1. Leaflets usually 9-19, palmately nerved.....................................M. nervosa
1. Leaflets usually 3-11, pinnately nerved
2. Leaves more than twice as long as broad, mostly with 12-29 prominent spiny teeth; leaflets 5-11; plants 0.5-4.5 m tall.......................M. aquifolium
2. Leaves less than twice as long as broad, with 15-43 inconspicuous, spiny teeth; leaflets 3-7; plant 0.1--.6 m tall.........................M. repens
Habitat / Range
Mesic to dry open slopes and open forests in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; common in SW BC, infrequent eastward in S BC; S to CA.
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range. (Updated August, 2013)
A shade-tolerant/intolerant, submontane to montane, Pacific North American evergreen shrub. Occurs in maritime to submaritime cool mesothermal climates on moderately dry to fresh, nitrogen-medium soils; its occurrence decreases with increasing precipitation, elevation, and continentality. Scatered to abundant, occasionÂally dominant, in the understory of semi-open forests (persists on cutover sites) on water-shedding sites. Inhabits coarse-skeletal soils. Commonly associated with Gaultheria shallon, Kindbergia oregana, and Polystichum munitum. Characteristic of mesothermal forests.
