Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Aquifoliales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (2/8/20):
Ilex opaca
FAMILY
Aquifoliaceae
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read more about American Holly at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Ilex opaca var. opaca
FAMILY
Aquifoliaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 112-01-001:
Ilex opaca
FAMILY
Aquifoliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ilex opaca
COMMON NAME:
American Holly, Christmas Holly
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_ilex_opaca_4
January
Fruit a nearly globose drupe, maturing in autumn & persisting til flowering, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide.
)
JK Marlow s080301_a
March Charleston County SC
Santee Coastal Reserve
)
Sam Pratt sbp_20140418_122225
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Leaf blades stiff, leathery, margins wavy to sharply spine-toothed, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide.
)
JK Marlow jkm080510_004
May Greenville County SC
Female flowers have ovaries and sterile stamens.
)
JK Marlow jkm080510_014
May Greenville County SC
Male flowers have fertile stamens and lack ovaries.
)
Keith Bradley kab_ilex_opaca_6309
May Richland County SC
Congaree National Park
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmiopaca_home
July Anderson County SC
)
Paul Thompson pstilex_opaca
September?
Leaf margins are cupped downward. — Clemson Extension
)
JK Marlow jkm0212b_17
December Greenville County SC
Our only Ilex species that becomes a medium to large tree, per Weakley's Flora.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (2/8/20):
Ilex opaca
FAMILY
Aquifoliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Ilex opaca var. opaca
FAMILY
Aquifoliaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 112-01-001:
Ilex opaca
FAMILY
Aquifoliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ilex opaca
741
Tree
Perennial
Usually dioecious
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Documented growing wild in GA NC SC
Common
Look for it in a wide variety of forests, ranging from xeric to wetland, per Weakley's Flora
Click here to see a more detailed map from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Herbarium,
or click here to see a map from SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
...Wet
...Moist
...Variable
...Dry
IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Leaves with well-developed, apical, 2-6mm spine (& usually also marginal spines)
LEAVES:
Evergreen
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White
Usually unisexual
4-merous?
4 sepals
4 petals
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Red
Drupe
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses p350
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South p035
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee p293
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers p130
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC p304
- Landscaping with Native Trees p127
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast p087
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide p080
- Trees of the Southeastern United States p216
- Wild Flowers of NC, 1st edition p111
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition p143
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge p34
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont p239
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide p172