Identifying Characteristics
| Size/Form: | Sparkleberry is an upright shrub or small tree that usually measures 6'-12' tall but can reach up to 30' tall. It commonly grows in clumps, although individual plants have dense, rounded crowns. |
| Leaves: | The leaves are simple, alternate, and evergreen or they may fall off in late winter or early spring. They are 1" to 2" long, ½" to 1" wide, and oval to obovate in outline. The upper leaf surface is shiny, dark green, the lower leaf surface is paler green, and the leaf margin is entire or very finely toothed. |
| Fruit: | The fruit is a dry, round berry, ¼" wide, and ripens from green to purple or black. |
| Stem: | New stems are brownish-gray to reddish-brown and somewhat zig-zagged, but they gradually acquire light lenticel dots and turn shiny brown with age. The bark is dark grayish brown and flakes off to reveal patches of reddish-brown inner bark. |
| Habitat: | It most commonly grows in dry forests, thickets, fields, new forest plantations, and sandy and rocky sites. It can be found in moist habitats. |