Ilex glabra
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Inkberry, Gallberry
Aquifoliaceae
Plant Specifics
| Form: | Shrub | |
| Size: | 6-12 ft tall by 2-3 ft wide | |
| Life Span: | Long-lived perennial | |
| Flower Color: | White | |
| Fruit Color: | Black | |
| Phenology: | Evergreen. Blooms in spring. Black fruits ripen in fall persisting into winter. | |
| Noted for: | - |
Landscaping
| Recommended Uses: | Good background plant. Can make a good screen. Becomes scraggly if overly shaded, but may be trimmed back for bushier growth. Clonal. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Propagation: | Naturally clonal, so easily started from new offshoots. Seeds of most holly species require 2-3 years of dormancy before they will germinate. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Availability: | Friends, Native nurseries | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Light: | Full Sun, Part Shade | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Moisture Tolerance: |
always floodedextremely dry |
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| (Usually moist, occasional inundation ----- to ----- Somewhat long very dry periods) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Moisture Tolerance: | Usually moist, occasional inundation ----- to ----- Somewhat long very dry periods | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Salt Water Flooding Tolerance: | Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Salt Spray/ Salty Soil Tolerance: | Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Soil or other substrate: | Sand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Soil pH: | Acidic | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ecology
| Wildlife: |
Fruits are eaten by birds though it is bitter and often eaten as a last resort. | |
| Insects: | Bees pollinate flowers. Documented bees include Colletes banksi, C. brimleyi, C. inandibularis, C. nudus, Perdita floridensis, Agapostemon splendens, Augochlora pura, Augochloropsis anonyma, A. metallica, Dialictus coreopsis, D. miniatulus, D. nyinphalis, D. placidensis, D. tegularis, Sphecodes brachycephalus, S. heraclei, Anthidiellum notatum rufimaculatum, A. perplexum, Anthidium maculifrons, Coelioxys sayi, Dianthidium floridiense, Megachile albitarsis, M. brevis pseudobreuis, M. exilis parexilis, M. mendica, M. petulans, M. policaris, M. rugifrons, M. texana, M. xylocopoides, Epeolus erigeronis, E. glabratus, E. pusillus, E. zonatus, Apis mellifera (honeybee), Bombus impatiens, Xylocopa micans and X. virginica krombeini (Deyrup et al. 2002). | |
| Native Habitats: | Low flatwoods, cutthroat seeps, dry prairie, coastal swales, bogs, sinks. |
Distribution and Planting Zones
Natural Range in Florida
USDA Zones
Suitable to grow in:
10A 10B 8A 8B 9A 9B
USDA zones are based on minimum winter temperatures
Comments
| General Comments: | Rarely planted. |