Introductory
SPECIES: Ilex ambigua | Carolina Holly 



ABBREVIATION : 
ILEAMB

SYNONYMS : 
   Ilex caroliniana (Walt.) Trel. [12]


SCS PLANT CODE : 
   ILAM


COMMON NAMES : 
   Carolina holly
   sand holly


TAXONOMY : 
The currently accepted scientific name for Carolina holly is Ilex
ambigua (Michx.) Torr. [15].  Some authorities [7,17] recognize I. a.
var. monticola and I. a. var. montana as infrataxa, but these entities
appear to be more properly placed as synonyms of I. montana Torr. &
Gray (mountain winterberry) [12,15,24].


LIFE FORM : 
Tree, Shrub

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : 
No special status

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


COMPILED BY AND DATE : 
Janet Sullivan, January 1994


LAST REVISED BY AND DATE : 
NO-ENTRY


AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : 
Sullivan, Janet. 1994. Ilex ambigua. In: Remainder of Citation

DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Ilex ambigua | Carolina Holly 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
The native range of Carolina holly is the Coastal Plain from North
Carolina, northern Georgia, northern Alabama, central Arkansas, and
southeastern Oklahoma south to central Florida, the Gulf Coast, and
eastern Texas [3,15].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES12  Longleaf - slash pine
   FRES13  Loblolly - shortleaf pine
   FRES14  Oak - pine
   FRES15  Oak - hickory


STATES : 
     AL  AR  FL  GA  LA  MS  NC  OK  SC  TX


ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS : 
     BLRI  BUFF  CUIS


BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
NO-ENTRY


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K089  Black Belt
   K104  Appalachian oak forest
   K111  Oak - hickory - pine forest
   K112  Southern mixed forest
   K115  Sand pine scrub


SAF COVER TYPES : 
    34  Red spruce - Fraser fir
    69  Sand pine
    70  Longleaf pine
    71  Longleaf pine - scrub oak
    82  Loblolly pine - hardwood


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
Carolina holly occurs in a variety of habitats:  mesic or submesic mixed
hardwoods, pine-scrub oak sand ridges and flats, sandy hardwood
hammocks, and sandy old fields [7].  Species with which Carolina holly
occurs in xeric hardwood hammocks include American holly (Ilex opaca),
inkberry (I. glabra), laurel oak (Quercus laurifolia), live oak (Q.
virginiana), and spruce pine (P. glabra) [4,6,14,16,23].

VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Ilex ambigua | Carolina Holly 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
The fruits of Carolina holly are eaten by a number of species of birds.
They are also consumed by squirrels, other small mammals, and
white-tailed deer [11,22].


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
NO-ENTRY


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 

BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Ilex ambigua | Carolina Holly 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Carolina holly is a native, deciduous or nearly evergreen, large shrub
or small tree to 18 feet (6 m) tall [7,11].  The branches are
distributed irregularly, forming a rounded crown.  The branches range
from glabrous to densely pubescent.  The bark is dark brown to black,
lustrous, smooth, and flaking on old stems [24].  The leaves are 1.6 to
7.1 inches (4-18 cm) long and 0.59 to 2.7 inches (1.5-7 cm) wide.  The
fruit is a red, translucent, globose drupe 0.2 to 0.36 inch (5-9 mm) in
diameter [17].  The sessile fruits are distributed along the length of
the branches [11].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Phanerophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Carolina holly reproduces by animal-dispersed seed.  It is dioecious
[7].  No specific information is available concerning Carolina holly
seed germination requirements. The seeds of other holly (Ilex spp.)
species exhibit a deep dormancy caused partly by a hard endocarp
covering the seedcoat, and partly by conditions in the embryo.  This
deep dormancy results in extremely slow germination for most hollies; 70
to 95 percent germination was reported for inkberry (I. glabra) when the
germination test was allowed to continue for over 300 days.  Complete
germination often does not occur until the second or even third spring
after sowing [2].

No information on vegetative reproduction of Carolina holly is currently
available.  American holly sprouts from the root crown following
top-kill [9].  Propagation of hollies by cuttings is very common [2].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Carolina holly is occasional in sandy upland woods [3,17].  It occurs on
a wide variety of well-drained sites [7].  Carolina holly occurred in a
sand pine scrub community that had 0 to 1 inch (2.54 cm) of litter and
humus over sand.  It is described as a typical member of xeric hammocks
and scrub communities [14].  A related evergreen species, American
holly, is intolerant of flooding [9].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Facultative Seral Species

Carolina holly is a member of some sand pine scrub communities that are
early successional and maintained by fire [7,8,14,16].  It also occurs
in the mixed hardwood communities ("hammocks") that replace sand pine
scrub when fire is suppressed.  In one study [8], it was reported in the
early stage of a xeric hammock community, but was not present 20 years
later and may therefore not be late-successional in these communities.
Carolina holly was reported as occurring in old-growth red spruce (Picea
rubens)-Fraser fir (Abies fraseri) communities in the Appalachian
Mountains of Virginia [1].  It is possible, however, that the reported
species was actually mountain winterberry (I. montana) rather than
Carolina holly, since this is outside the range of Carolina holly.


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Carolina holly flowers from March to June.  Ripe fruits are available to
wildlife from late summer to December [3,11].  Simpson [19], however,
reports that the fruit falls quickly after ripening.

FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Ilex ambigua | Carolina Holly 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
Carolina holly occurs in Florida sand pine scrub communities which
usually experience fire at least once during the lifetime of the sand
pine trees [16].  These communities are maintained by fires that recur
once every 10 to 100 years; fire suppression allows succession to
hammock (hardwood) communities in which Carolina holly is present in
early stages [23].  Carolina holly was reported in the understory of
longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) communities in the Alabama piedmont, but
the fire history of those particular stands was not detailed.  Longleaf
pine under natural conditions experienced frequent low-intensity surface
fires [26]; however, the stands containing Carolina holly may not have
burned recently since shrub cover was reported as 27 percent (SD 19 %)
[8].  Currently, prescribed fires are used to maintain longleaf pine in
an open condition [25].


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   Secondary colonizer - off-site seed

FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Ilex ambigua | Carolina Holly 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Carolina holly is probably easily killed by fire.  American holly, a
related and cooccurring evergreen holly, is extremely susceptible to
fire.  American holly has thin bark that is easily injured by fire, and
large trees are sometimes killed by light fires in the understory [9,10].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Specific information on the response of Carolina holly to fire is
lacking in the literature.  Young American holly will sprout when
top-killed, although frequent prescribed fires reduce fruit production
and may eliminate American holly completely from the understory of pine
(Pinus spp.) communities [9].  Carolina holly may respond in a similar
manner.


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Carolina holly may be eliminated from the understory of pine communities
that are subjected to frequent fires.  The related evergreen species
American holly is eliminated by repeated prescribed fires [9].  Carolina
holly may be encouraged by occasional fires, either because it may sprout
after top-kill (suggested by its presence as a shrub in the understory
of longleaf pine communities) or because it can colonize open areas via
bird-dispersed seeds.

References for species: Ilex ambigua

1. Adams, Harold S.; Stephenson, Steven L. 1989. Old-growth red spruce communities in the mid-Appalachians. Vegetatio. 85: 45-56. [11409]

2. Bonner, F. T. 1974. Ilex L. holly. In: Schopmeyer, C. S., ed. Seeds of woody plants in the United States. Agric. Handb. 450. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: 450-453. [7683]

3. Duncan, Wilbur H.; Duncan, Marion B. 1988. Trees of the southeastern United States. Athens, GA: The University of Georgia Press. 322 p. [12764]

4. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]

5. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others]. 1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]

6. Gibson, David J. 1992. Vegetation-environment relationships in a southern mixed hardwood forest. Castanea. 57(3): 174-189. [19717]

7. Godfrey, Robert K. 1988. Trees, shrubs, and woody vines of northern Florida and adjacent Georgia and Alabama. Athens, GA: The University of Georgia Press. 734 p. [10239]

8. Golden, Michael S. 1979. Forest vegetation of the lower Alabama Piedmont. Ecology. 60(4): 770-782. [9643]

9. Grelen, H. E. 1990. Ilex opaca Ait. American holly. In: Burns, Russell M.; Honkala, Barbara H., technical coordinators. Silvics of North America. Vol. 2. Hardwoods. Agric. Handb. 654. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: 379-385. [9131]

10. Hare, Robert C. 1965. Contribution of bark to fire resistance of southern trees. Journal of Forestry. 63(4): 248-251. [9915]

11. Hunter, Carl G. 1989. Trees, shrubs, and vines of Arkansas. Little Rock, AR: The Ozark Society Foundation. 207 p. [21266]

12. Kartesz, John T.; Kartesz, Rosemarie. 1980. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. Volume II: The biota of North America. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press; in confederation with Anne H. Lindsey and C. Richie Bell, North Carolina Botanical Garden. 500 p. [6954]

13. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York: American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]

14. Laessle, Albert M. 1958. The origin and successional relationship of sandhill vegetation and sand-pine scrub. Ecological Monographs. 28(4): 361-387. [9780]

15. Little, Elbert L., Jr. 1979. Checklist of United States trees (native and naturalized). Agric. Handb. 541. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 375 p. [2952]

16. Mulvania, M. 1931. Ecological survey of a Florida scrub. Ecology. 12(3): 528-540. [9992]

17. Radford, Albert E.; Ahles, Harry E.; Bell, C. Ritchie. 1968. Manual of the vascular flora of the Carolinas. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press. 1183 p. [7606]

18. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]

19. Simpson, Benny J. 1988. A field guide to Texas trees. Austin, TX: Texas Monthly Press. 372 p. [11708]

20. Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern Rocky Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT; RWU 4403 files. 10 p. [20090]

21. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982. National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names. SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p. [11573]

22. Van Dersal, William R. 1938. Native woody plants of the United States, their erosion-control and wildlife values. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture. 362 p. [4240]

23. Veno, Patricia Ann. 1976. Successional relationships of five Florida plant communities. Ecology. 57: 498-508. [9659]

24. Vines, Robert A. 1960. Trees, shrubs, and woody vines of the Southwest. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. 1104 p. [7707]

25. Wright, Henry A.; Bailey, Arthur W. 1982. Fire ecology: United States and southern Canada. New York: John Wiley & Sons. 501 p. [2620]

26. Myers, Ronald L. 1990. Scrub and high pine. In: Myers, Ronald L.; Ewel, John J., eds. Ecosystems of Florida. Orlando, FL: University of Central Florida Press: 150-193. [17389]

27. Wood, Don A., compiler. 1994. Official lists of endangered & potentially endangered fauna and flora in Florida. Tallahassee, FL: Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission. 22 p. [24196]

Related categories for Species: Ilex ambigua | Carolina Holly