Ilex glabraIndiana Native
Inkberry

Ilex glabra - Shrub Habit
 Family:
 Genus:
 Plant Type:
 Growth Forms:
 Hardiness:
 Deciduous / Evergreen:
 Flower Notes:
White (Small creamy flowers; Blooms in late May; Dioecious; Not ornamentally important)
 Foliage Notes:
Green (Lustrous, dark green evergreen foliage in summer; Sometimes light yellow-green; May become tinged bronze or purple in the winter)
 Stem Notes:
Young stems are green and become gray-brown as plant matures; Slender, powdery, pubescent, glabrous
 Fruit Notes:
Black (Shiny black berry-like drupes in the fall that can persist into winter; About 1/4" in dia.)
 Ultimate Height:
6-8 feet
 Ultimate Spread:
8-10 feet
 Bloom Times:
 Light Requirements:
 Soil Water Requirements:
 Soil Notes:
Prefers moist, acidic soils and does not tolerate high alkalinity or dry soils
 Range:
Eastern North America
 Maintenance:
 Diagnostic Characteristics:
Evergreen leaves (0.75-2" long by 0.3-0.75" wide) are alternate, simple, and oblanceolate with few obtuse teeth near apex or entire, dark green above lighter below. Leaves are very thin compared to Ilex crenata. Young stems are green, pubescent and powdery; 1st year, less so later.
 Ecological Functions:
  Special Characteristics:
  • Border 373
  • Foundation 184
  • Groupings 197
  • Hedge 249
  • Mass Plantings 273
  • Naturalizing 105
  • Indiana Native 161
  • Insignificant Flowering 6
  • Pollution Tolerant 217
  • Shade Tolerant 114
  • Wet Soil Tolerant 106
  • Slow Growth Rate 266
  • Winter Interest 100

    • Additional Information

    This species, like other hollies, is dioecious, so plant females for fruit and an occasional male for pollination. Withstands severe pruning. Winter desiccation injury to leaves occurs in exposed sites, with severe yellowing when temperatures drop below -20 degrees F. Avoid high pH soils.

    31 Ilex glabra found

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