07 Dec Coral berry
Ardisia crenata
A common indoor plant due to its low light requirements, Ardisia has escaped cultivation and is recorded weedy from the Mullumbimby area to Sydney.
Family: Myrsinaceae
Origin: NE India, China to Japan
Habit: Evergreen, compact shrub 1-2m high with a bushy head.
Leaves: Dark glossy green above, paler and dull below, elliptic to slightly oblanceolate, 5-12cm long,1.5-3.5cm wide; margins serrated and crinkled.
Flowers: Inflorescence is a many-flowered, umbel. Flowers rather
inconspicuous, white and starry, petals 4mm long.
Summer – Autumn.
Fruit: Scarlet red globose berry, 5-8mm diam. Long lasting usually persisting through Winter.
Roots: Shallow and fibrous.
Dispersal: Seed spread by water, animals (foxes, rats & birds), humans, contaminated soil (earthmoving equipment, car tyres etc) and garden refuse dumping.
Control: Hand pull/dig, scrape and paint, foliar spray.
