christmas berry

Christmas berry is an upright perennial shrub that grows 1.5–6 feet tall. It maintains a caespitose growth pattern and is often multi-trunked. Christmas berry prefers moist soil and germination can occur from pH 4 to pH 10. It does well in temperatures of 25°C and above."Coral" Germination rates are as high as 98% after 40 days. Its leaves are simple,alternate and measure up to 8 inches long. They are waxy and dark green with a crenate margin containing small calluses within the ridges. The leaf tips are acuminate and their petioles are 3–10 mm long. They have a central vein with up to 18 pairs of side veins."Queensland","Coral berry", "Weeds of Australia". Flowers are white or pink with yellow anthers and grow in axillary clusters and are very often covered in multiple black spots. Plants begin to bear fruit two years after sprouting. Christmas berry has an abundance of spherical, 1-seeded red berries of about 0.25 inches in diameter that remain on the plant throughout the year. "Identification and Control of Coral Ardisia(''Ardisia crenata''): A Potentially Poisonous Plant", The berry clusters often sag down below the glossy foliage. Berries are dispersed by birds and raccoons through consumption and subsequent excretion and also by water flow. There are suspicions that the plant may be poisonous to pets, livestock, and/or humans, but there has been no scientific confirmation of this. -WIKIPEDIA-