Dahoon Holly
Ilex cassine
Dahoon holly is a graceful evergreen holly of Southeastern wetlands, with narrow glossy leaves and heavy crops of red berries that light up winter and feed many birds. Excellent for wet, acidic sites. The berries are poisonous to people: like others in the genus they carry saponins and can cause vomiting and diarrhea if eaten.
- Family
- Aquifoliaceae
- Type
- tree
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 26–26 ft
- Spacing
- 10–15 ft apart
- Light
- part shade
- Soil moisture
- moist
- Soil pH
- acidic, neutral
- Bloom
- April, May
- Bloom colors
- white
- Wildlife value
- pollinators, mammals, songbirds, larval host
- Caterpillar hosts
- ~39 butterfly & moth species
- Landscape uses
- hedge or screen, naturalizing
- Native states
- AL, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, SC, TX
Related native plants
More Ilex species
- American Holly (Ilex opaca)
- Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria)
- Winterberry Holly (Ilex verticillata)
- Possumhaw (Ilex decidua)
- Inkberry (Ilex glabra)
- Large Gallberry (Ilex coriacea)