BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Ilex opaca | American Holly 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
American holly is a native evergreen tree that grows to 50 feet (16 m)
[12,17].  Its evergreen leaves are leathery, with sharp pointed tips and
spiny toothed margins.  The branches are short and crooked, and the
crown is rounded or pyramidal.  The greenish white flowers are
unisexual, dioecious, and borne on short-stalked, axillary cymose
clusters.  The fruit is a round, bright red, orange, or occasionally
yellow, four-seeded drupe or pyrene.  The bark is thin, gray, and often
warty [21,40]


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Undisturbed State: Panerophyte (mesophanerophyte)
   Undisturbed State: Panerophyte (microphanerophyte)
   Undisturbed State: Phanerophyte (nanophanerophyte)
   Burned or Clipped State: Cryptophyte (geophyte)


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Sexual:  American holly is pollinated by insects, including bees, ants,
wasps, and night-flying moths [23].  Seed germination is slow, requiring
16 months to 3 years in nature [46].  Seeds are mainly dispersed by
birds and small mammals [10,13].  Seed production may be low in years of
heavy spring rain, as rain can diminish the wide dissemination of
pollen.  A frost can kill the spring flowers, eliminating the fruit
crop.  Frequent prescribed burning will also reduce fruit production
[20].  

Vegetative:  American holly sprouts from basal dormant buds [23,44].

Propagation:  Transplanting of young holly trees should be done during
the dormant season, usually November through March.  Small plants may be
dug bare-rooted if roots are kept moist, but larger plants should be
balled and burlapped.  When wild hollies are transplanted from the
woods, tops should be severely pruned and most of the remaining leaves
removed.  Small trees should be allowed to flower before transplanting
to ensure the selection of fruit-bearing individuals.  Root pruning to a
depth of 2 to 3 feet (0.6-0.9 m) a year before lifting improves
transplanting success.  Holly can be produced from cuttings taken in
August or September and December.  Cuttings should be taken from the
current season's ripened wood, with a small section of 2-year-old wood
including several leaves.  Cuttings should be set slanting in about 6
inches (15 cm) of moist peatmoss, with the leaves lying flat on the
surface [23].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
American holly is primarily a plant of the humid Southeast.  It occupies
a wide variety of soils, from nearly sterile Inceptisols of the Atlantic
sandy beaches to fertile but thin mountain Ultisols to an elevation of
approximately 3,000 feet (915 m) [12,23].  The largest trees are found
in the rich bottomlands and swamps of the Coastal Plain.  Growth is best
in moist, slightly acidic, well-drained sites such as upland pine sites
and hammocks [8,11].  Trees will not survive flooding or saturated soils
for more than 17 percent of the growing season.  In the northeastern
portion of its range, holly is found on sandy soils on the Coast and on
dry gravely soils farther inland [2,12].

American holly is a common understory component in the longleaf pine
(Pinus palustris)-slash pine (P. elliotti) forests of the Coastal Plain.
Other common associates include sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua),
flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), American beech (Fagus grandifolia),
red maple (Acer rubrum), white oak (Quercus alba), water oak (Q.
nigra), hickory (Carya spp.), white ash (Fraxinus americana), yellow
poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), black tupelo (Nysaa sylvatica),
southern red oak (Quercus falcata), and post oak (Q. stellata) [23].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
American holly is seldom dominant because of its slow growth and
relatively short stature [3,16].  It is very shade tolerant and can
survive in the understory of most forest canopies [20].  American
holly's slow growth allows faster growing species to overtop it.  Shade
and root competition in natural stands reduces the average height of
hollies compared with those growing in full sunlight.  Crown area is
reduced by more than one-third under medium shade and by more than
one-half under heavy shade [23,30].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
American holly begins flowering in April in the southern parts of its
range and in June at its northern limits.  The fruit ripen from
September through December and remain on the tree through most of the
winter [46,47].

Related categories for Species: Ilex opaca | American Holly