Mountain holly facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mountain holly |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Ilex
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| Species: |
mucronata
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| Synonyms | |
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Nemopanthus mucronatus |
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Ilex mucronata, also known as the mountain holly or catberry, is a type of holly plant. It grows naturally in eastern North America. You can find it from Newfoundland in Canada all the way west to Minnesota in the United States, and south to Maryland and West Virginia.
Contents
About the Mountain Holly
Its Scientific Name
For a long time, scientists thought the mountain holly belonged to its own special group of plants called Nemopanthus. They even called it "false holly."
But thanks to new scientific tests, especially looking at its DNA, they found out it's actually a true member of the Ilex family. This is the same family that many other holly plants belong to. It is also closely related to another plant called the Swamp holly.
What Does it Look Like?
The mountain holly is a deciduous shrub. This means it loses its leaves in the fall and winter. It usually grows to be about 3 meters (or 10 feet) tall. Sometimes, it can even reach 4 meters (about 13 feet) high.
Its leaves grow one after another along the stem. They are simple, meaning each leaf has one blade. The leaves are shaped like an oval or a long circle. They are about 1.5 to 7 centimeters (0.6 to 2.8 inches) long. They are also 1 to 3 centimeters (0.4 to 1.2 inches) wide. The edges of the leaves can be smooth or have tiny saw-like teeth. The tip of each leaf is pointed. A small stem, called a petiole, connects the leaf to the branch. This stem is about 0.5 to 2 centimeters (0.2 to 0.8 inches) long.
Flowers and Fruit
The mountain holly has tiny flowers. They are about 1/5 of an inch across. These flowers have 4 or 5 petals and are usually whitish to greenish-yellow. They grow on thin stalks that are about 25 millimeters (1 inch) or longer.
Most mountain holly plants are dioecious. This means that male and female flowers grow on separate plants. You need both a male and a female plant nearby for the female plant to produce fruit.
The fruit is a bright red, round drupe. A drupe is a fleshy fruit with a hard pit inside, like a cherry. Each fruit is about 6 to 7 millimeters (0.2 to 0.3 inches) wide. Inside, it holds three to five small seeds, often called pits.
Where Does it Grow?
The mountain holly grows best in places with lots of sunshine. It can also do well in areas with some shade. It prefers moist or well-drained, acidic soils. You often find it growing near another similar plant called the Common Winterberry (Ilex verticillata).
However, it can also grow on rocky cliffs and slopes in hills and mountains. In the autumn, its leaves turn a beautiful yellow color. This plant is a good choice for natural-looking gardens and landscapes. It can survive in USDA hardiness zones 4 to 6. This means it can handle cold winters in those areas.
Sometimes, the name "mountain holly" is also used for a related plant called the mountain winterberry (Ilex montana).
Gallery
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Female flowers in New Brunswick
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Fruit.
