Ilex glabra
inkberry, bitter gallberry, ink-berry, gallberry
Family
Aquifoliaceae
Leaf Arrangement
alternate
Leaf Attachment
petiolate
Leaf Margin
serrate
Leaf Type
simple
Leaf Shape
elliptic, oblanceolate, obovate
Growth Form
shrub
Flower Color
white
Flower Month
February - November
Height (meters)
1.0 - 4.0
Milky Sap
No
Armed/Unarmed
Unarmed
Origin
native
Lifespan
perennial
Wetland Class
FACW
Wetland Coefficient of Conservatism
7
Field Characters
Leathery leaves with reddish glands on the leaf underside. Black fruit.
Animal Use
Cattle seldom eat the foliage. Swamp rabbits, and possibly other small mammals, eat the leaves. The fruits are eaten by a variety of birds.
Habitat
Low sandy soil, pine lands, pine barrens, swamps, bogs, wet woods, pocosins, savannas.