Plants 4 Bees :: Aquafoliaceae :: F69Ilex

Ilex verticillata

Scientific name	:	Ilex verticillata
Synonyms	:	Ilex bronxensis, Ilex fastigiata.
Common name	:	Michigan holly, winterberry, common winterberry, black alder, feverbush, coralberry, apalanche.
Family	:	Aquifoliaceae (Holly Family).
Origin	:	Eastern North America
Description	:	Winterberry is a highly variable unisexual, deciduous bush that can grow to 20 in height, but under cultivation, is generally in the 6 to 10 ft height range. The older stems and branches have relatively smooth gray to blackish bark and frequently grow in a zigzag pattern. The leaves are up to 4 inches long and are dull to moderately glossy dark green above and frequently covered on the undersurface, or at least on the veins, with short hairs (pubescent). The leaves are unspectacular in fall, turning a dull yellow. The relatively insignificant flowers have 5 to 7 petals and are arranged in groups that arise from a single stem(cymes), with the males having a few to many flowers and the females from one to a few flowers. The 0.25 to 0.31 inch diameter spherical fruits are generally red to orange in color, but plants with yellow fruits exist, though rarely in the wild. The fruits generally remain on the bushes well into winter.
Distribution	:	Winterberry is the most widespread of the North American Hollies. In addition to the U. S. distribution, the species is found in Ontario, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. Dirr[5] considers the plant to be a zone 3 to 9 species. It is commonly found in low wet areas, moist woods and swamps.
Blooming period	:	The USDA Plants Website provides a composite blooming date for the species as April to July. Billington[3] provides the blooming date for Michigan as May and June. At The Morton Arboretum, near Chicago, it blooms in mid to late June[10]. There is a fair amount of variability in the blooming dates of the species, and there are a number of cultivars available that bloom at different times.
Importance	:	Pellett[13] lists the species along with several other Ilex as being a source of honey. Oertel[12], from his extensive set of questionnaires, states that the species is of at least some importance in Connecticut, Mississippi, and New Jersey. In my opinion, this is one of those instances where a good honey plant has not been adequately recognized. I first began to pay attention to the species at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University when I was attracted to a group of plants that sounded like a swarm had descended upon it. On close inspection I found no swarm, but only hundreds, maybe even thousands (it was a large group of plants) busily working the inconspicuous flowers that I would have missed had it not been for the uproar the bees were making, and this in late June and early July when there were many other plants at the arboretum that they could forage. The species produces a lot of nectar. I have seen flowers from which bee visits are prevented, literally drip with nectar. Both the male and female plants produce nectar. I know of extensive natural stands of this plant, and I am certain they would provide significant amounts of nectar if honey bees were there to collect it.
Honey	:	While we have no reports of honey quality, the genus Ilex has a reputation for producing high quality honeys.
Pollen	:	While I have found no direct reference to pollen production, I presume that the species does provide pollen since some of the other species do.
Additional information	:	I recognize that common apicultural wisdom has it that it cannot be profitable to plant for bees, but here is an instance, where, if nearby wetlands were available with no cost to the beekeeper, an otherwise underutilized resource might be turned into a honey production facility, and this with native plants. To make it profitable of course, an inexpensive plant propagation procedure would be needed, maybe direct seeding, but this is getting into the realm of research, so start small and proceed carefully. State laws may also differ when it comes to establishing plants, even native plants, in a wetland. Check with your local authorities before starting such a project. For much of the year, Ilex verticillata has few outstanding characteristics to recommend it for the home landscape except that it can be placed into wet locations where other plants might not survive. In October, however, when many other landscape plants become uninteresting, winterberry is bedecked with red ‘berries’ and puts on a show like few other plants. Many cultivars are commercially available and the blooming period can be extended significantly by making judicious choices. Remember that since these are dioecious plants, for fruit production, you will need to plant both male and female plants that bloom at roughly the same time. If you are considering winterberry for your landscape, also consider the cultivar ‘sparkleberry’, which is actually a hybrid of I. verticillata and I. serrata. It’s an award-winning cultivar that when planted in the right conditions, is a delight to the eye, especially during the winter. Choose the cultivar ‘Apollo’ as a mate for your ‘Sparkleberry’. The seeds of I. verticillata need cold stratification (winter conditions) for them to germination. The species is also relatively easy to root.
Reference	:	1. Arnold, L. E. . 1954. Some honey plants of Florida. University of Florida Agricultural Experiment Stations Bulletin 548. University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. 2. Ayers, G. S. and J. R. Harman. 1992. Bee Forage of North America and the Potential for Planting for Bees. In The Hive and the Honey Bee (J. M. Graham, Ed.), Dadant and Sons. Hamilton, IL. 3. Billington, C. 1977. Shrubs of Michigan. Cranbrook Institute of Science Bulletin 20. (2nd Edition). Cranbrook Institute of Science. Bloomfield Hills, MI. 4. Crane, E., P. Walker and R. Day. 1984. Directory of Important World Honey Sources. International Bee Research Association. London. 5. Dirr, M. A. 1998. Manual of Woody Landscape Plants. Stipes Publishing L.L.C. Champaign, IL. 6. Fernald, M. L. 1970. Gray's Manual of Botany (8th edition). D. Van Nostrand Company. New York. 7. Galle, F. C. 1997, The Hollies--The Genus Ilex. Timber Press in association with the Holly Society of America Inc. Portland, OR. 8. Lovell, H. B. 1966. Honey Plants Manual. A Practical Field Handbook for Identifying Honey Flora. A. I. Root Co. Medina, OH. 9. Lovell, J. 1926. Honey Plants of North America. A. I. Root Co. Medina, OH. 10. Morton Arboretum Staff. 1990. Woody Plants of The Morton Arboretum. The Morton Arboretum. Lisle, IL. 11. Morton, J. A. 1964. Honeybee plants of South Florida. Proceedings, Florida State Horicultural Society 77:415-436. 12. Oertel, E. 1939. Honey and Pollen Plants of the United States (U. S. D. A. Circular 554) U. S. Government Printing Office. Washington D. C. 13. Pellett, F. C. 1978. American Honey Plants. Dadant and Sons, Hamilton, IL. 14. Sanborn, C. E. and E. E. Scholl. 1908. Texas Honey Plants. Texas Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 102. Texas Agricultural Experiment Stations, College Station, Texas. 15. Sanford, M. T. Florida Bee Botany Florida Cooperative Extension Service/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Circular 686. University of Gainesville, FL 16. USDA, NRCS. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA 17. Wilder, J. J. 1907. The Gallberry as a honey-plant. Gleanings in Bee Culture 36:1200-1211.