Ilex glabra (L.) A. Gray

vernacular inkberry — species · Aquifoliaceae

USDA: ILGL
GBIF: 5414266
Rank: species

inkberry (Ilex glabra) — Platephotograph · Mary KeimCC BY-NC-SA source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Growth habit: Shrub
Duration: Perennial
Group: Dicot
Family: Aquifoliaceae Bercht. & J. Presl
Genus: Ilex

§2a

Native status, by region

CAN Canada Native
L48 Lower 48 States Native

§2b

County-level range

· 3 counties across 1 state

Legend Native · 3 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought: Low
Shade: High
Moisture use: High
Fire: Low
Salinity: Medium
Anaerobic: High
CaCO₃: Medium
Hedging: Medium

§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance: -13 °F minimum
Frost-free days: 165 min.
Precipitation: 32–60 in/yr
pH range: 4.5–7
Root depth: 16 in min.
Fertility need: Medium
Soil texture: coarse, medium, fine

§3c

Form & growth

Growth form: Multiple Stem
Growth rate: Slow
Lifespan: Long
Mature height: 8 ft
Height @ 20 y: 5 ft
Foliage texture: Coarse
Foliage colour: Green
Porosity (summer): Moderate
Porosity (winter): Porous
Flower colour: White
Fruit colour: Black
Fire resistant: Yes
N fixation: None
Toxicity: None

§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period: Spring
Seed abundance: Medium
Seed begins: Summer
Seed ends: Fall
Spread rate: Slow
Stratify: Yes
Seeds / lb: 29,000
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 3 counties across 1 state.

Rhode Island view state ↗ 3 N ▾

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

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

plants.usda.gov/ILGL ↗

GBIF Backbone

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

gbif.org/species/5414266 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T18:27:19Z