Marlberry
Ardisia escallonioides
Plant Family: Myrsinaceae
Leaves: Alternate, simple, shiny, elliptic to obovate, to 15 cm, appearing clustered at the twig ends, the leaf margins often reflex up and the midrib is depressed.
Bark: Light gray, smooth; the twig ends that lack flowers or fruits end in a brown stipule.
Flowers: White with yellow stamens, five petals, aromatic, in clusters near the branch ends throughout the year.
Fruits: Green drupes that ripen to shiny black, to 1 cm, found in clusters near the branch ends any time of year; edible, eaten by birds and small mammals.
Habitat: Marlberry is common in the understory of hammocks and pinelands.
Growth Form: Shrub to small tree.
Similar Species: Myrsine (Myrsine cubana) has green stipules at the twig ends and the flowers and fruits are held back along the branches. Coral Ardisia (Ardisia crenata) is a non-native landscape plant that has become invasive in hammocks; its leaves have rounded teeth and the ripe fruits are red.
Comments: The range of Marlberry includes south Florida, the West Indies, Mexico and Central America.
