Mountain holly
Prepared by Jennifer L. D’Appollonio, Assistant Scientist, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469. Updated April 2019.
Scientific name: Ilex mucronata (L.) Powell, Savolainen & Andrews; old Nemopanthus mucronatus (L.) Loes.
Common name(s): mountain holly, catberry
Links: USDA PLANTS Profile, NPIN Profile, Go Botany
Images: (to see enlargements [PC]: click on image, then right click and choose “view image”)
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- male plant, late May
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- male plant
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- male flowers
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- close-up of male flowers
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- female plant in unusually dry location
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- female plant in fruit
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- stem and bark
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- fruit detail
Description:
-shrub
-fleshy fruit
-leaves are
- simple
- entire
– species is dioecious (flowers are male or female, on different plants)
– generally flowers late May to mid-June in ME
– host plant for the caterpillars of the Columbia silkmoth (Hyalophora columbia) found in Maine
Habitat:
– considered an obligate wetland species, so individuals in wild blueberry are likely in wet areas
-disturbed sites
-bogs and fens
-shores of rivers
Source(s):
Heinrich, B. 1976. Flowering phenologies: Bog, woodland, and disturbed habitats. Ecology. 57(5):890-899.
Go Botany. “Ilex Mucronata (L.) M. Powell, Savol., & S. Andrews.” Ilex Mucronata (Mountain Holly): Go Botany, National Science Foundation, 2021, gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/ilex/mucronata/.