Index / Search / Ilex verticillata

§1 Plant

Ilex verticillata (L.) A. Gray

vernacular common winterberry — species · Aquifoliaceae


USDA
ILVE
GBIF
5414267
Rank
species
common winterberry (Ilex verticillata)
Platephotograph · Paul DonahueCC BY-NC source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Habit and range

Growth habit
Shrub, Tree
Duration
Perennial
Group
Dicot
Family
Aquifoliaceae Bercht. & J. Presl
Genus
Ilex
§2a

Native status, by region

  • CAN Canada Native
  • L48 Lower 48 States Native
  • SPM St. Pierre & Miquelon Native
§2b

County-level range

· 731 counties across 27 states/territories
Legend Native · 731 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought
Low
Shade
Medium
Moisture use
High
Fire
Low
Salinity
None
Anaerobic
Low
CaCO₃
Low
Hedging
Low
§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance
-28 °F minimum
Frost-free days
140 min.
Precipitation
35–60 in/yr
pH range
4.5–7.5
Root depth
16 in min.
Fertility need
Medium
Soil texture
medium, fine
§3c

Form & growth

Growth form
Multiple Stem
Growth rate
Moderate
Lifespan
Moderate
Mature height
10 ft
Height @ 20 y
6 ft
Foliage texture
Coarse
Foliage colour
Green
Porosity (summer)
Dense
Porosity (winter)
Moderate
Flower colour
White
Fruit colour
Red
Fire resistant
No
N fixation
None
Toxicity
None
§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period
Late Spring
Seed abundance
High
Seed begins
Summer
Seed ends
Fall
Spread rate
Slow
Stratify
Yes
Seeds / lb
92,000
Propagation
seed, bare root, container
§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability
Routinely Available
Nursery stock
Yes
Browse palatability
Low
Graze palatability
Low
Palatable, human
No
Protein potential
Low
Lumber
No
Christmas tree
No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 731 counties across 27 states/territories.

Alabama view state ↗ 32 N
Arkansas view state ↗ 7 N
Delaware view state ↗ 1 N
District of Columbia view state ↗ 1 N
Florida view state ↗ 6 N
Georgia view state ↗ 27 N
Illinois view state ↗ 19 N
Indiana view state ↗ 56 N
Kentucky view state ↗ 37 N
Louisiana view state ↗ 16 N
Maine view state ↗ 16 N
Maryland view state ↗ 2 N
Massachusetts view state ↗ 14 N
Michigan view state ↗ 70 N
Minnesota view state ↗ 30 N
Mississippi view state ↗ 11 N
New Hampshire view state ↗ 10 N
New Jersey view state ↗ 21 N
New York view state ↗ 48 N
North Carolina view state ↗ 57 N
Pennsylvania view state ↗ 64 N
Rhode Island view state ↗ 5 N
South Carolina view state ↗ 16 N
Tennessee view state ↗ 37 N
Vermont view state ↗ 11 N
Virginia view state ↗ 92 N
West Virginia view state ↗ 25 N

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/ILVE ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/5414267 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26

fetched 2026-05-26T07:25:30Z