Ilex verticillata

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Ilex verticillata
Ilex verticillata fruits and foliage 1.JPG
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe) [2]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Aquifoliales
Family: Aquifoliaceae
Genus: Ilex
Species:
I. verticillata
Binomial name
Ilex verticillata
(L.) A.Gray, 1856
Ilex verticillata range map.jpg
Natural range

Ilex verticillata, the winterberry, is a species of holly native to eastern North America in the United States and southeast Canada, from Newfoundland west to Ontario and Minnesota, and south to Alabama. [3] [4]

Contents

Other names that have been used include black alder, [5] [6] Canada holly, [5] coralberry, [6] fever bush, [7] Michigan holly, [6] or winterberry holly. [3]

The species occurs particularly in wetland 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. [8]

Description

Ilex verticillata is a shrub growing to 1–5 m (3–16 ft) tall. It is one of a number of hollies which are deciduous, 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 are glossy green, 3.5–9 cm (1+383+12 in) long, 1.5–3.5 cm (581+38 in) broad, with a serrated margin and an acute apex. The flowers are small, 5 mm (0.20 in) in diameter, with five to eight white petals.

The fruit is a globose red drupe 6–8 mm (0.24–0.31 in) in diameter, which often persists on the branches long into the winter, giving the plant its English name. Like most hollies, it is dioecious, 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. [8] [9] [10]

Cultivation and uses

Medicinal

The berries were used by Native Americans for medicinal purposes, the origin of the name "fever bush". [11]

The seeds, leaves, bark and berries of the plant can cause nausea and low blood pressure if ingested. [12]

Ornamental plant

Ilex verticillata – the American winterberry – is prized as an ornamental plant in gardens 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, [13] the winterberry will grow well in the average garden. Numerous cultivars 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

Male (pollinator; no fruit)

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<i>Ilex aquifolium</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Aquifoliaceae

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<i>Lindera benzoin</i> Species of shrub

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<i>Cornus sericea</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Ilex montana</i> Species of holly

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<i>Ilex mucronata</i> Species of holly

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<i>Nandina</i> Genus of flowering plants belonging to the barberry family

Nandina domestica commonly known as nandina, heavenly bamboo or sacred bamboo, is a species of flowering plant in the family Berberidaceae, native to eastern Asia from the Himalayas to Japan. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Nandina. It is widely grown in gardens as an ornamental plant with a number of cultivars that display bright-red fall foliage in the cool months, and attractive new foliage growth in spring. Although a popular ornamental shrub, the berries are toxic to birds, especially towards the end of the winter when other food sources become scarce.

<i>Vaccinium parvifolium</i> Berry and plant

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<i>Ilex glabra</i> Species of holly

Ilex glabra, also known as Appalachian tea, evergreen winterberry, Canadian winterberry, gallberry, inkberry, dye-leaves and houx galbre, is a species of evergreen holly native to the coastal plain of eastern North America, from coastal Nova Scotia to Florida and west to Louisiana where it is most commonly found in sandy woods and peripheries of swamps and bogs. Ilex glabra is often found in landscapes of the middle and lower East Coast of the United States. It typically matures to 5–8 ft (1.5–2.4 m) tall, and can spread by root suckers to form colonies. It normally is cultivated as an evergreen shrub in USDA zones 6 to 10.

<i>Ilex decidua</i> Species of holly

Ilex decidua is a species of holly native to the United States.

<i>Ilex latifolia</i> Species of holly

Ilex latifolia is a species of holly, native to southern Japan and eastern and southern China, growing in broadleaf forests at altitudes of 200–1,500 m.

<i>Hamamelis vernalis</i> Species of tree

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holly</span> Genus of plants in the family Aquifoliaceae

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 or deciduous trees, shrubs, and climbers from tropics to temperate zones worldwide. The type species is Ilex aquifolium, the common European holly used in Christmas decorations and cards.

<i>Ilex cornuta</i> Species of holly

Ilex cornuta, commonly known as Chinese holly or horned holly, is a slow-growing, densely foliaged evergreen shrub in the Aquifoliaceae plant family. It is native to eastern China and Korea and attains a height of about 3 metres (9.8 ft). The leaves are usually 5-spined, between 3.5 cm and 10 cm long, oblong and entire. The fruits are red berries, which are larger than those of the European Holly.

<i>Rhamnus alaternus</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Ilex longipes</i> Species of holly

Ilex longipes, commonly called the Georgia holly, is a species of plant in the holly family. It is native to the southeastern United States, where it has a patchy distribution. It is typically found in upland forests.

References

  1. Stritch, L. (2018). "Ilex verticillata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T122927488A122927624. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T122927488A122927624.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. "NatureServe Explorer" . Retrieved 2021-05-06.
  3. 1 2 USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Ilex verticillata". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
  4. "Ilex verticillata". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  5. 1 2 "Ilex verticillata (common winterberry)". Nova Scotia Wild Flora. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03.
  6. 1 2 3 Christman, Steve (2005). "Ilex verticillata". Floridata. Retrieved 2018-09-01.
  7. "Ilex verticillata". Alabama Plant Atlas. Alabama Herbarium Consortium & the University of West Alabama. Retrieved 2018-09-01.
  8. 1 2 Glenn, Steven D. (2013). "Ilex verticillata". New York Metropolitan Flora Project. Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Archived from the original on 2017-12-25. Retrieved 2007-11-27.
  9. Maunder, John E. (2012). "Aquifoliaceae: Holly Family". Digital Flora of Newfoundland and Labrador.
  10. "Ilex verticillata". Bioimages. Archived from the original on 2012-02-04. Retrieved 2006-05-01.
  11. "Search for Ilex verticillata". Native American Ethnobotany. Archived from the original on 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
  12. Maria, Cheryl Santa (28 July 2018). "Look but DON'T TOUCH: 8 TOXIC plants in Canadian gardens". The Weather Network. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  13. Starbuck, Christopher J. "Gardening in the Shade" (PDF). Retrieved 2022-11-27.