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Yaupon Holly

Ilex vomitoria

Tough evergreen holly with translucent red berries that persist into winter for birds. The only native plant containing caffeine — its leaves brew the traditional yaupon tea. The leaves are the part used and the berries are not: like others in the genus they carry saponins and can cause vomiting and diarrhea if eaten in quantity. The alarming species name records a mistaken European belief that the tea was an emetic, which it is not.

Family

Aquifoliaceae

Type

tree

Lifespan

perennial

Height

10–20 ft

Spacing

8–12 ft apart

Light

sun, part shade, shade

Soil moisture

dry

Soil pH

acidic, neutral

Bloom

April, May

Bloom colors

white

Wildlife value

songbirds, butterflies, larval host, pollinators

Caterpillar hosts

~39 butterfly & moth species

Landscape uses

border, hedge or screen, naturalizing, rain garden

Native states

AL, AR, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, OK, SC, TX, VA