Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Account for Japanese Holly + - Ilex crenata   Thunberg
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Section 6 » Order Celastrales » Family Aquifoliaceae
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AuthorThunberg
DistributionMostly in the Mountains; scattered in the Piedmont; rare in the Sandhills region of the Coastal Plain. Specimens from Randolph, Wake, and Watauga counties are from cultivated plants.

Native of Japan; in N.A. MA to OH south to NC; LA, WA.
AbundanceRare.
HabitatAlong streams, mixed disturbed woods, trailside, seedlings in campus bed.
PhenologyFlowering and fruiting in NC -- no data.
IdentificationThis species is very similar to the native I. vomitoria in leaf shape, size, and crenate margins, but the leaf tip is obtuse or acute and has a sharp tooth (vs. notched or retuse and has a small mucro in the notch). The fruits are black (vs. red in I. vomitoria).
Taxonomic Comments
Other Common Name(s)
State RankSE
Global RankGNR
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US Status
USACE-agcp
USACE-emp
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