Mountain Holly (Nemopanthus mucronatus)

Mountain Holly (Nemopanthus mucronatus)
Wikimedia Commons — Rob Routledge, Sault College, Bugwood.org — CC BY 3.0 us (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/deed.en)

At a glance

Lifecycle
Perennial (hardy)
Exposure
Full sun
Frost limit
−28.9 °C

Cultivation

Tolerates most soils except those that are water-logged. Seldom fruits well in Britain. Most of the plants that have been supplied under this name in Britain this century are in fact Ilex collina. Dioecious, male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. The seed can take 18 months to germinate. Stored seed generally requires two winters and a summer before it will germinate and should be sown as soon as possible in a cold frame. Scarification, followed by a warm stratification and then a cold stratification may speed up the germination time. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of almost ripe wood with a heel, August in a shaded position in a cold frame. Leave for 12 months before potting up. Layering in October. Takes 2 years.

Edible uses

Fruit.

Medicinal uses

The root is diuretic. A decoction of the small branches, reduced to a syrup, has been used as a tonic.

Habitat

Damp woods, thickets and swamps.

Native range

Eastern N. America - Newfoundland to Ontario, south to Wisconsin, Indiana and Virginia.