Coralberry arrived in Florida as an ornamental import in the early 1900s, valued for its glossy dark leaves, modest pink spring flowers, and most of all for its brilliant red berries that cling to the branches year-round. Native to the forests and hillsides of India, Japan, and the Philippines, it settled into the American Southeast with rather too much enthusiasm. By 1995 it had been classified as invasive in Florida, and by 2014 as a noxious weed. It had reached Texas by 1997, dominating the understory of nature preserves.

The shrub is genuinely handsome — upright in form, reaching four to six feet, with narrow leaves that stay green through winter and clusters of pale pink flowers in late spring. But its inclination to dominate shaded understories and resist management once established makes it a genuine concern. For those who want the same layered winter interest with red persistent berries and a woodland character, the native coralberry (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus) and American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) offer the effect without the ecological cost.