OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Aquifoliales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Ilex montana   FAMILY Aquifoliaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Ilex montana   FAMILY Aquifoliaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Guide to the Vascular Plants of the Blue Ridge (Wofford, 1989)

Ilex ambigua var. monticola

SYNONYMOUS WITH Systematic study of Ilex ambigua, Ilex decidua and related taxa (Krakow, 1989)

Ilex montana

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 112-01-006b:

Ilex ambigua var. montana   FAMILY Aquifoliaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)

Ilex montana var. montana

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Ilex monticola

 

COMMON NAME:
Mountain Holly, Mountain Winterberry


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Ilex montana, Mountain Holly, Mountain Winterberry

Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905)    mtna_i_706

        

image of Ilex montana, Mountain Holly, Mountain Winterberry

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_ilmo_001_lvd

        

image of Ilex montana, Mountain Holly, Mountain Winterberry

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / US Forest Service    pnd_ilmo_002_lvd

        

image of Ilex montana, Mountain Holly, Mountain Winterberry

JK Marlow    jkm110513_498

May    Greenville County    SC

Camp Old Indian

image of Ilex montana, Mountain Holly, Mountain Winterberry

JK Marlow    jkm110513_506

May    Greenville County    SC

Camp Old Indian

Staminate flowers fascicled, usually on spur shoots, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).

image of Ilex montana, Mountain Holly, Mountain Winterberry

JK Marlow    jkm0406i_12

June    Macon County    NC

Nantahala National Forest: Wayah Bald

The only deciduous holly in mesic forests in the mountains of SC, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).

image of Ilex montana, Mountain Holly, Mountain Winterberry

Patrick D. McMillan    pdmimontana_brp234

June    Alleghaney County    NC

Blue Ridge Parkway

image of Ilex montana, Mountain Holly, Mountain Winterberry

JK Marlow    jkm090726_040

July    Buncombe County    NC

Blue Ridge Parkway

Reports of this species in the Coastal Plain are based on misidentifications, per Weakley's Flora (2012).

image of Ilex montana, Mountain Holly, Mountain Winterberry

JK Marlow    jkm090726_043

July    Buncombe County    NC

Blue Ridge Parkway

image of Ilex montana, Mountain Holly, Mountain Winterberry

JK Marlow    jkm090726_045

July    Buncombe County    NC

Blue Ridge Parkway

Fruit borne primarily in the axils of leaves on spur shoots, per Weakley's Flora.

image of Ilex montana, Mountain Holly, Mountain Winterberry

JK Marlow    jkm090726_052

July    Buncombe County    NC

Blue Ridge Parkway

image of Ilex montana, Mountain Holly, Mountain Winterberry

JK Marlow    jkm080924_109b

September    Haywood County    NC

Blue Ridge Parkway

Leaves usually > 4" long with acuminate tips and sharply toothed margins, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Ilex montana, Mountain Holly, Mountain Winterberry

JK Marlow    jkm140913_655

September    Haywood County    NC

Blue Ridge Parkway

Fruit 5-8mm in diameter, borne on stalks 1-6mm long, per Weakley's Flora.

image of Ilex montana, Mountain Holly, Mountain Winterberry

JK Marlow    jkm140913_656

September    Haywood County    NC

Blue Ridge Parkway

Drupe ~ 1/2" in diameter - the larger fruit helps distinguish this species, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Ilex montana, Mountain Holly, Mountain Winterberry

Ron Lance    rwl735_a

September        

image of Ilex montana, Mountain Holly, Mountain Winterberry

Will Stuart    wil_10501794813

September    Haywood County    NC

Blue Ridge Parkway

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Ilex montana   FAMILY Aquifoliaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Ilex montana   FAMILY Aquifoliaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Guide to the Vascular Plants of the Blue Ridge (Wofford, 1989)
Ilex ambigua var. monticola

SYNONYMOUS WITH Systematic study of Ilex ambigua, Ilex decidua and related taxa (Krakow, 1989)
Ilex montana

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 112-01-006b:
Ilex ambigua var. montana   FAMILY Aquifoliaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Ilex montana var. montana

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ilex monticola

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

735

Shrub; Tree
Perennial
Usually dioecious

Habitat: Mesic forests, rarely bogs or bog edges, per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Common in Mountains (rare in Piedmont)

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)

LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate

FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White/Greenish-white
4-merous (5-merous?)
Usually unisexual

FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Red
Drupe

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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