Question: Here's another picture from Quincy Bog Natural Area. I'm reasonably certain that this is Ilex verticillate. How can I be …
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Question
Here's another picture from Quincy Bog Natural Area. I'm reasonably certain that this is Ilex verticillate. How can I be certain that this isn't I. laevigata? The description on your site says that "Smooth winterberry produces two types of branches: long shoots and short shoots." Can you offer guidance on how I can discern long shoots from short ones...or any other tips on distinguishing these two species?
Answer
Dear gdewolf, the best way to separate these species is to examine one of the fruits. On the lower side (where it attaches to the branch), the fruit has persistent sepals, and those sepals will either have lots of cilia along the margin (I. verticellata) or essentially none (I. laevigata). For long shoots and short shoots, go examine an apple or a birch, you will notice knobby shoots long the branches. Those are the short shoots with crowded leaves relative to the long shoots. If you take a picture of a fruit, the lower side where the sepals are, the difference is easy to discern.
