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
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Carolina Holly at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
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.
)
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).
)
JK Marlow jkm170510_794
May Polk County NC
Pearson's Falls
)
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.
)
JK Marlow jkm210516_0449
May Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow jkm210516_0453
May Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
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).
)
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).
)
JK Marlow jkm210516_0458
May Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
Pistillate flowers with ciliate corolla lobes, per Weakley's Flora (2020).
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmibeadlei_tc1
May
)
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).
)
JK Marlow jkm210624_1567
June Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
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).
)
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).
)
JK Marlow jkm160919_019
September Polk County NC
Pearson's Falls
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_ilex_ambigua
October
)
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
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
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!
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p166
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p171
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p088
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p074
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p307
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p34
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p174
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".