Sarvis Holly

Ilex amelanchier

Found in banks of blackwater creeks and rivers, clay-based Carolina bays, other pine flatwoods ponds with seasonally flooded hydrology. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

Keystone

Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 94%

Height: 10–30 feet
Spread: 10–15 feet
Light: Partial shade
Soil moisture: Usually moist

Space about 12.5 ft apart from its recorded spread. Enter your bed size for a count

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Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source

Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.

At a glance

Life cycle: Woody perennial
Leaves: Deciduous
Bloom: April to May
Fruiting season: Summer to fall

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Recorded in 11 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 3

Regional / representative. Shown: Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Georgia; representative pond ecosystem, a neighboring state.Georgia pond and emergent wetland, Robert 'Bob' Hynes, 1997. Public domain. Source record.

Streams, rivers and their banks

Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.

Pine flatwoods

Flat, sandy Coastal Plain pine woodlands, wetter than sandhills and denser than savannas.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 131 animals.

Yellow-breasted Chat
Icteria virens
Birds. 4 shared habitats
Yellow-crowned Night-heron
Nyctanassa violacea
Birds. 4 shared habitats
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Dendroica coronata
Birds. 4 shared habitats
American Crow
Corvus brachyrhynchos
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Anhinga
Anhinga anhinga
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Bald Eagle
Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Barred Owl
Strix varia
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Black Vulture
Coragyps atratus
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Brown-headed Cowbird
Molothrus ater
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Canvasback
Aythya valisineria
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Carolina Chickadee
Poecile carolinensis
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Carolina Wren
Thryothorus ludovicianus
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Chimney Swift
Chaetura pelagica
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Common Grackle
Quiscalus quiscula
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Common Yellowthroat
Geothlypis trichas
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Eastern Phoebe
Sayornis phoebe
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Eastern Towhee
Pipilo erythrophthalmus
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Eastern Wood-pewee
Contopus virens
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Fish Crow
Corvus ossifragus
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Gray Catbird
Dumetella carolinensis
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Great Blue Heron
Ardea herodias
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Great Crested Flycatcher
Myiarchus crinitus
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Hermit Thrush
Catharus guttatus
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Hooded Warbler
Wilsonia citrina
Birds. 3 shared habitats

All wildlife of Alabama

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

50CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Ilex

Acharia stimuleaSaddleback Caterpillar Moth
Anavitrinella pampinariaCommon Gray, Cranberry Spanworm
Antheraea polyphemusPolyphemus Moth
Apatelodes torrefactaSpotted Apatelodes
Argyrotaenia velutinanaRed-Banded Leafroller Moth, Jack Pine Tube Moth
Automeris ioIo Moth
Callophrys henriciHenry's Elfin
Cecrita biundataWavy-Lined Heterocampa
Cenopis reticulatanaReticulated Fruitworm Moth
Cepphis armatariaScallop Moth

Show all 50

Choristoneura rosaceanaOblique-Banded Leafroller Moth, Rosaceous Leaf Roller
Coelodasys unicornisUnicorn Caterpillar Moth
Dolba hyloeusPawpaw Sphinx
Egira alternansAlternate Woodling
Ennomos magnariaMaple Spanworm Moth, Notchwing Geometer
Episemasia solitariaSolitary Ruddy
Episimus tyriusMaple Tip Borer
Euclea delphiniiSpiny Oak-Slug Moth
Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
Feltia subterraneaSubterranean Dart, Granulate Cutworm
Haematopis gratariaChickweed Geometer
Harrisimemna trisignataHarris's Three-Spot
Herpetogramma pertextalisBold-Feathered Grass Moth
Herpetogramma thestealisZigzag Herpetogramma, Subtle-Feathered Grass Moth
Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
Ilexia intractataBlack-Dotted Ruddy, Holly Looper
Larisa subsolanaDark-Based Larisa
Lascoria ambigualisAmbiguous Moth, Ambiguous Litter Moth
Lithophane viridipallensPale Green Pinion
Malacosoma disstriaForest Tent Caterpillar
Manduca rusticaRustic Sphinx
Megalopyge opercularisSouthern Flannel Moth, Puss Caterpillar
Metaxaglaea violaceaHolly Sallow
Morrisonia confusaConfused Woodgrain
Oiketicus abbotiiAbbot's Bagworm Moth
Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
Orthosia alurinaGray Quaker
Orthosia rubescensRuby Quaker
Papilio palamedesPalamedes Swallowtail
Platynota rostranaOmnivorous Platynota
Prolimacodes badiaSkiff Moth, Skiff Caterpillar
Protoboarmia porcelariaPorcelain Gray, Dashedlined Looper
Psilocorsis cryptolechiellaBlack-Fringed Leaftier
Rhopobota dietzianaWinterberry Moth
Schizura ipomaeaeMorning-Glory Prominent, Checkered-Fringe Prominent
Sphinx kalmiaeFawn Sphinx, Laurel Sphinx
Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
Synanthedon kathyaeHolly Clearwing Borer
Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
Rhopobota finitimana

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

35BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Ilex

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0

3Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Ilex

Colletes banksi
Colletes brimleyi
Perdita floridensis

Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0

11BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Ilex

Hylocichla mustelinaWood Thrush
Sialia sialisEastern Bluebird
Turdus migratoriusAmerican Robin
Bonasa umbellusRuffed Grouse
Catharus fuscescensVeery
Catharus guttatusHermit Thrush
Catharus minimus/bicknelliGray-cheeked/Bicknell's Thrush
Catharus ustulatusSwainson's Thrush
Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
Sturnus vulgarisEuropean Starling

Show all 11

Vireo griseusWhite-eyed Vireo

Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Aquifoliaceae
Hardiness: Zones 7a–10b
Soil pH: Acidic
Flower color: Green or white
Growth rate: Slow
Growth habit: Several stems
Foliage color: Green
Fruit begins: Summer
Fruit ends: Fall

Growing sources and scope

Bloom · “April to May” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
Flower color · “Green or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differ)
Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Fruit begins · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Fruit ends · “Fall” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Growth habit · “Several stems” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Growth rate · “Slow” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Hardiness · “Zones 7a–10b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Height · “10–30 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differ)
Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
Light · “Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
Soil · “Moist; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
Soil pH · “Acidic” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Spread · “10–15 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox

Conservation status

Alabama rank	S2
Global rank	G4
AL status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

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Sarvis Holly

At a glance

Natural habitats

Also found with this plant

Who uses this plant?

Plant details

Conservation status

Will it fit your yard?

Sources

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