Flower Notes:
White (Dull white, 4-lobed flowers in spring; dioecious; fragrant, but not ornamentally important)
Foliage Notes:
Green (Dull to dark yellow or olive green foliage; evergreen foliage)
Stem Notes:
Green/Brown (Green stems when young, sparsely pubescent; gray to brown older stems, glabrous)
Fruit Notes:
Red (Showy red berry-like drupes (on female plants); 1/4 to 1/2" diameter; ripens in October and can persist into winter)
Soil Notes:
Prefers acidic, well-drained soil; does not tolerate wet soil and poor drainage
Range:
Eastern and Central United States
Diagnostic Characteristics:
Evergreen leaves (1.5-3.5" long) are dark green above, alternate, and simple with large remote spiny teeth (1 to 8 at the most per side). Leaf scar is half-moon shaped with a very prominent vascular bundle in the center. An ovoid, imbricate greenish-brown bud sits above the middle of the leaf scar. Stems are green when young, turning brown with raised circular lenticels.
