Ardisia crenata - Toothed-Leaf Coral Berry

Toothed-Leaf Coral Berry is a shrub 1-1.5 m tall. Branchlets are round, 3-4 mm in diameter. Leaf-stalks are narrowly marginate, 6-10 mm, hairless; leaf blade elliptic, narrowly lanceshaped, or inverted-lanceshaped, 7-15 x 2-4 cm, leathery or papery, prominently dotted, base wedge-shaped, margin somewhat curled, rounded-toothed, or wavy, with large vascularized marginal nodules, tip pointed or tapering; lateral veins 12-18 on each side of midrib. Flowers are borne at branch-ends, in umbels on specialized, 2- or 3-leaved lateral branches 4-16 cm. Flowers are membranous, white or rarely pinkish, 4-6 mm. Flower-stalk is 7-10 cm. Sepals are oblong-ovate, 1-1.5 mm, hairless, dotted, margin entire, tip rounded or blunt. Petals are nearly free, ovate, dotted, glandular papillose above near base, tip pointed. Stamens are shorter than petals; filaments nearly obsolete; anthers triangular-lanceshaped, pointed. Pistil almost equalling petals. Berry is red, spherical, 6-8 mm in diameter, dotted. Toothed-Leaf Coral Berry is native to NE India to Japan and Philippines. Flowering: May-June.