Yaupon Holly Ilex vomitoria
Other Common Name(s):
Previously known as:
- Ilex ligustrina
- Phonetic Spelling
- EE-leks vom-ih-TOR-ee-ah
- This plant has low severity poison characteristics.
- See below
- Description
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Yaupon is an evergreen shrub or small tree native to the eastern USA and is primarily found in coastal NC. It can reach 10 to 20 feet tall, sometimes as tall as 30 feet, and 8-12 feet wide. Flowers appear in spring on separate male and female plants. Female shrubs produce red drupes in fall if fertilized. The plant will form thickets unless suckers are removed.
Plant in average well-drained soils in sun to shade, though it will produce more fruit and have a thicker canopy with more sun. It is tolerant of a wide range of soil types and can withstand both drought and occasional flooding. It makes a good screen, windbreak, or security plant, grows rapidly, and transplants easily. This plant can take heavy pruning and is good for topiary.
Fire Risk: This plant has a high flammability rating and should not be planted within the defensible space of your home. Select plants with a low flammability rating for the sites nearest your home.
Insects, Diseases, or Other Plant Problems: No insect or disease problems when planted in their native habitat. Holly leaf miner, spider mites, whitefly, and scale are occasional problems. Leaf spot, leaf rot, tar spot, and powdery mildew are potential disease problems.
Quick ID Hints:
- Leaves are alternate, 1" long, 1/2" wide with rounded apex and base.
- Very young stems are purplish in color and turn silvery-gray as they age.
- Petioles are purplish.
- Produces translucent red berries.
- Profile Video:
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- 'Aureo'
Yellow fruits - 'Bordeaux'
- 'Folsom's Weeping'
Heavy fruit production, pendulous - 'Jewel'
Weeping form, female plant heavy fruit
'Nana'
- 'Otis Miley'
Yellow fruits, small leaves
'Pendula' or 'Grey's Weeping'
- 'Pride of Houston'
Medium size, heavy fruit - 'Schelling's Dwarf'
Dwarf, more compact than 'Nana' - 'Stokes Dwarf'
- 'Virginia Dare'
- 'Wiggins' Yellow'
Yellow fruits
'Will Fleming'
Compact dwarf, sterile male
Large weeping form 35' tall female plant, heavy fruit
dwarf form
- 'Aureo'
- 'Aureo', 'Bordeaux', 'Folsom's Weeping', 'Jewel', 'Nana', 'Otis Miley', 'Pendula' or 'Grey's Weeping', 'Pride of Houston', 'Schelling's Dwarf', 'Stokes Dwarf', 'Taylor's Rudolph', 'Virginia Dare' , 'Wiggins' Yellow', 'Will Fleming'
- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'Aureo'
Yellow fruits - 'Bordeaux'
- 'Folsom's Weeping'
Heavy fruit production, pendulous - 'Jewel'
Weeping form, female plant heavy fruit
'Nana'
- 'Otis Miley'
Yellow fruits, small leaves
'Pendula' or 'Grey's Weeping'
- 'Pride of Houston'
Medium size, heavy fruit - 'Schelling's Dwarf'
Dwarf, more compact than 'Nana' - 'Stokes Dwarf'
- 'Virginia Dare'
- 'Wiggins' Yellow'
Yellow fruits
'Will Fleming'
Compact dwarf, sterile male
Large weeping form 35' tall female plant, heavy fruit
dwarf form
- 'Aureo'
- 'Aureo', 'Bordeaux', 'Folsom's Weeping', 'Jewel', 'Nana', 'Otis Miley', 'Pendula' or 'Grey's Weeping', 'Pride of Houston', 'Schelling's Dwarf', 'Stokes Dwarf', 'Taylor's Rudolph', 'Virginia Dare' , 'Wiggins' Yellow', 'Will Fleming'
- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Ilex
- Species:
- vomitoria
- Family:
- Aquifoliaceae
- Uses (Ethnobotany):
- Native American Indians used the leaves to make a ceremonial emetic drink which, when consumed in large quantities, caused a cleansing now memorialized by the specific epithet. Also contains caffeine.
- Life Cycle:
- Woody
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Seed
- Stem Cutting
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- USA, to Mexico
- Distribution:
- AL , AR , FL , GA , LA , MS , NC , OK , SC , TX , VA
- Fire Risk Rating:
- high flammability
- Wildlife Value:
- It is a host plant for the Henry's Elfin butterfly. Butterflies and other pollinators nectar at the blooms. The fruits are eaten by songbirds and small mammals. Also provides winter cover. Members of the genus Ilex support the following specialized bee: Colletes banksi.
- Play Value:
- Wildlife Food Source
- Particularly Resistant To (Insects/Diseases/Other Problems):
- This plant is highly resistant to damage from deer and salt tolerant.
- Edibility:
- The young leaves may be picked, browned and dried in an oven, steeped in hot water and used to make Yaupon tea. It contains caffeine.
- Dimensions:
- Height: 10 ft. 0 in. - 20 ft. 6 in.
- Width: 8 ft. 0 in. - 12 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Native Plant
- Poisonous
- Shrub
- Tree
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Broadleaf Evergreen
- Habit/Form:
- Erect
- Multi-stemmed
- Multi-trunked
- Rounded
- Growth Rate:
- Medium
- Texture:
- Fine
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Deep shade (Less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight)
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- High Organic Matter
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Occasionally Dry
- Occasionally Wet
- Available Space To Plant:
- 6-feet-12 feet
- 12-24 feet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 7b, 7a, 8b, 8a, 9b, 9a
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Red/Burgundy
- Fruit Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Winter
- Fruit Type:
- Drupe
- Fruit Length:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Width:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Description:
- 1/4 inch red drupes in clusters mature in fall and persist into winter.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Green
- White
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Insignificant
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Fragrant
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Flower Size:
- < 1 inch
- Flower Description:
- Small greenish-white flowers that appear on male and female plants in the spring (April). The flowers are fragrant but generally inconspicuous. They grow solitary or in pairs and are clustered on peduncles in leaf axils. Blooms from March to May.
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Broadleaf Evergreen
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Feel:
- Glossy
- Leathery
- Leaf Value To Gardener:
- Good Cut
- Long-lasting
- Leaf Type:
- Simple
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Leaf Shape:
- Elliptical
- Ovate
- Leaf Margin:
- Crenate
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Length:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Width:
- < 1 inch
- Leaf Description:
- 1.5-inch oval leaves are glossy green and leathery with toothed margins and rounded at base and tip.
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Bark:
- Bark Color:
- Light Gray
- White
- Surface/Attachment:
- Smooth
- Bark Description:
- Thin, smooth and light gray to almost white. As the tree ages, the bark might become a bit scaly.
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Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Gray/Silver
- Purple/Lavender
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Description:
- Young stems are purple and turn gray to white-gray as they age.
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Coastal
- Naturalized Area
- Woodland
- Landscape Theme:
- Native Garden
- Pollinator Garden
- Rain Garden
- Water Garden
- Winter Garden
- Design Feature:
- Hedge
- Screen/Privacy
- Security
- Attracts:
- Butterflies
- Pollinators
- Small Mammals
- Songbirds
- Specialized Bees
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Deer
- Drought
- Salt
- Wet Soil
- Wind
