FNPS Plant Database

Ilex ambigua

Carolina holly, sand holly

PHOTOS COMING SOON!

Nomenclature

Common Name:

Carolina holly, sand holly

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Ilex ambigua

Family:

Aquifoliaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

tree

Size:

to 15 ft

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

white

Fruit Color:

red

Phenology:

Deciduous. Blooms in spring. Fruits ripen in late summer and persist into winter.

Noted For:

Showy Fruits

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Plant as a small understory tree. Good as a general background plant that is appropriate to wildlife.

Considerations:

It's dioecious; so make sure you have at least one male plant in the vicinity to produce berries on the females.

Availability:

Propagation:

Softwood cuttings started in spring. Seeds of most holly species require 2-3 years of dormancy before they will germinate.

Light:

Part Sun

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded------------------------------------------------Extremely Dry

Coming Soon!

Not wet but not extremely dry ---to--- Very long very dry periods

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand

Soil pH:

Acidic

Suitable to Grow In:

8A,8B,9A,9B

USDA zones are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.



Don't know your zone? Click here to search by zip code.

Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators, Birds, Mammals

Bees pollinate flowers. 

Fruits are eaten by birds and small mammals.

Native Habitats:

Dry hammocks, sandhills, scrub, dunes.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

Citations:

Huegel, Craig, N.  2010.  Native plant landscaping for Florida wildlife.  University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL. (wildlife uses)



Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. 2021. Atlas of Florida Plants (http://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/).  Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

Request an update