yes, I ran across that same name while looking up info for the species. That name does have a reason - when the berry dries up and just the seed is visible, it looks like a coffee bean.