Louisiana Plant ID | Ilex vomitoria (yaupon)

FAMILY: AQUIFOLIACEAE

ALTERNATE COMMON NAME: yaupon holly

LEAVES: evergreen, alternate, simple; blades thick and glossy, elliptic, 0.5-2” long by 0.5-1” wide, margins crenate

FLOWER: mostly unisexual, some bisexual, plants typically functionally dioecious; flowers born in axillary fascicles, individual flowers ca. 0.25” broad, with 4 sepals and 4 white petals; flowering in April

FRUIT: red drupe ca 0.25” broad

TWIGS: slender, stiff, light gray, eventually glabrous

BARK: light to medium gray, thin and smooth

FORM: evergreen shrub or small tree to ca. 25’ tall

HABITAT: can be found in almost any moist to dry (to xeric) habitat, including in understories of various forest types (inland and maritime), and along fencerows; can form dense thickets without fire and is problematic in native prairies and pine grasslands that have not had adequate fire; regarded as a weed in native grasslands and wooded grasslands, rangelands, and pine plantations

WETLAND DESIGNATION: Facultative (FAC): Occurs in wetlands or non-wetlands of the Atlantic and Gulf Coast Plain Region

RANGE: southeastern US [USGS Range Map]

USES: a naturally caffeinated tea can be brewed from dried leaves; used in folk medicine as an emetic and purgative; ornamental/hedge plant

WILDLIFE: fruit are consumed by many wildlife, including birds and mammals; nectar plant for pollinators; good whitetail deer browse; thickets provide wildlife cover in winter

Best Recognition Features:

multi-stemmed shrub with smooth gray bark
small evergreen glossy leaves with crenate margins
bright red drupes

School of Renewable Natural Reources	Louisiana Plant Identification and Interactive Virtual Tours Dr. Chris S. Reid, Project Director \| creid4@lsu.edu LSU School of Renewable Natural Resources LSU AgCenter, Baton Rouge, LA © 2003-2020 website problems or broken links: mbowen@agcenter.lsu.edu page revised: 15-Jan-2020 4:11 PM msb	LSU AgCenter
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