I never saw the flowers even though I make it a point of hiking through this area regularly. Due to the chewed off tops, it is quite possible if I had visited a few days or a week later I may not have seen these plants either. bboy - not sure if you are referring to the plant's odd name or if you think they were eaten by horses, but on that note, while I was looking up info about "horse gentain" it was noted that nobody really knows why it was given this name :-)

I only have experience with Ilex verticillata since I decidua doesn't grow anywhere I have lived and isn't common in commerce. Both are deciduous native hollies that prefer average to damp soil. Both have separate male and female plants like all hollies, so yours is female and there is a compatible male nearby since you have fruit. If this is a wild form, you can read about it (or also the various cultivated forms) by plugging in the name Ilex verticillata or Ilex decidua into the MO Botanical Garden's plant finder in the topmost blank on the form. You may find more locally pertinent info at the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower center's online database.

Those are arum fruits, most likely from Arum italicum.

Hwy-great answer. Just went out and looked and yes-the leaves are perfoliate. Thanks a lot. A new one in my wild flower estate.