| Ilex decidua | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Aquifoliales |
| Family: | Aquifoliaceae |
| Genus: | Ilex |
| Species: | I. decidua |
| Binomial name | |
| Ilex decidua | |
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| Synonyms | |
Ilex curtissii(Fern.) Small Contents | |
Ilex decidua (meadow holly, also called "possumhaw", "deciduous holly" or "swamp holly") is a species of holly native to the United States.
This is an upright shrub or small tree that is typically between 10 and 15 feet at maturity though it may grow larger provided partial shade. [2] [3] I. decidua grows many thin trunks and stems in a clumping fashion [3] If left un-managed it will develop a large spreading mound of foliage up to 30' in the wild. Bark is "light brown to gray" in color and may be smooth or "warty and roughened". [4] Slender twigs are glabrous and silvery gray, with numerous spur shoots, pointed lateral buds, and acuminate scales. [4]
Distinguishing features of this species are crenate leaf margins and fruiting pedicels that are 2–8 mm long. [5] Its "distinctive leaf shape... is less variable than other species of holly". [4] Leaves are obovate, [6] simple, alternating, and grow to 2.5-7.5 cm long. [4] Although the plant is deciduous, its dark green leaves do not present any appreciable fall color change prior to dropping. [3]
From March to May small white flowers bloom among the leaves which produce small Drupe fruits ripening in early autumn. [3] Fruits are red (or rarely yellow), shiny, and globose (spherical, or nearly so), with a diameter of 4–8 mm. [5] [4] Following leaf drop, fruits persist on the tree throughout the winter producing a showy winter sight against the bare branches. [3] While they have reached maturity by autumn, producing 3-5 seeds each, [4] it is not until the spring, after they've been exposed to freezing and thawing, that the bitter fruits become a favorite food source of many birds and mammals. [3] [4]
Ilex decidua is a common plant, [5] growing in the US in Alabama, Arkansas, Washington, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. [7] It also grows in the northern Mexico states of Chihuahua and Coahuila. [8]
It prefers land in floodplains and the margins of swamps or lakes, and grows at elevations up to about 360 m. [5] [4] It can often be found on limestone glades and bluffs, along streams in wet woods, and in lowland valleys, sloughs and swamps. [2] Other plant species with which possumhaw is associated include water tupelo ( Nyssa aquatica ), overcup oak ( Quercus lyrata ), bald cypress ( Taxodium distichum ), sycamore ( Platanus occidentalis ), and hackberry ( Celtis spp.). [9]
The fruits attract songbirds and small mammals. [6] [10] Bobwhite quail also feed on the fruit. [11] Deer browse on young twigs. [4]
The growth habit of I. decidua lends it to various ornamental and functional uses in its native regions. [2] The thick trunks and stems allow this plant to serve as an effective screen if desired. [3] The lower branches can also be removed to form a more tidy small tree with a tight head of foliage at the crown. [3] This plant can be used ornamentally as a shrub or small tree in varied landscape uses and is well suited to backyard gardens. [2] [3] As possumhaw tolerates wet soil and is often found wild in wet woods, it is also an excellent candidate to stabilise stream beds or for the banks of water retention ponds. [2] [3] Arborists may recommend this plant for parking lot buffer strips and islands, highway median strip plantings, or near decks and patios. [3]
Because of its attractive "berries", this tree is often used as a winter ornamental plant and branches may be collected for use as Christmas decorations. [4] The Audubon society specifically included I. decidua among their recommendations for bird-safe outdoor holiday decorations. [12]
Possumhaw wood is not considered to be commercially useful because of the tree's small size. [4]
Ilex opaca, the American holly, is a species of holly, native to the eastern and south-central United States, from coastal Massachusetts south to central Florida, and west to southeastern Missouri and eastern Texas.
Ilex cassine is a holly native to the southeastern coast of North America that grows from Virginia to the Colorado River in Texas, with subspecies growing southward on the Gulf Coast as far as Veracruz, Mexico, and in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas in the Caribbean. It is commonly known as dahoon holly or cassena, the latter derived from the Timucua name for I. vomitoria.
Ilex vomitoria, commonly known as yaupon or yaupon holly, is a species of holly that is native to southeastern North America. The word yaupon was derived from the Catawban yą́pą, from yą- tree + pą leaf. Another common name, cassina, was borrowed from Timucua. The Latin name comes from an observation by early Europeans that the ingestion of the plant was followed by vomiting in certain ceremonies.
Ilex verticillata, the winterberry, is a species of holly native to eastern North America in the United States and southeast Canada, from Newfoundland west to Ontario and Minnesota, and south to Alabama.
Melia azedarach, commonly known as the chinaberry tree, pride of India, bead-tree, Cape lilac, syringa berrytree, Persian lilac, Indian lilac, or white cedar, is a species of deciduous tree in the mahogany family, Meliaceae, that is native to Indomalaya and Australasia.
Ilex crenata, also known as Japanese holly or box-leaved holly, is a species of flowering plant in the family Aquifoliaceae, native to eastern China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Sakhalin.
Ilex aquifolium, the holly, common holly, English holly, European holly, or occasionally Christmas holly, is a species of flowering plant in the family Aquifoliaceae, native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa, and southwest Asia. It is regarded as the type species of the genus Ilex, which by association is also called "holly". It is an evergreen tree or shrub found, for example, in shady areas of forests of oak and in beech hedges. In the British Isles it is one of very few native hardwood evergreen trees. It has a great capacity to adapt to different conditions and is a pioneer species that repopulates the margins of forests or clearcuts.
Cornus alternifolia is a species of flowering plant in the dogwood family Cornaceae, native to eastern North America, from Newfoundland west to southern Manitoba and Minnesota, and south to northern Florida and Mississippi. It is rare in the southern United States. It is commonly known as green osier, alternate-leaved dogwood, and pagoda dogwood.
Cornus amomum, the silky dogwood, is a species of dogwood native to the southern Ontario and eastern United States, from Michigan and Vermont south to Alabama and Florida. Other names include red willow, silky cornel, kinnikinnick, and squawbush.
Amelanchier canadensis is a species of Amelanchier native to eastern North America in Canada from Newfoundland west to southern Ontario, and in the United States from Maine south to Alabama. It is largely restricted to wet sites, particularly on the Atlantic coastal plain, growing at altitudes from sea level up to 200 m.
Ilex canariensis, the small-leaved holly, is an endemic species of holly native to Macaronesian islands. It is a species of plant in the family Aquifoliaceae. It is found in the Macaronesian islands of Madeira (Portugal) and Canary Islands (Spain).
Malus fusca, with the common names Oregon crabapple and Pacific crabapple, is a species of crabapple native to western North America.
Ilex or holly is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. Ilex has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen or deciduous trees, shrubs, and climbers from tropics to temperate zones worldwide. The type species is Ilex aquifolium, the common European holly used in Christmas decorations and cards.
Viburnum rufidulum, also known as the rusty blackhaw, blue haw, rusty nanny-berry, or southern black haw, is a flowering species of shrub or small tree that is common in parts of the Eastern and Central United States. It produces attractive flowers and fall foliage, as well as fruits that are popular with some species of bird.
Dillenia suffruticosa, also known as simpoh air, simpor, or CB leaf, is a species of Dillenia found in tropical South East Asia in secondary forest and swampy ground. It is a highly invasive weed in Sri Lanka.
Ilex mitis is a tall, dense, evergreen tree that is indigenous to Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. It makes an excellent fast-growing hedge for gardens - growing tall, straight and dense.
Ilex cornuta, commonly known as Chinese holly or horned holly, is a slow-growing, densely foliaged evergreen shrub in the Aquifoliaceae plant family. It is native to eastern China and Korea and attains a height of about 3 metres (9.8 ft). The leaves are usually 5-spined, between 3.5 cm and 10 cm long, oblong and entire. The fruits are red berries, which are larger than those of the European Holly.
Persea borbonia or redbay is a small, evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae), native to the southeastern United States. It belongs to the genus Persea, a group of evergreen trees including bays and the avocado. Persea borbonia has several common names including tisswood, scrubbay, shorebay, and swampbay.
Ilex ambigua is a species of flowering plant in the holly family known by the common names Carolina holly and sand holly. It is native to the southeastern and south-central United States, along the coastal plain from North Carolina to Texas, inland as far as Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Tennessee.
Coprosma rotundifolia is a native forest shrub of New Zealand found on the North, South, and Stewart Islands.
Media related to Ilex decidua at Wikimedia Commons 
Data related to Ilex decidua at Wikispecies
