Kingdom Plantae Family Aquifoliaceae Scientific name Ilex montana Rank Species | Order Aquifoliales Genus Ilex Higher classification Holly | |
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Similar Holly, Ilex mucronata, Ilex ambigua, Ilex amelanchier, Ilex laevigata | ||
Ilex montana, the mountain winterberry (or "mountain holly" which is more typically Ilex mucronata), is a species of holly native to the Eastern United States, ranging along the Appalachian Mountains from southeast Massachusetts to northeast Alabama and northern Georgia. Synonyms include Ilex monticola.
Description
Ilex montana is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing to 9–12 metres (30–39 ft) tall. The leaves are 3–9 cm long and 2–5 cm broad, light green, ovate or oblong, wedge-shaped or rounded at the base and acute at apex, with a serrated margin and an acuminate apex; they do not suggest the popular idea of a holly, with no spines or bristles. The leaves turn yellow before dropping in late autumn.
The flowers are 4–5 mm diameter, with a four-lobed white corolla, appearing in late spring when the leaves are more than half grown. The fruit is a spherical bright red drupe 8–10 mm diameter, containing four seeds.
It is treated by some botanists as a variety of the related Ilex ambigua (Sand Holly), as I. ambigua var. monticola; the two are sometimes mistaken for each other in the U.S. southeastern coastal plain.
