OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

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

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Ilex ambigua   FAMILY Aquifoliaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Ilex ambigua   FAMILY Aquifoliaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)

Ilex ambigua

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

Ilex ambigua

SYNONYMOUS WITH Trees, Shrubs, Woody Vines of north Florida & adjacent GA & AL (Godfrey, 1988)

Ilex ambigua var. ambigua

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

Ilex ambigua var. ambigua   FAMILY Aquifoliaceae

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

Ilex montana var. beadlei

INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Ilex ambigua

INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Ilex beadlei

INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Ilex buswellii

 

COMMON NAME:
Carolina Holly


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

image of Ilex ambigua, Carolina Holly

JK Marlow    jkm170510_793

May    Polk County    NC

Pearson's Falls

Flowers mostly in axils of leaves on lateral short-shoots, per Weakley's Flora (2020).

image of Ilex ambigua, Carolina Holly

JK Marlow    jkm170510_794

May    Polk County    NC

Pearson's Falls

image of Ilex ambigua, Carolina Holly

JK Marlow    jkm170510_818

May    Polk County    NC

Pearson's Falls

Lvs elliptic to broadly ovate, often nearly round, teeth usually inconspicuous, per Weakley's Flora.

image of Ilex ambigua, Carolina Holly

JK Marlow    jkm210516_0449

May    Greenville County    SC

Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area

image of Ilex ambigua, Carolina Holly

JK Marlow    jkm210516_0453

May    Greenville County    SC

Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area

image of Ilex ambigua, Carolina Holly

JK Marlow    jkm210516_0455

May    Greenville County    SC

Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area

Petiole w U-shaped channel above, white appressed trichomes in the channel, per Weakley's Flora (2020).

image of Ilex ambigua, Carolina Holly

JK Marlow    jkm210516_0456

May    Greenville County    SC

Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area

Leaves may be glabrous or densely hairy, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).

image of Ilex ambigua, Carolina Holly

JK Marlow    jkm210516_0458

May    Greenville County    SC

Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area

Pistillate flowers with ciliate corolla lobes, per Weakley's Flora (2020).

image of Ilex ambigua, Carolina Holly

Patrick D. McMillan    pdmibeadlei_tc1

May        

image of Ilex ambigua, Carolina Holly

Patrick D. McMillan    pdmibeadlei_tc2

May        

Flowers ~ 1/4" in diameter in axillary clusters; sepals w marginal hairs, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Ilex ambigua, Carolina Holly

JK Marlow    jkm210624_1567

June    Greenville County    SC

Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area

image of Ilex ambigua, Carolina Holly

JK Marlow    jkm160919_015

September    Polk County    NC

Pearson's Falls

Lf margin finely serrate, tip usually obtuse to acuminate, not long-tapered, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Ilex ambigua, Carolina Holly

JK Marlow    jkm160919_016

September    Polk County    NC

Pearson's Falls

Fruits 5-9mm across, on short pedicels, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).

image of Ilex ambigua, Carolina Holly

JK Marlow    jkm160919_019

September    Polk County    NC

Pearson's Falls

image of Ilex ambigua, Carolina Holly

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_ilex_ambigua

October        

image of Ilex ambigua, Carolina Holly

JK Marlow    jkm211112_4901

November    Greenville County    SC

Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Ilex ambigua   FAMILY Aquifoliaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Ilex ambigua   FAMILY Aquifoliaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Ilex ambigua

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

SYNONYMOUS WITH Trees, Shrubs, Woody Vines of north Florida & adjacent GA & AL (Godfrey, 1988)
Ilex ambigua var. ambigua

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

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

INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ilex ambigua

INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ilex beadlei

INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ilex buswellii

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

734

Shrub; Tree
Perennial
Usually dioecious

Habitat: Sandy upland forests, dry slope forests, rarely in pocosin ecotones in the fall-line sandhills region, per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Common

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

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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