Mountain Holly

Ilex mucronata

Pollinator Value

🐝 Specialist Bee Host: Colletes banksi, Colletes brimleyi, Perdita floridensis
S17 3 Ilex-specialist bees in Eastern NA; ranges FL-NC/CT-VA (southern, not ON/QC)
❄️ Winter Food Source: Bright red drupes persist into winter, providing food for American Robin, Eastern Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, Wood Thrush, Swainson's Thrush, Veery, Ruffed Grouse, Wild Turkey, and European Starling. Hemenway lists holly as providing fruit (Fr), winter food (WF), and shelter (Sh) for birds.
S57+S72

Proximity Score: 0
Native Status: ✅ Outaouais ❌ Ottawa ✅ QC ✅ ON
Closest Direction: Local
CEC Eco-Regions: 5 – Northern Forests, 5.2 – Mixed Wood Shield, 5.2.3 – Algonquin/Southern Laurentians
Rarity Notes: Not ranked by NatureServe at the subnational level in either Ontario or Quebec. Not listed under SARA. Widespread in suitable wetland habitats across both provinces, with 757 Ontario and 593 Quebec preserved specimens documented.
S22+S26+S48
Rarity Ranks: QC SNR – Not Ranked, ON SNR – Not Ranked
Migration: Stable
Ecological Context: Mountain holly is an obligate wetland shrub characteristic of acidic bogs, peatlands, and swamp margins across the Mixed Wood Shield. In the Outaouais region it occupies the high-shrub zone at bog margins, often alongside Chamaedaphne calyculata and Larix laricina. It occurs in swamps, peatlands, lake shores, and openings in boreal and subalpine forests. Numerous herbarium specimens and GBIF records confirm its presence in ecoregion 5.2.3.
S7+S61+S48

Roles: Fortress/Barrier, Wildlife Habitat
S73/S29/S72 Evidence: Fortress/Barrier: S61 keyword match: thorns? (supporting signal only)] | Wildlife Habitat: S72 Hemenway (tables: 7-2, pp. 116)]
Notes: Hemenway lists holly (genus Ilex) in Table 7-2 as providing fruit, winter food, and shelter for birds. Mountain holly pairs well with other wetland shrubs in bog-margin plantings where its persistent fruit complements the ecological functions of associated species.
S72

❌ Not Edible

Foraging Notes: No edible uses documented in PFAF or Moerman's Native American Ethnobotany Database. The berries are not known to be consumed by humans.
S29+S28