yaupon
Family
AquifoliaceaeScientific Name
Ilex vomitoria
Habit
A shrub or small tree that grows from 20-25 feet in height. It usually produces multiple stems to form dense shrubby clumps.
Leaves
It has simple, leathery, dark green leaves that are held alternately on the branches. Leaves are oval shaped, usually about .25-1 inch and toothy along the edges.
Identifying Characteristics
The bark is smooth and gray and is often mottled with yellow-green patches of lichen.
Flower Seed Head
Tiny white flowers appear in spring in great numbers and are born in the leaf axils, close against the stem.
Seed Fruit
The fruit are small, shiny red-orange berries clustered along the stems of female plants that persist into the winter.
Where Found
Dry sand hills, swamps, and coastal regions.
Life Cycle
perennial
Plant Type
Shrub