Plant

Common winterberry

Ilex verticillata

Also known as: winterberry holly, black alder

A native deciduous holly — unusual among hollies for dropping its leaves in fall. Distinctive bright red berries persist on bare branches through winter, providing both critical winter wildlife food and one of the most-recognizable native winter ornamental displays. Common at Staten Island's wetland edges and moist forest margins. Dioecious — male and female plants required for berry production.

Scientific

Ilex verticillata is a 6–15 ft deciduous holly native to eastern North America. Unusual among hollies — most are evergreen; I. verticillata drops its leaves in fall, leaving bright red berries on bare branches. Berries persist through winter and into early spring.

Dioecious — male and female on separate plants. Female plants need a male within ~50 ft for pollination and berry production. This complicates ornamental plantings.

Wildlife value is high: berries are eaten by robins, cedar waxwings, mockingbirds, hermit thrushes, and other fruit-eating species when other food is scarce. Fruit persists through cold weather (low palatability when fresh; cold cycles improve it).

On Staten Island

Common at the borough’s wetland edges and moist forest margins. Greenbelt wet pockets, Mount Loretto pond margins, Conference House Park wetland edges all support the species. Most-conspicuous in late fall and winter when leafless red-berry display is at peak.

Sources

USDA NRCS Plants Database: common winterberry
Northeastern wetland-shrub references

Rooted in life.

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Scientific

cousin of

Holly auto-linked from body mention

1 inbound link · 3 outbound

Scientific

On Staten Island

See also

Sources

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