Rhamnus ilicifolia

Hollyleaf redberry, Hollyleaf Redberry

Family: Rhamnaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Hollyleaf redberry is a California native shrub found in the California Floristic Province and desert mountains in chaparral, desert scrub, and montane forest at elevations up to 1,150 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces small, subtle flowers in clusters of up to 6 blooms. Growing to 4 meters tall with stiff, ascending branches and smooth gray bark, it forms a dense and structured shrub. Its evergreen leaves are thick and leathery, 2 to 4 centimeters long, ovate to round with prominent veins and margins that range from entire to irregularly toothed or prickly. The fruit is a distinctive red berry 4 to 8 millimeters long, containing two stones.

Habitat: Chaparral, desert scrub, montane forest

Bloom period: Mar-Jun

Elevation: < 1150 m

Bioregions: CA-FP, DMtns

California counties: San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Fresno, San Diego, Kern, Los Angeles, Riverside, Tulare, Monterey, Mariposa, Butte, Lake, Shasta, El Dorado, Siskiyou, Yuba, Orange, Alameda, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Calaveras, Santa Clara, Mendocino, Amador, Imperial, Trinity, Contra Costa, San Benito, Sacramento, Sonoma, Madera, Nevada, Stanislaus, Yolo, Tehama, Sutter, Humboldt, Napa, Placer, Solano, Tuolumne, Colusa, San Mateo, San Francisco

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.