What’s all that red out there?
Winterberry Holly
Ilex verticillata
And wow, are they loaded with fruit this year!
Poisonous to humans, they will provide food for birds and small mammals. Like other hollies, this one native to North America is dioecious – there are male plants and female ones. Unlike other hollies, this one is deciduous. After the first frost, the leaves will turn dark and drop off. But the berries will remain through the winter.
More information:
- USDA Plant Database: http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=ilve
- Lady Bird Johnson: http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ILVE
- American Beauties: http://www.abnativeplants.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.plantdetail/plant_ID/40/index.htm
yay! a post!
My garden is full of berries at the moment. I feel they’re a consolation for the lack of flowers at this time of year.
Do you back up your blog? Mine was hacked over the weekend and I’ve lost a great deal of it. Right now I’m trying to salvage what I can but I’ve had to close it down and start again on http://www.iwalkalone.co.uk. If you haven’t already, please back up your blog. This is happening all the time.
One of my favorites! Beautiful! ‘Great photos!