Description ⁴

Ilex ambigua is a large shrub or small tree up to 6 metres (20 ft) tall. The branches are covered in shiny dark brown or black bark which becomes flaky with age. The twigs are purple. Some branches have a thick coat of fine hairs. The leaves are up to 18 centimeters long by 7 wide. The leaf margins are partially or entirely toothed or wavy.

The species is dioecious, with male and female reproductive parts occurring on separate individuals. The fruit is a spherical red drupe. The seeds are dispersed by animals, which eat the fruits.

This holly, Ilex ambigua, grows in many types of sandy habitat, such as sand scrub and hammocks and hardwood forests and woodlands. It may grow with pines such as loblolly, slash, and shortleaf pine, and oak species. It sometimes grows with its relative, American holly.

Conservation status ⁵

Caroline holly is listed as threatened by the Florida Department of
Agriculture and Consumer Services [27].

National distribution ⁶

United States

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Sharpj99, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8081/8296313467_17384ebc30_o.jpg
2. (c) Homer Edward Price, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3195/2942343195_6964cfce06_o.gif
3. (c) "<a href=""http://nt.ars-grin.gov/"">ARS Systematic Botany and Mycology Laboratory</a>. United States, GA, Savanah.", some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://plants.usda.gov/java/largeImage?imageID=ilam_001_ahp.tif
4. (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilex_ambigua
5. Public Domain, http://eol.org/data_objects/24247282
6. (c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28968192

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• eFloras.org
• Flora of North America (beta)
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• USDA PLANTS database
• World Flora Online

Range Map

(c) Discover Life and original sources, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC-SA)

iNat Map