Ardisia crenata is a species of flowering plant in the primrose family, Primulaceae, that is native to East Asia.

Leaves are dark green, thick, glossy, and have tightly waved edges The flowers are small, white or reddish, fragrant, and form clusters.

[9] Flowers are white or pink with yellow anthers and grow in axillary clusters and are very often covered in multiple black spots.

[8] Berries are consumed by birds and, when present, raccoons, and subsequently excreted; seeds can also be distributed by flowing water.

[8][9] While there are indications the plant may be poisonous to livestock, pets and humans, due to cattle deaths in Florida, there is no scientific confirmation of this.

[10] Christmas berry is an invasive species in the southeastern United States, escaping captivity in wooded areas of Florida in 1982.

[8] The dense foliage of Christmas berry shades out native seedlings of the understory by decreasing the amount of light reaching the forest floor by as much as 70%.

[7] The diversity of native plant species in the presence of this invasive is greatly diminished through lowered germination rates in the face of the thick cover of Christmas berry.

This is not a very efficient method due to the difficulty of eliminating all the surrounding berries littering the ground that will soon replace the removed material.

If a mechanical method is used to control the plant, the site must be regularly monitored for at least a year in order to ensure elimination of Christmas berry.

Because of the red berries and the word play of its name it is used during Japanese New Year for chabana decoration, normally along with winter jasmine.