Wild Berries & Fruits Field Guide of Minnesota, Wisconsin & Michigan by Teresa Marrone

Author:Teresa Marrone
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781591937975
Publisher: Adventure Publications
Published: 2018-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

Highbush cranberry

Guelder rose

Winterberry Ilex verticillata

HABITAT: Moist to wet areas including mixed-wood forests, thickets, and swampy and boggy areas. Plants in full sun produce more fruits.

GROWTH: An erect native shrub up to 15 feet in height, although usually shorter; it tends to produce multiple suckers (shoots), and is often found in large clumps. Bark on mature stems is dark gray to brown, smooth, and mottled with pale lenticels (breathing pores). Smaller stems are purplish-brown. Winterberry is generally unisexual—a plant is either male or female, and each produces a different type of flower.

LEAVES: Elliptical leaves are attached alternately to the stems on petioles (stemlets) that are typically purplish-red. The leaf veins are prominent. Both ends of the leaf taper; leaves are 2 to 4 inches long and about one-third as wide. Edges of the leaf are sharply toothed, especially on the top two-thirds. Leaves are glossy and bluish-green, sometimes tinged with bronze; undersides are paler and downy.

FRUIT: Smooth, glossy, bright red berries grow profusely in clusters from the leaf axils of female plants. Berry stemlets are short and reddish. The berries are inedible, and may cause intestinal problems.

SEASON: Berries ripen in late summer to early fall. Leaves wither and fall off after a hard frost, but the berries usually persist through midwinter, making a striking display.

COMPARE: Catberry (I. mucronata) is related, and similar in growth habit and appearance; however, it is a shorter shrub, usually 10 feet or less in height. Leaf margins are smooth, not toothy; leaves are widest towards the tip and each leaf typically has a short bristle at the tip. Berry stemlets are much longer than those of winterberry. Catberry is found only in the northeastern quarter of the U.S.; in our area, it is most common in northern Wisconsin and Michigan, particularly in the Upper Peninsula.

NOTES: Leaves of winterberry are sometimes dried and used to brew tea. Stems, leafless but with the red berries, are often cut in late fall and used in floral arrangements.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.