Common winterberry

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List

LC - Least Concern

NatureServe

N5 - Secure
SNR - Unranked

Minnesota

not listed

Wetland Indicator Status

Midwest

FACW - Facultative wetland

Northcentral & Northeast

FACW - Facultative wetland

Description

Common winterberry, also known as winterberry holly or simply winterberry, is a 5′ to 16½′ tall, slow growing, deciduous shrub that rises on multiple stems from a woody root system. It is native to North America east of the Great Plains. It is also cultivated as an ornamental. It is fairly common in the woodlands of eastern Minnesota. In wet areas it often forms dense colonies by sending up new stems (suckers) from root nodes.

Stems are erect and up to 2″ in diameter at the base. The bark is thin, smooth, grayish-brown, and often mottled.

First-year branches are slender, green, round, and usually hairless. Second-year branches are slender, smooth, and gray or grayish-brown. Mature branches and stems are grayish-brown and have numerous, scattered, pale, raised, horizontal, wart-like pores (lenticels). The pith is solid, not spongy, but it may be small and not easily seen. The buds are small and nearly globe-shaped. They have two or more bud scales. The bud scales are not tipped with a spine-like extension of the midrib (mucro). The leaf scars are small and are not raised or are only slightly raised. They have a single bundle scar.

The leaves are alternate, relatively thin, 2″ to 4″ long, ¾″ to 1¾″ wide, and narrowly or broadly elliptic or egg-shaped. They are on ¼″ to ½″ long leaf stalks (petioles). The petioles are covered with short hairs. At the base of each petiole there is a pair of tiny, black, thorn-like appendages (stipules). The stipules may fall off early but are often persistent. The leaf blades are tapered at the base and short-tapered to a sharp point at the tip but do not have a spine-like extension of the midrib (mucro). The upper surface is green, dull, and hairless. The lower surface is paler and sparsely to moderately hairy at least along the veins. The veins are conspicuously depressed on the upper surface, conspicuously raised on the lower surface. The margins are finely toothed with sharp, spreading to forward pointing teeth.

The inflorescence is small clusters of flowers rising from the leaf axils of first-year branches. Male (staminate) and female (pistillate) flowers are produced on separate plants. Occasionally, bisexual (perfect) flowers, with both male and female parts, are produced on an otherwise male or female plant.

Staminate flowers are in clusters of 3 to 10 flowers on short, 1 ⁄32″ to 1 ⁄16″ long stalks (pedicels). There are 4 to 6 sepals and an equal number of petals and stamens. The sepals are tiny, about 1 ⁄32″ (0.7 to 1.4 mm) long, and have a fringe of hairs on the margin (ciliate). The petals are white to greenish-white, spreading with the tips sometimes bent backward, and 1 ⁄16″ to ⅛″ (1.5 to 2.5 mm) long. The stamens have white filaments and yellow anthers. Pistillate flowers are solitary or in clusters of 2 or 3 flowers. They are similar to male flowers but have 5 to 8 sepals and petals, and an equal number of sterile, modified stamens (staminodes). There is no style.

The fruit is a bright red, globe-shaped, 3 ⁄16″ to 5 ⁄16″ (5 to 8 mm) in diameter, fleshy, berry-like drupe. The fruits mature in early September to early October and remain on the branch through winter and into the following spring. They are poisonous to humans but not to birds.

Height

5′ to 16½′

Flower Color

White to greenish-white

Similar Species

Habitat

Wet to moist. Forested wetlands, margins of ponds and marshes, lakeshores. Partial sun.

Ecology

Flowering

Mid-June to early July

Pests and Diseases

Use

Distribution

Sources

2, 3, 5, 7, 24, 28, 30, 83.

Biodiversity occurrence data published by: Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas (accessed through the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Portal, bellatlas.umn.edu. Accessed 9/19/2026).

Midwest Herbaria Portal. 2026. https://midwestherbaria.org/portal/index.php. Accessed 9/19/2026.

Ilex verticillata (L.) A.Gray in Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Abreu, C., Acero P, A., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (2026-08-26 XR). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgyy9

Smith, Welby R. 2008. Trees and Shrubs of Minnesota: The Complete Guide to Species Identification. The University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, MN.