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NC Native Plant Society:
Plant Details

Ilex glabra

Inkberry Holly, Little Gallberry

Scientific Name:

Ilex glabra

Genus:

Ilex

Species Epithet:

glabra

Common Name:

Inkberry Holly, Little Gallberry

Plant Type

Shrub

Life Cycle

Perennial

Plant Family

Aquifoliaceae (Holly Family)

Native/Alien:

NC Native

Size:

3-6 ft., 6-12 ft.

Bloom Color(s):

White

Light:

Sun - 6 or more hours of sun per day, Part Shade - 2 to 6 hours of sun per day

Soil Moisture:

Moist, Wet

Bloom Time:

May, June

Growing Area:

Piedmont, Sandhills, Coastal Plain

Habitat Description:

Savannas, pine flatwoods, pocosin margins, swamps, primarily in wetlands, but extending upslope even into sandhills, with a clay lens or spodic horizon below to maintain additional moisture (Weakley 2015). Common in NC Coastal Plain, rare in Piedmont.

Leaf Arrangement:

Alternate

Leaf Retention:

Evergreen

Leaf Type:

Leaves veined, not needle-like or scale-like

Leaf Form:

Simple

Life Cycle:

Perennial

Wildlife Value:

Important for Wildlife

Landscape Value:

Recommended and Available

State Rank:

S5: Secure (*Key)

Global Rank:

G5 - Secure (*Key)

Branch with Berries

image

Sandhills Game Land, October 2004
© Kathy Schlosser

Female Blooms

image

Jack Spruill
Hamstead. NC

Male Blooms

image

Jack Spruill

Berries on the bush

image

Jack Spruill
Hamstead, NC

Berries with no flash

image

Tom Harville
Mid Oct

Same berries with a flash

Taken just seconds apart.

image

Tom Harville

The leathery leaves are alternately arranged on the stems, have a leaf shape that is wider above the middle, and has a few paired teeth toward the tip.

Nick’s Creek Preserve, Moore County, NC

The Scientific Name is Ilex glabra. You will likely hear them called Inkberry Holly, Little Gallberry. This picture shows the The leathery leaves are alternately arranged on the stems, have a leaf shape that is wider above the middle, and has a few paired teeth toward the tip. of Ilex glabra

Bettina Darveaux

Links:

USDA PLANTS Database Record



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