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Ilex opaca Aiton

American holly (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Aquifoliales > Aquifoliaceae > Ilex

Characteristics

Bushy shrub or small tree to 15 m; lvs evergreen, coriaceous, elliptic to oblong or ovate, 5–10 cm, tipped with a stout spine, and usually with 2–several strongly salient, spine-tipped teeth on each side; fls mostly 4-merous, the staminate in peduncled clusters; fr 8–10 mm, bright red (yellow); nutlets grooved on the back; 2n=36. Sandy soil near the coast from Me. to Md.; widely distributed in the s. states from Va. to Ky. and s. Mo., s. to Fla. and Tex. May, June.
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An evergreen tree. It grows 4-15 m tall. The bark is grey and smooth. The leaves are narrowly oval and 10 cm long by 5 cm wide. They have spines on the edge. They are not shiny and are slightly more yellow green underneath. The male and female flowers are usually on separate plants. They are dull white and in the axils of leaves. The fruit is a red berry 1 cm across.
Life form perennial
Growth form shrub
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality dioecy
Pollination entomogamy
Spread -
Mature width (meter) 1.5
Mature height (meter) 8.0 - 12.1
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) 0.8
Root diameter (meter) 0.5
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color
Fruiting months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

It is a temperate plant. It is native to the United States. It grows on sandy soils near the coast. It suits hardiness zones 5-9. Mt Lofty Botanical Gardens.
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Grows in a variety of soil types, but it is generally found in deep moist bottomlands. Moist woods, hedges and fields.
Light 3-6
Soil humidity 4-6
Soil texture 2-5
Soil acidity 2-6
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 5-8

Usage

The roasted leaves are used for tea. They do not contain caffeine. Caution: The fruit are probably harmful.
Uses dye environmental use gene source material medicinal tea wood
Edible fruits leaves
Therapeutic use Eye Medicine (bark), Dermatological Aid (bark), Gastrointestinal Aid (fruit), Dermatological Aid (leaf), Misc. Disease Remedy (leaf), Orthopedic Aid (leaf), Eye Medicine (leaf), Cough (unspecified), Gout (unspecified), Laxative (unspecified), Pleurisy (unspecified), Poison (unspecified), Tuberculosis (unspecified), Tumor (unspecified), Cold (unspecified), Rheumatism (unspecified), Vermifuge (unspecified), Fever (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by cuttings or seedlings.
Mode cuttings seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -23
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Habit

Ilex opaca habit picture by Lily Jones (cc-by-sa)
Ilex opaca habit picture by AJ B. (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Ilex opaca leaf picture by Amber Jacobs (cc-by-sa)
Ilex opaca leaf picture by Jason Hammons (cc-by-sa)
Ilex opaca leaf picture by Christine Ramsey (cc-by-sa)

Fruit

Ilex opaca fruit picture by Koray Akduman (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Ilex opaca world distribution map, present in Canada, Honduras, India, Taiwan, Province of China, and United States of America

Conservation status

Ilex opaca threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30066096-2
WFO ID wfo-0000729683
COL ID 3PFRR
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Ilex opaca f. subintegra Ilex opaca f. xanthocarpa Ageria opaca Ilex americana Ilex opaca f. opaca Ilex opaca var. opaca Ilex opaca var. subintegra Ilex opaca var. floribunda Ilex opaca var. integra Ilex opaca var. macrodon Ilex opaca var. latifolia Ilex opaca var. acuminata Ilex opaca var. globosa Ilex quercifolia Ilex opaca

Lower taxons

Ilex opaca var. laxiflora
WorldFloraDB 2024