Plant · P-1016

Winterberry

Ilex verticillata

Winterberry is a deciduous holly and dense, upright shrub that loses its leaves each fall to reveal branches covered in small, bright red berries that persist through much of the winter. It spreads by root suckers to form colonies in consistently moist ground and tolerates open swamps, boggy soil and standing water that would kill most other shrubs. Its abundant winter fruit is stripped by dozens of bird species once softened by frost, and a male plant must grow nearby to pollinate the females that bear it.