FNPS Plant Database
Crossopetalum ilicifolium
quailberry, Christmasberry
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Nomenclature
Common Name:
quailberry, Christmasberry
Synonym(s):
Genus species:
Crossopetalum ilicifolium
Family:
Celastraceae
Plant Specifics
Form:
shrub
Size:
1-2 (3) ft tall by 1-3 ft wide
Life Span:
1-2 (3) ft tall by 1-3 ft wide
Flower Color:
white
Fruit Color:
red
Phenology:
evergreen; flowers and fruits all year
Noted For:
Landscaping
Recommended Uses:
Small shrub. Prostrate. Can be planted as a groundcover in beds or masses with other low-growing plants. Makes a good plant for use in a rock (limerock) garden.
Considerations:
Availability:
Propagation:
seed; slow-growing
Light:
Moisture Tolerance:
Always Flooded------------------------------------------------Extremely Dry
-|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----
<----|----|---->
Not wet but not extremely dry ---to--- Very long very dry periods
Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:
Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water
Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:
Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray
Soil or Other Substrate:
Sand, Rock
Soil pH:
calcareous (high pH)
Suitable to Grow In:
10A, 10B, 11
USDA zones are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.

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Ecology
Wildlife:
Fruits attract birds including quail.
Native Habitats:
Pine rockland, rockland hammock, sinkhole. Sinkhole edges.
Natural Range in Florida:
Visit the USF Libraries Atlas of Florida Plants
Comments:
Ethnobotany:
General Comments:
Citations:
Osorio, Rufino. 2001. A Gardener's Guide to Florida's Native Plants. University Press of Florida , Gainesville.
Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. 2021. Atlas of Florida Plants. https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/ , accessed 2025. Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.
