Winterberry Holly (Ilex verticillata) — identification, habitat & look-alikes

Winterberry holly, often just called winterberry, is a holly of eastern North America whose bright red berries cling to bare branches well into winter. Unlike evergreen hollies, it drops its leaves in fall, and only female plants bear fruit — and only when a male plant blooming at the same time grows nearby. It's also known as black alder or Michigan holly.

Appearance

Growth form: A multistemmed deciduous shrub 3–16 ft (1–5 m) tall that spreads by suckers and forms dense thickets in wet places.
Leaves: Leaves are 1 1/2–3 1/2 in (3.5–9 cm) long, oval to lance-shaped, with toothed edges and usually some hair on the veins underneath. They turn yellow in fall.
Flowers: Tiny white flowers, about 1/4 in (5 mm) across, are easy to miss. In Maryland they open in June and July, and bees pollinate them.
Fruit: Round red berries about 1/4 in (6–8 mm) across, often in pairs, that color before the leaves fall and last into winter.

Look-alikes

smooth winterberryIlex laevigata

Smooth winterberry leaves are hairless or nearly so underneath, and its berries usually grow one at a time. Common winterberry leaves are downy beneath, and the berries are often paired.

Why they get mixed upBoth are deciduous hollies with red winter berries.

possumhawIlex decidua

Possumhaw leaves are widest near the tip with round, scalloped teeth, and they crowd on short spur shoots along silvery gray twigs. Winterberry leaves are oval to lance-shaped with sharper saw teeth.

Why they get mixed upBoth are deciduous hollies of eastern U.S. wetlands whose red berries stay on bare branches through winter.

Where it lives

Typical habitats: swamps and wetlands
pond and stream edges
sand dunes
gardens
Range: Native from Newfoundland west to Ontario and Minnesota and south to Alabama, covering much of the eastern and central U.S.
Preferred conditions: Grows mostly in wet ground, such as swamps and forested wetlands, but also on dry dunes and in grassland. It does best in moist soil rich in organic matter, in full sun to part shade, and is hardy to USDA Zone 3.
Flowering: Flowers Jun–Jul
Flowers Jun–Jul

Growing it

Care: A popular native shrub for winter color. Plant at least one male whose bloom time matches the females — for example, early-blooming 'Jim Dandy' with 'Red Sprite', or late-blooming 'Southern Gentleman' with 'Winter Red'.
Toxicity: The berries, leaves, and bark can cause nausea and low blood pressure if eaten.

Name and classification

Varieties and forms: Many cultivars are sold for heavy fruiting, and some bear orange or yellow berries. A yellow-fruited form (f. chrysocarpa) also occurs in the wild.

Conservation

IUCN Red List: LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction

Culture and stories

Culture and stories: Native Americans used the berries medicinally, which is where the old name "fever bush" comes from.
Cut branches of red berries are popular in winter and holiday arrangements.