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{{Short description|Species of holly}}
{{more citations needed|date=April 2016}}
{{more citations needed|date=April 2016}}
{{italic title}}
{{italic title}}
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|name = Inkberry
|name = Inkberry
|image = Ilex glabra.png
|image = Ilex glabra.png
|status=LC
|status_system=IUCN3.1
|status_ref=<ref name=iucnredlist>{{cite iucn|author=Stritch, L.|year=2018|title=''Ilex glabra''|page=e.T123000685A123000701|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T123000685A123000701.en|access-date=13 January 2024}}</ref>
|genus = Ilex
|genus = Ilex
|species = glabra
|species = glabra
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}}
}}


'''''Ilex glabra''''', also known as '''Appalachian tea''', '''dye-leaves''', '''evergreen winterberry''', '''gallberry''', and '''inkberry''', is a species of evergreen [[holly]] native to the coastal plain of eastern [[North America]], from coastal Nova Scotia to [[Florida]] and west to [[Louisiana]] where it is most commonly found in sandy woods and peripheries of swamps and bogs. ''Ilex glabra'' is often found in landscapes of the middle and lower [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]] of the [[United States]]. It typically matures to {{cvt|5|–|8|ft|m|1}} tall, and can spread by root suckers to form colonies. It normally is cultivated as an evergreen shrub in USDA zones 6 to 10.<ref>Cloud, Katherine Mallet-Prevost. ''The Cultivation of Shrubs'' (Chapter IX: Cultural Instructions), Dodd, Mead & Company, 1927, p. 191.</ref>
'''''Ilex glabra''''', also known as '''Appalachian tea''', '''evergreen winterberry''', '''Canadian winterberry''', '''gallberry''', '''inkberry''',<ref name=iucnredlist/> '''dye-leaves'''{{citation needed|date=January 2024}} and '''{{lang|fr|houx galbre}}''',<ref name=iucnredlist/> is a species of evergreen [[holly]] native to the coastal plain of eastern [[North America]], from coastal Nova Scotia to [[Florida]] and west to [[Louisiana]] where it is most commonly found in sandy woods and peripheries of swamps and bogs. ''Ilex glabra'' is often found in landscapes of the middle and lower [[East Coast of the United States]]. It typically matures to {{cvt|5|–|8|ft|m|1}} tall, and can spread by root suckers to form colonies. It normally is cultivated as an evergreen shrub in USDA zones 6 to 10.<ref>Cloud, Katherine Mallet-Prevost. ''The Cultivation of Shrubs'' (Chapter IX: Cultural Instructions), Dodd, Mead & Company, 1927, p. 191.</ref>


Gallberry nectar is the source of a pleasant honey that is popular in the [[southern United States]].
Gallberry nectar is the source of a pleasant honey that is popular in the [[southern United States]].


==Description==
==Description==
{{unsourced|section|date=January 2024}}
[[Image:Inkberry Ilex glabra 'Compacta' Leaves 3008px.jpg|thumb|left|'Compacta' leaves]]
[[Image:Inkberry Ilex glabra 'Compacta' Leaves 3008px.jpg|thumb|left|'Compacta' leaves]]
Spineless, flat, ovate to elliptic, glossy, dark green leaves (to 1.5&nbsp;in long) have smooth margins with several marginal teeth near the apex. Leaves usually remain attractive bright green in winter unless temperatures fall below -17 C/0 F. Greenish white flowers (male in cymes and female in cymes or single) appear in spring, but are relatively inconspicuous. If pollinated, female flowers give way to pea-sized, jet black, berry-like drupes (inkberries to 3/8" diameter) which mature in early fall and persist throughout winter to early spring unless consumed by local bird populations. Cultivars of species plants (see for example Ilex glabra 'Shamrock') typically have better form (more compact, less open, less leggy and less suckering) that the species.
Spineless, flat, ovate to elliptic, glossy, dark green leaves (to {{convert|1.5|in|cm|disp=or}} long) have smooth margins with several marginal teeth near the apex. Leaves usually remain attractive bright green in winter unless temperatures fall below -17 C/0 F. Greenish white flowers (male in [[cyme (botany)|cyme]]s and female in cymes or single) appear in spring, but are relatively inconspicuous. If pollinated, female flowers give way to pea-sized, jet black, berry-like [[drupe]]s (inkberries to 3/8" diameter) which mature in early fall and persist throughout winter to early spring unless consumed by local bird populations. Cultivars of species plants (e.g. ''Ilex glabra'' 'Shamrock') typically are more compact, less open, less leggy and less suckering than the species.


==Uses==
==Uses==
===Honey===
===Honey===
Gallberry honey is a highly rated honey that results from bees feeding on inkberry flowers. This honey is locally produced in certain parts of the Southeastern U. S. in areas where beekeepers release bees from late April to early June to coincide with inkberry flowering time.
Gallberry [[honey]] is a highly rated honey that results from bees feeding on inkberry flowers. This honey is locally produced in certain parts of the Southeastern U. S. in areas where beekeepers release bees from late April to early June to coincide with inkberry flowering time.


===Beverage===
===Beverage===
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[[Category:Flora of the Appalachian Mountains]]
[[Category:Flora of the Appalachian Mountains]]
[[Category:Garden plants of North America]]
[[Category:Garden plants of North America]]
[[Category:Native American ethnobotany]]
[[Category:Flora without expected TNC conservation status]]




Latest revision as of 00:42, 1 February 2024

Inkberry
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Aquifoliales
Family: Aquifoliaceae
Genus: Ilex
Species:
I. glabra
Binomial name
Ilex glabra

Ilex glabra, also known as Appalachian tea, evergreen winterberry, Canadian winterberry, gallberry, inkberry,[1] dye-leaves[citation needed] and houx galbre,[1] is a species of evergreen holly native to the coastal plain of eastern North America, from coastal Nova Scotia to Florida and west to Louisiana where it is most commonly found in sandy woods and peripheries of swamps and bogs. Ilex glabra is often found in landscapes of the middle and lower East Coast of the United States. It typically matures to 5–8 ft (1.5–2.4 m) tall, and can spread by root suckers to form colonies. It normally is cultivated as an evergreen shrub in USDA zones 6 to 10.[2]

Gallberry nectar is the source of a pleasant honey that is popular in the southern United States.

Description

[edit]
'Compacta' leaves

Spineless, flat, ovate to elliptic, glossy, dark green leaves (to 1.5 inches or 3.8 centimetres long) have smooth margins with several marginal teeth near the apex. Leaves usually remain attractive bright green in winter unless temperatures fall below -17 C/0 F. Greenish white flowers (male in cymes and female in cymes or single) appear in spring, but are relatively inconspicuous. If pollinated, female flowers give way to pea-sized, jet black, berry-like drupes (inkberries to 3/8" diameter) which mature in early fall and persist throughout winter to early spring unless consumed by local bird populations. Cultivars of species plants (e.g. Ilex glabra 'Shamrock') typically are more compact, less open, less leggy and less suckering than the species.

Uses

[edit]

Honey

[edit]

Gallberry honey is a highly rated honey that results from bees feeding on inkberry flowers. This honey is locally produced in certain parts of the Southeastern U. S. in areas where beekeepers release bees from late April to early June to coincide with inkberry flowering time.

Beverage

[edit]

Dried and roasted inkberry leaves were first used by Native Americans to brew a black tea-like drink, hence the sometimes used common name of Appalachian tea for this shrub.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Stritch, L. (2018). "Ilex glabra". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T123000685A123000701. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T123000685A123000701.en. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  2. ^ Cloud, Katherine Mallet-Prevost. The Cultivation of Shrubs (Chapter IX: Cultural Instructions), Dodd, Mead & Company, 1927, p. 191.
[edit]


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