ABSTRACT Recent collections documen...

ABSTRACT

Recent collections document a state record for this rare, endemic species, bringing the known range of this taxon to 12 counties in four states (West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee) Habitat affinities and identification keys are provided, along with a shire map of the species range.

INTRODUCTION AND DISCUSSION

The long-stalk holly Ilex collina Alexander, was first described from a 1933 collection from Whitetop Mountain in Virginia (Alexander 1941) Although it was later assigned to the genus Nemopanthus according to Clark (1974), morphological characteristics (eg serrate leaves) and its general aspect favor its grouping with I. montana Torrey & A. Gray ex A. Gray and I. verticillata (L) A. Gray (Weakley 1996) Vegetative features as it was as wood anatomy and cuticular make also favor the initial assignment to the genus Ilex (Baas 1984) Clark (1974) also clarified the distinction of this species from the more southern I. longipes Chapman ex Trelease, with which it had been confused in numerous treatments including Fernald (1950) Gleason (1952) Edwin (1957) Gleason and Cronquist (1963) and Stupka (1964) It is possible that Radford et al. (1968) also failed to distinguish this species, as evidenced according to a 1969 specimen (S.W. Leonard, A.E. Radford, and JK Moore #2467 at NCU) initially identified and annotated as I. longipes.

This species is a dioecious, clonal bush that reproduces sexually and flowers in May and June It is easily recognized by way of the brilliant red fruits that persist upon the female clone between August and February, and by way of the length of the pedicels (Porter 1991 Clark 1974) Ilex collina is principally easily confused with another deciduous holly I. montana Torrey & Gray ex Gray, from which it can be readily separated from pedicel length (4-6 mm in I. montana versus 10+ mm in I. collina), and bark color (lead to purple in I. montana versus a tawny gray in 7 collina; Weakley 1996) This species is pretty soon listed as Endangered in Virginia (Ludwig 1997) and Threatened in North Carolina (Amoroso 1997)

Ilex collina has been documented from 10 counties in three states: West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina (Amoroso 1997 Clark 1974 Kartesz 1999 Porter 1991 Strausbaugh and Core 1978 Sutter et al. 1987) Documentation from Smyth shire Virginia is probably based in succession the supposed location of the token collection (Clark 1974). It has since been establish by D.W. Ogle in Grayson shire Virginia on the southeastern face of Whitetop Mountain. Therefore, its port in Smyth County has further to be verified (S. Killeffer, throughs comm., Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, November 1998) latter collections in Great Smoky Mountains National Park have revealed a state record for this species, with three novel locations in Tennessee and North Carolina (Figure 1; behold below for voucher specimen data). Together, these collections increase the known distribution of this rare southern Appalachian endemic to four states and 12 counties.

This species is confined to the mountainous areas of the central and southern Appalachian Mountains. It has been associated with seepages, swamps moist exposed slopes, and the banks of chill streams at moderate to high elevations, between 1100-1800 m (Core 1966 Clark 1974 Weakley 1996) real little specific documentation of its habitat affinities can be rest in the literature. Although herbarium labels frequently attribute specimens to boggy wetlands with depressed canopy cover, our observations of fertile and sterile clone from across half a dozen stations in Great fumid Mountains National Park were mostly frequently on steep slopes and closely associated with persistent canopy gaps which are possibly maintained by the agency of shallow soils and rocky talus that inhibit the establishment of large tree Core (1966) attributed this species to what he spelled the northern hardwood forest belt, which contains as it is species as Acer pensylvanicum L Acer spicatum Lam., Amelanchier laevis Wieg., Betula alleghaniensis Britt., Fagus grandifolia Ehrh Sambucus pubens Michx. and Viburnum lantanoides Michx. Our observations are generally consistent with these, although we have typically fix this species in the transition cincture between Picea and Betula dominance in the canopy.

The distribution of Ilex collina raises questions as to the reasons for its rarity. It is possible that this species was one time associated with a more often met with boggy environment during the Pleistocene, and its range has since contracted to the rare, isolated patches of montane wetlands that persist in the not away day. Although the palatability of the fruits of I. collina has not been studied, hollies in general are known to be favored by the agency of migratory birds. Given the high probability of dispersal along established migratory roads the restricted distribution of this species in light of a earnestly larger amount of apparently suitable boggy habitat farther north of its now passing range remains a mystery.

SPECIMEN DOCUMENTATION