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 opaca   FAMILY Aquifoliaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Ilex opaca var. opaca   FAMILY Aquifoliaceae

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

Ilex opaca var. opaca

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.

image of Ilex opaca, American Holly, Christmas Holly

Trees You Want to Know (Peattie, 1934); illustration by F.A. Michaux    dcp34_p46

        

image of Ilex opaca, American Holly, Christmas Holly

Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905)    mtna_i_701

        

image of Ilex opaca, American Holly, Christmas Holly

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 (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Ilex opaca, American Holly, Christmas Holly

JK Marlow    s080301_a

March    Charleston County    SC

Santee Coastal Reserve

image of Ilex opaca, American Holly, Christmas Holly

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 (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Ilex opaca, American Holly, Christmas Holly

JK Marlow    jkm080510_004

May    Greenville County    SC

Female flowers have ovaries and sterile stamens.

image of Ilex opaca, American Holly, Christmas Holly

JK Marlow    jkm080510_014

May    Greenville County    SC

Male flowers have fertile stamens and lack ovaries.

image of Ilex opaca, American Holly, Christmas Holly

Keith Bradley    kab_ilex_opaca_6309

May    Richland County    SC

Congaree National Park

image of Ilex opaca, American Holly, Christmas Holly

Patrick D. McMillan    pdmiopaca_home

July    Anderson County    SC

image of Ilex opaca, American Holly, Christmas Holly

Paul Thompson    pstilex_opaca

September?        

Leaf margins are cupped downward. — Clemson Extension

image of Ilex opaca, American Holly, Christmas Holly

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 OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Ilex opaca   FAMILY Aquifoliaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Ilex opaca var. opaca   FAMILY Aquifoliaceae

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

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

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

741

Tree
Perennial
Usually dioecious

Habitat: In a wide variety of forests, ranging from xeric to wetland, 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.

IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Leaves with well-developed, apical, 2-6mm spine (& usually also marginal spines)

LEAVES:
Evergreen
Simple
Alternate

FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White
4-merous
4 sepals
4 petals
Usually unisexual

FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Red
Drupe

 

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



 


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