Flora of North America species comparison

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Ardisia elliptica

shoebutton, shoebutton ardisia
Habit Shrubs, not stoloniferous, 1–2 m; branchlets conspicuously black punctate-lineate, glabrous.
Leaves

petiole 5–10 mm, glabrous;

blade oblanceolate or obovate, 6–12(–16) × 3–5(–7) cm, margins entire, revolute, (without vascularized nodules), apex obtuse or acute, surfaces glabrous.
Inflorescences

lateral or subterminal, on basally thickened lateral branches, subumbels or umbels, 5+-flowered.
Pedicels

erect, ca. 1–2 cm, glabrous.
Flowers

sepals 5, broadly ovate, ca. 1 mm, margins subentire, (minutely ciliate), apex rounded, densely black-punctate, glabrous;

petals 5, pink or white, broadly ovate, 6–8 mm, margins entire, (hyaline, scarious), apex long-acuminate, densely punctate, glabrous;

stamens subequaling petals;

anthers linear-lanceolate, transversely septate-lobed, apex apiculate, punctate abaxially;

ovary pellucid-punctate, glabrous;

ovules 5+, multiseriate.
Drupes

red or purplish black, subglobose, ca. 8 mm diam., minutely punctate.
2n

= 48.

Ardisia elliptica
Phenology Flowering Feb–Apr; fruiting Sep–Nov.
Habitat Roadsides, scrub, near villages, edges of fields, along coasts
Elevation 0-20 m (0-100 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
FL; pantropical [Introduced in North America]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

The names Ardisia solanacea Roxburgh and A. polycephala Wight have been misapplied to specimens of A. elliptica, which escapes from cultivation and is invasive.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 8, p. 320.
Parent taxa Myrsinaceae > Ardisia
Sibling taxa
A. crenata, A. escallonioides, A. japonica
Name authority Thunberg: Nov. Gen. Pl., 119. 1798 ,
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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