Ilex arenicola W.W. Ashe. Section: Cassinoides. Common name: Scrub Holly. Phenology: Mar-May. Habitat: Florida scrub. Distribution: Baker and Clay counties (ne. FL) south to sc. peninsular FL (Glades County).

Origin/Endemic status: Endemic

Taxonomy Comments: The name I. arenicola W.W. Ashe has priority over I. cumulicola Small by about a month. Interestingly, both recent phylogenetic studies of Ilex (Selbach-Schnadelbach et al. 2009; Manen et al. 2010) show I. arenicola (as I. cumulicola) as less closely related to I. opaca than to other taxa, such as I. cassine, I. myrtifolia, and/or I. rubra S. Watson (of Mexico); though neither study was intended to address species-level taxonomy, these results further undermine the idea that I. arenicola is conspecific with I. opaca and should therefore be treated at infraspecific rank. However, Germain-Aubrey et al. (2014) found no obvious differentiation in ITS between Ilex arenicola and Ilex opaca, and Clark (2023) stated that "some specimens are intermediate between the two subspecies".

Synonymy ⓘ: = Ilex cumulicola Small — S; = Ilex opaca Aiton ssp. arenicola (Ashe) A.E.Murray — Clark (2023); = Ilex opaca Aiton var. arenicola (Ashe) Ashe — Fl7, K4, WH3; = n/a — S13. Basionym: Ilex arenicola Ashe 1924

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Heliophily ⓘ: 9