Ardisia japonica has a collector's history most groundcovers cannot match. The plant was a favorite of Edo-period Japanese enthusiasts, who selected and traded variegated forms with the same intensity later given to camellias, and named forms like 'Hakuokan' and 'Hinode' come down from that tradition. In the garden the plant runs as a low evergreen mat in shade, holds red berries through winter, and stays where put.

Ardisia crenata is a different proposition and needs an honest word. The coral ardisia is beautiful, an upright evergreen with lacquered red fruit that lights up deep shade, and birds carry the seed far. In Florida and along the Gulf the plant has escaped into woodlands and is listed as invasive, and several states now regulate the species. Grow the coral ardisia in a container, or somewhere seedlings can be pulled, and check your own state list first. Gardeners in the upper South, where winter keeps the plant in check, have an easier decision.