''Ilex verticillata'', the winterberry, is a species of

holly ''Ilex'' () or holly is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

native to eastern

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and southeast

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, from

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

west to

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

and

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, and south to

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. Other names that have been used include black alder, Canada holly, coralberry, fever bush, Michigan holly, or winterberry holly. The species occurs particularly in

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

habitats, but also on dry sand dunes and grassland. The berries are an important food resource for some species of bird, among them the

American robin The American robin (''Turdus migratorius'') is a migratory bird of the true thrush genus and Turdidae, the wider thrush family. It is named after the European robin because of its reddish-orange breast, though the two species are not clos ...

Description

''Ilex verticillata'' is a

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

growing to tall. It is one of a number of hollies which are

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

, losing their leaves in the fall. In wet sites, it will spread to form a dense thicket, while in dry soil it remains a tight shrub. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are glossy green, long, broad, with a serrated margin and an acute apex. The

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s are small, in diameter, with five to eight white petals. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

is a globose red

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is a type of fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pip'' (UK), ''pit'' (US), ''stone'', or ''pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed ...

in diameter, which often persists on the branches long into the winter, giving the plant its English name. Like most hollies, it is

dioecious Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...

, with separate male and female plants; the proximity of at least one male plant is required to pollenize the females in order to bear fruit.

Cultivation and uses

Medicinal

The berries were used by Native Americans for medicinal purposes, the origin of the name "fever bush". The seeds, leaves, bark and berries of the plant can cause nausea and low blood pressure if ingested.

Ornamental plant

''Ilex verticillata'' – the American winterberry – is prized as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

s for the midwinter splash of bright color from densely packed berries, whose visibility is heightened by the loss of foliage; therefore it is popular even where other, evergreen, hollies are also grown. The bare branches covered in berries are also popular for cutting and use in floral arrangements. In autumn/fall the leaves turn yellow sometimes with tinges of red and orange. It is easy to grow, with very few diseases or pests. Although wet acidic soils are optimal, the winterberry will grow well in the average garden. Numerous

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

s are available, differing in size and shape of the plant and color of the berry. At least one male plant must be planted in proximity to one or more females for them to bear fruit. Because both females and males come in early- and late-flowering varieties, males must be selected to have same timing as the females they are intended to pollinate.

Selected cultivars

Female

* ''Ilex verticillata'' 'Winter Red' Fruit is orange-red * ''Ilex verticillata'' 'Afterglow' Fruit is orange-red * ''Ilex verticillata'' 'Red Sprite' Large, red fruit * ''Ilex verticillata'' 'Spravy' "Berry Heavy" Fruit is orange-red * ''Ilex verticillata'' 'Spriber' "Berry Nice" Bright red fruit * ''Ilex verticillata'' 'Winter Gold' Fruit is orange.

Male (pollinator; no fruit)

* ''Ilex verticillata'' 'Southern Gentleman' * ''Ilex verticillata'' 'Jim Dandy'

Gallery

File:Ilex verticillata - Winterberry, female.jpg, Female, flowers in early summer File:Ilex-verticillata-Acadia.jpg, Foliage and unripe fruit in summer File:Ilex verticillata 15-p.bot-ilex.verti-27.jpg File:Ilex verticillata fruits and foliage 1.JPG, mid autumn File:Ilex verticillata Nana kz4.jpg File:Winterberry Holly Ilex verticillata 'Winter Red' Berries.jpg, Fruit in the winter File:Ilex verticillata 5454177.jpg, In the winter File:American Winterberry Ilex verticillata 'Winter Red' Cluster 3264px.jpg, Fruit in winter File:Ilex verticillata 1480228.jpg File:Winterberry.WinterGold.jpg, 'Winter Gold' variety showing orange berries.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q3487324 verticillata Flora of Eastern Canada Flora of the Northeastern United States Flora of the Great Lakes region (North America) Flora of the North-Central United States Flora of the Southeastern United States Flora of Alabama Plants used in traditional Native American medicine Bird food plants Garden plants of North America Shrubs Flora of New Jersey Trees of Northern America