Meet the native marlberry
Marlberry does not grow in soggy marls, even though it sounds like it would. But this understory shrub prefers well-drained soils composed of sand or limestone in hammock or pineland habitats.
The source of the common name will be revealed once we become better acquainted with this plant. Clusters of white flowers with recurved petals appear en masse during the fall and please visitors, human and otherwise, with their sweet scent. After insect pollinators do their job, the flowers give way to tart, black fruits about the size of marbles. The comparison of the shiny round fruits to the familiar glassy spheres led to the nickname “marbleberry,” which has been garbled to “marlberry” over time.
Explanation of the genus name Ardisia gets to the point faster. Ardisia translates to “pointed,” in reference to the narrow, yellow anthers that stick straight up in the center of the flower. The Miccosukee created their own pointy objects from the wood, but they called the shrub “Black Tobacco Seasoning Tree” because the leaves were smoked along with tobacco. Although all these names can be confusing, no one should mix up our native Ardisia with the exotic shoebutton ardisia (A. elliptica).
This Asian ornamental can be distinguished from marlberry by its pink, star-shaped flowers. Shoebutton ardisia escaped cultivation over 100 years ago, and now invades various habitats in Florida. Visit Naples Botanical Garden to view marlberry alongside other shade-loving native plants on the Wild Florida Trail in the Vicky C. and David Byron Smith Children’s Garden.
— Andee Naccarato, Department of Education and Conservation, Naples Botanical Garden