By Hannah Beckett
The past month, stores and radio airwaves have been filled with Christmas music. Every year we hear our favorite holiday tunes on repeat and mindlessly sing along to the lyrics without noticing the interesting tidbits tucked among the verses. This year, I was stirred by one verse in particular. “Deck the halls with boughs of holly.” When we think of holly, we often think about the decorations used at Christmas. The dark green leaves and bright red berries are an iconic look of the season. But, there is much more to hollies than simple Christmas decorations.
Outside of the symbolic and religious reasons, the attractive red berries on a background of dark green brings a beautiful contrast of colors and a natural ambiance to our Christmas décor. In fact, did you know you can grow hollies as a natural outdoor decoration? Two native holly shrubs grow readily in Texas and can provide year-round decoration. The Audubon society specifically includes hollies such as the Yaupon and Possumhaw. Both hollies are among their recommendations for bird-safe outdoor holiday decorations.
Our most notable native holly is the Yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria). Like most hollies, it is an evergreen shrub that keeps its dark green, oval leaves all year. The leaves have a thick leathery appearance and a slight serration on the leaf margins that easily distinguish this species. It makes an excellent hedge plant, and when trimmed correctly, produces a thick screen of vegetative material. Its dense coverage provides excellent shelter for wildlife, especially in winter after most plants have dropped their leaves.
The plants are dioecious, meaning that male and female flowers will grow on separate plants. Female Yaupon hollies will bear numerous small, bright red berries. The berries will form in dense clusters throughout the plant. In the winter, the red berries provide a festive touch and are an important winter food source for a variety of bird species and small mammals. However, these berries are toxic to humans and pets, causing nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. It is a hardy little plant found capable of adapting to a wide variety of soils textures, but it does especially well in sandy soils along the coastal plains.
The other native holly found in Texas is the Possumhaw holly (Ilex decidua). Also known as deciduous holly, this shrub is a true holly, but one that loses its leaves in the winter. The leafless limbs of the female possumhaw are covered with hundreds of small orange or red berries during the cold months. In many places, possumhaws are the only bright spots in a winter landscape. Its fruits serve as a source of food for songbirds, game birds, and small mammals during the cold winter months. Possomhaw prefers a wet soil and grows best in floodplains and along bodies of water.
Whether you are looking to bring some nature inside or decorate with natives outside, you can’t go wrong with hollies. Its classic Christmas look is universal and keeping native hollies around your house benefits both you and the wildlife. I hope you and your loved ones had a great Christmas and a wonderful New Year!
Photo: Possumhaw Holly
Credit: Jeff McMillian @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
