Virginia Tech Dendrology

catberry Aquifoliaceae Ilex mucronata (L.) Powell, Savolainen & Andrews symbol: ILMU
Leaf: Alternate, simple, deciduous, entire or finely serrate (mostly near the tip), lance to egg-shaped or obovate, wedge-shaped at the leaf base and mucronate at the tip, glabrous and green above, paler below, to 2 1/2 inches long; petioles often purple; often crowded at the branch tips.
Flower: Species is mostly dioecious; both male and females are long-stalked and yellow to white, appearing with the leaves.
Fruit: Round red velvety drupes borne cherry-like on long stalks, 1/3 inch in diameter; ripening in fall but persisting into the winter.
Twig: Slender, red-brown, with scattered light lenticels, buds dome-shaped,leaf scars small with one vascular bundle scar.
Bark: Thin, smooth or somewhat warty, and grayish brown.
Form: A shrub that reaches heights of 10 feet.
Looks like: downy serviceberry - winterberry holly

Additional Range Information: Ilex mucronata is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDA Plants Database
All material © 2021 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information