Flora of the Southeastern United States

Ilex decidua Walter. Common name: Possum-haw, Bearberry. Phenology: Mar-May; Sep-Oct. Habitat: Floodplain forests, less commonly on mesic (or even dry), upland slopes. Distribution: MD south to Panhandle FL (western peninsula), west to TX on the Coastal Plain, extending also to adjacent provinces (the Piedmont and rarely Mountains in our area), and extending north in the interior to c. TN, w. KY, s. IL, c. MO, se. KS, and e. OK; an unnamed variety occurs in the Sierra Madre Oriental of e. Mexico.

Origin/Endemic status: Native

Taxonomy Comments: The Mexican material was recognized by Krakow (1989) at the varietal level, but has not been formally named; he considered it to be known from a single collection from Nuevo León, Mexico. Villaseñor (2016) lists Ilex decidua for five states (COA, NLE, QUE, SLP, and TAM)

Synonymy ⓘ: = S; = Ilex decidua Walter var. decidua — S13, Tn, Va, Krakow (1989); = n/a — Tat; < Ilex decidua Walter — Ar, C, F, G, GrPl, GW2, Il, K4, Mo2, NcTx, Ok, Tx, WH3, Clark (2023); < Ilex decidua Walter var. decidua — RAB; > Ilex decidua Walter var. decidua — Godfrey (1988), also including I. cuthbertii; Ilex decidua Walter. Basionym: Ilex decidua Walter 1788

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Wetland Indicator Status:

• Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: FACW (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)
• Eastern Mountains and Piedmont: FACW
• Great Plains: FAC (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)
• Midwest: FACW (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)

Heliophily ⓘ: 4