HOLLY FAMILY AQUIFOLIACEAE 
WINTERBERRY 
Ilex verticillata (L.) Gray 
The American Holly, I/ex opaca Ait., does not occur in 
Illinois, but the Winterberry is a shrub with deciduous leaves 
which belongs to the same genus. It occurs from Nova Scotia to 
Minnesota and south 
to Florida and Missis- 
sippi, and is usually 
found in low swampy 
woods or on low 
borders of lakes. In 
Illinois it is found in 
northern swamps, 
especially in Lake 
county, and in 
swampy woods of the 
south. 
The twigs are 
brown and the dark 
green leaves, which 
frequently turn black 
in autumn, are rather 
thick and leathery, 
smooth above but 
somewhat hairy below, at least on the veins. 
The small, whitish and inconspicuous flowers are produced 
in June or early July. They are imperfect and in axillary clusters, 
the staminate in clusters of 2-10 and the pistillate 1-3. The 
pistillate flowers commonly have 6 sepals, 6 petals and 1 pistil, 
whereas the parts of the staminate flowers are in fours, fives or 
sixes. The fruits are bright red berrylike drupes containing 4-6 
nutlets. They remain on the branches until midwinter and 
because of them the plant is recommended for ornamental 
planting in moist places. 
The Swamp or Meadow Holly, Ilex decidua Walt., is a small 
tree found here only in the swamps of the south. It is noted for its 
light gray ~bark and its large scarlet berries, which remain after 
leaf fall to the last of December. The leaves are characteristically 
wedge shaped, shiny dark green above, and lighter and downy on 
the midrib beneath. 
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