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Ilex paraguariensis 



GABRIEL EDWIN 



Assistant Curator, Vascular Plants 



SOME USES OF HOLLY 



All of us have seen and admired the 

 „ shiny, spiny, red-berried wreaths 

 of holly so prevalent during the Christ- 

 mas season. The species of Ilex (the 

 genus of the hollies) most often used for 

 this purpose are Ilex aquifolium L., the 

 "English holly," and /. opaca Ait., the 

 "American holly." The English holly is 

 the one with the more shiny leaves. Of 

 the 600 species of Ilex, these two and 

 about a dozen Asiatic, along with one 

 other species from Florida, are the only 

 likes with spiny leaves and very large, 

 attractive, red fruit. 



Long before the hollies were used for 

 Christmas decorations they were em- 

 ployed ceremoniously by the Druids and 

 in pagan rites. 



The early European settlers of what is 

 now Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia, 

 Florida, and the Gulf Coast states ob- 

 served the Indians in religious gather- 

 ings drinking an intoxicating potion that 

 was also emetic, purgative, and halluci- 

 natory. This liquid, referred to as the 

 "black drink" by these settlers, was a 

 decoction made from the leaves of Ilex 

 vomitoria Ait. (known popularly as the 



Ilex aquifolium 



cassina, cassine, yapon, yopon, yau- 

 pon, youpon, etc.), and /. cassine L. (the 

 dahoon). Our forefathers adopted this 

 brew for emetic and purgative purposes. 

 Please note the reversal of the technical 

 and vernacular names. 



Today the hard, close-grained, creamy 

 white heartwood of a number of holly 

 species, especially /. sideroxyloides, is used 

 for furniture inlays and decorations in 

 the West Indies. /. opaca is employed 

 as a specialty wood in the United States. 

 However, the most important economic 

 use of this group is in ornamental horti- 

 culture. Over twenty species (princi- 

 pally Asiatic) are grown for both foun- 

 dation and garden plantings. These are 

 represented by over 800 clonal selections, 

 most of which may be found in /. opaca, 

 aquifolium, cornuta, and crenata. Unfortu- 

 nately, these striking shrubs cannot, with 

 few exceptions, survive in the Chicago 

 area. 



Lastly, in large parts of South Amer- 

 ica, especially Paraguay, Uruguay, Bra- 

 zil, and Argentina, Ilex paraguariensis, 

 known as "Paraguay tea" or "yerba 

 mate," is the preferred caffeine drink. 



Ilex crenata 



DECEMBER Page 7 



