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Plant · P-1015
Possumhaw
Ilex decidua
Possumhaw is a deciduous holly that grows as a large, multi-stemmed shrub or small tree with pale gray, twiggy branches. Female plants carry clusters of small orange-red berries that persist through winter after the leaves drop, feeding songbirds and small mammals into late season when other food is scarce. It spreads slowly by root suckers to form a loose thicket and tolerates wet, clay or sandy ground, needing a male plant nearby to pollinate the females and set fruit.
Record at a glance
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full Sun · Partial Sun
- USDA zone
- USDA 5–9
- Soil
- Sand · Loam · Clay
- Moisture
- Dry · Moist · Wet · Well-Drained
Vertical layer
Sub-Canopy- Soil pH
- 3.5–6
- Plant type
- Deciduous Tree
- Mature height
- 7–15 ft
- Mature spread
- 5–12 ft
- Plant spacing
- 3–6 ft
- Root type
- Fibrous-shallow
- Spread pattern
- Both
Keep exploring
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Allegheny Serviceberry
Amelanchier laevis
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American Hornbeam
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Ashe Juniper
Juniperus ashei
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Banana Plantain
Musa balbisiana
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Bay Laurel
Laurus nobilis
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The deeper layer
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- Primary
- Locked ecological function
- Secondary
- Locked ecological function
- Byproduct
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Behind the record
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