Native Winterberry

Winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata) is a deciduous shrub or small tree native to eastern North America:

Size: Can grow 3–15 ft tall and 3–12 ft wide.
Appearance: Has smooth, gray to blackish bark, dense zigzag branches, and dark green leaves that turn yellow in the fall.
Flowers: Small, greenish to yellowish-white flowers bloom in April to July.
Fruit: Scarlet red to orange berries that mature in late summer and persist into winter. Each berry is about 1/4 in diameter and contains 3–5 nutlets.
Habitat: Prefers moist, acidic soil with good drainage and can tolerate heat, drought, and soil compaction. It's typically found in swamps, damp thickets, low woods, and along ponds and streams.
Pollination: Dioecious, requiring male and female plants for fruit production. Female flowers have a small green dot in the center that is the ovary that will turn into the berry. Male flowers have fluffy yellow stamens in the center.
Wildlife: The berries provide food for birds and small mammals, and the pale yellow flowers are of special value to honey bees. It's also a larval host plant for the “Elf” butterfly.
Toxicity: Has low severity poison characteristics.

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