Inkberry, Ilex glabra
2024 December Plant of the Month
Northern Neck Chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society

Photos and Text by Betsy Washington

*Billowy, yet dense, evergreen habit adds year-round structure and interest to the landscape*

Inkberry or Gallberry is a great choice for the December Plant of the Month. This handsome broadleaf evergreen shrub typically grows slowly to about 5 – 8’ high and wide and has plenty of winter interest with its small narrowly ovate to lance-like dark green leaves that sparkle in the winter sun. This holly with its evergreen billowy and mounded habit is reminiscent of the ubiquitous, non-native Boxwood but is less stiff and formal allowing this shrub to shine in either naturalistic or formal gardens. Better yet, it is adaptable and easy to grow and tolerant of a range of soils and growing conditions, even periodically flooded, wet soils. Unlike its finicky European and Asian lookalikes, Inkberry has no serious disease and insect problems.

The specific epithet (second term in its Latin name) ‘glabra’ means smooth and refers to the smooth margins of the leaves except for a few blunt teeth or notches near the tips. In typical holly fashion, Inkberries are dioecious meaning that plants may either have male or female flowers. Inconspicuous, small whitish-green flowers bloom in late spring, and if pollinated, the female plants produce relatively large shiny black fruits (drupes) about1/3 of an inch in diameter that persist well into winter. The shrub’s common names refer to these glossy black drupes.

Inkberry is a native and one of the hardiest evergreen hollies, growing naturally from Nova Scotia to Florida and west to eastern Texas along the Coastal Plain. In Virginia, Inkberry is locally common in the central and southern Coastal Plain in peaty wet flatwoods, low pinewoods, non-riverine swamps or ponds, and interdune swales. It is rare in the Piedmont and absent from the northern Coastal Plain.

Inkberries are easy to grow in average to wet soils in full to part sun. They prefer rich consistently moist acidic soils and are well adapted to occasional flooding and root inundation although I have seen a fair share growing in relatively dry shade. They can thrive in both heavy clay and light sandy, damp soils as long as the soil is acidic. They also tolerate soil compaction, pollution, and are moderately salt tolerant, and if that isn’t enough, they are resistant to rabbit and deer browsing as the leaves have a low level of toxins to both wildlife and humans. All of these qualities make Inkberry an outstanding evergreen landscape shrub useful for a range of purposes, from foundation plantings, to massing, hedges, and windbreaks, to naturalizing and even in rain gardens. Inkberries are stoloniferous (they send out horizontal stems) allowing it to spread into colonies in damp soils. This habit makes it excellent for planting in masses and for erosion control on banks of ponds, streams or other low wet areas. If a formal hedge or specimen is desired, suckers are easy to remove. Inkberries are relatively slow growing and need little, if any, pruning. If not allowed to sucker naturally, shaded lower stems may lose some leaves and appear ‘leggy’ but a few older stems can be pruned back to allow new shoots to fill in and maintain a dense habit.

Inkberries are not only superior landscape plants but offer high wildlife value too. The nectar-rich flowers support a variety of pollinators, including specialist bees. Honeybees produce a highly sought honey from Inkberry flowers. Additionally, Inkberries are a host for the caterpillars of Henry’s Elfin butterfly. The fruit, like many hollies, often persists on the shrub until late winter when other food is scarce. Many birds and small mammals rely on this winter food source including Turkeys and Bobwhite Quail. The dense foliage provides excellent winter shelter and cover for a variety of critters. Inkberries have long been used by humans for medicinal purposes to treat fevers, colds and other respiratory ailments, even skin conditions. The leaves were also dried or roasted by Native Americans and by early colonists to make a popular black ‘tea’ leading to another common name, Appalachian Tea (although this is a definite misnomer as this is a coastal plain species). And fitting for the December Plant of the Month, the plant was used to make handsome wreaths and garlands and other decorations for celebrations and rituals.

Look around your garden this winter and think how it could be enhanced by this lovely evergreen shrub as it adds sparkle, winter structure and interest, and wildlife to your garden. It’s a natural and its easy-going nature and good looks are easy to fall in love with!

Plant of the Month December 2024: Inkberry