Swamp HollyIlex decidua Walter

Taxon ID: 1429

Summary

Swamp Holly (Ilex decidua) is a species in the genus Ilex.

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Records

MBP has 39 records spanning eight counties.

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Media

5 displayed media

Swamp Holly blooming in St. Mary's County, Maryland (5/11/2009).

Swamp Holly (Ilex decidua Walter) Media by Kerry Wixted

Swamp Holly in Caroline Co., Maryland (7/15/2018). Identified by Jim Brighton.

Swamp Holly (Ilex decidua Walter) Media by Bill Hubick View Record

Swamp Holly in Caroline Co., Maryland (5/1/2021). (c) Jim Brighton, some rights reserved (<a rel='license' href='http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/'>CC BY-NC</a>).

Swamp Holly (Ilex decidua Walter) Media by Jim Brighton View Record

Swamp Holly in Caroline Co., Maryland (7/15/2018).

Swamp Holly (Ilex decidua Walter) Media by Jim Brighton View Record

Fruiting Swamp Holly in the Carolina Sandhills NWR, North Carolina (10/21/2012).

Swamp Holly (Ilex decidua Walter) Media by Will Stuart

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Details

Status

Swamp Holly is a rare native holly that reaches its northern limits in Maryland. Swamp Holly is mostly restricted to the coastal plain but gets up to the fall line along the Potomac River. According to MD DNR Swamp Holly is restricted to "Bottomland hardwoods, hardwood swamps, rich alluvial terrace forests and woodlands...this species may be locally abundant but is rare to infrequent at most stations."

Description

Swamp Holly is superficially similar to both Common Winterberry and Smooth Winterberry. The easiest way to differentiate between the three species is to first check to see if the sepals of either the flower or fruit is ciliate (having shorts hairs) or glabrous (smooth, no hairs). Common Winterberry is the only one of these three deciduous hollies that have ciliate sepals. Both Swamp Holly and Smooth Winterberry have glabrous sepals. To separate Swamp Holly from Smooth Winterberry you have to check the seeds found inside the berries. Smooth Winterberry seeds are smooth and lack ridges where as the seeds of Swamp Holly are distinctively ridged.