Ilex vomitoria: Uses (Ethnobotany)
Native American Indians used the leaves to make a ceremonial emetic drink which, when consumed in large quantities, caused a cleansing now memorialized by the specific epithet. Also contains caffeine.
Plant Profile: Ilex vomitoria
Taxonomy: Ilex vomitoriaNames
Yaupon, Yaupon Holly
Phonetic Spelling:EE-leks vom-ih-TOR-ee-ah
Genus:Ilex
Species:vomitoria
Family:Aquifoliaceae
Yaupon is an evergreen shrub or small tree indigenous to the eastern United States, predominantly found along the coast of North Carolina. It typically grows between 10 to 20 feet in height, with some specimens reaching up to 30 feet, and can spread 8 to 12 feet wide. In the spring, flowers bloom on distinct male and female plants, and if the female plants are pollinated, they will produce red drupes in the fall. Without intervention, such as removing suckers, the plant tends to form dense thickets.
For optimal growth, Yaupon should be planted in well-drained soil, thriving in conditions ranging from full sun to partial shade. However, it tends to yield more fruit and develop a denser canopy when exposed to more sunlight. This resilient plant adapts well to various soil types and can endure both drought and occasional flooding. It serves effectively as a screen, windbreak, or security plant, grows quickly, and is easy to transplant. Yaupon can also withstand heavy pruning, making it suitable for topiary work.
**Fire Risk:** Yaupon has a high flammability rating, so it is advisable not to plant it within the defensible space around your home. Instead, choose plants with a lower flammability rating for areas closest to your residence.
**Insects, Diseases, or Other Plant Issues:** When grown in its native environment, Yaupon typically faces no significant insect or disease challenges. However, it may occasionally encounter issues with pests such as holly leaf miners, spider mites, whiteflies, and scale. Potential diseases include leaf spot, leaf rot, tar spot, and powdery mildew.
**Quick Identification Tips:**
Ilex vomitoria Feature Summary
Tags
#fragrant
#evergreen
#rain garden
#wildlife plant
#showy
#nectar plant
#salt tolerant
#cover plant
#winter interest
#barrier
#security
#berries
#standing water
#hedges
#wet sites
#specialized bees
#food source
#privacy
#highly beneficial coastal plants
#fire
#high flammability
#pest resistant
#thickets
#coastal plants
#screening
#pollinator plant
#fantz
#larval host plant
#wind break
#food source winter
#cover
#food source nectar
#coastal FAC
#Piedmont Mountains FAC
#urban conditions tolerant
#fruits
#bird friendly
#nectar plant late spring
#food source soft mast fruit
#butterfly friendly
#nectar plant mid-spring
#nectar plant early spring
#cover plant winter
#flood tolerant
#pollinator garden
#bee friendly
#audubon
#pruning tolerant
Similar Plants
Ilex vomitoria is often confused with:
Ilex vomitoria Feature Summary
Attributes
Native American Indians used the leaves to make a ceremonial emetic drink which, when consumed in large quantities, caused a cleansing now memorialized by the specific epithet. Also contains caffeine.
USA, to Mexico
AL , AR , FL , GA , LA , MS , NC , OK , SC , TX , VA
It is a host plant for the Henry's Elfin butterfly. Butterflies and other pollinators nectar at the blooms. The fruits are eaten by songbirds and small mammals. Also provides winter cover. Members of the genus Ilex support the following specialized bee: Colletes banksi.
This plant is highly resistant to damage from deer and salt tolerant.
The young leaves may be picked, browned and dried in an oven, steeped in hot water and used to make Yaupon tea. It contains caffeine.
Woody
Seed
Stem Cutting
Wildlife Food Source
high flammability
Fruit
1/4 inch red drupes in clusters mature in fall and persist into winter.
Drupe
Red/Burgundy
Winter
< 1 inch
< 1 inch
Flowers
Small greenish-white flowers that appear on male and female plants in the spring (April). The flowers are fragrant but generally inconspicuous. They grow solitary or in pairs and are clustered on peduncles in leaf axils. Blooms from March to May.
White
Green
Insignificant
Fragrant
Spring
< 1 inch
Leaves
1.5-inch oval leaves are glossy green and leathery with toothed margins and rounded at base and tip.
Broadleaf Evergreen
Green
Simple
Alternate
Elliptical
Ovate
Crenate
1-3 inches
Glossy
Leathery
Long-lasting
Good Cut
< 1 inch
Bark
Thin, smooth and light gray to almost white. As the tree ages, the bark might become a bit scaly.
Light Gray
White
Smooth
Stem
Young stems are purple and turn gray to white-gray as they age.
Purple/Lavender
Gray/Silver
Poisonous to Humans
Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea
Illicin, possibly saponic glycosides, and triterpenoids
Fruits
Whole Plant Traits
Shrub
Tree
Native Plant
Poisonous
Broadleaf Evergreen
Multi-stemmed
Multi-trunked
Rounded
Erect
Medium
Fine
Cultural Conditions
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Deep shade (Less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight)
Good Drainage
Moist
Occasionally Wet
Occasionally Dry
12-24 feet
6-feet-12 feet
Coastal
Piedmont
7a
7b
8b
8a
9a
9b
Clay
High Organic Matter
Loam (Silt)
Sand
Landscape
Pollinator Garden
Winter Garden
Rain Garden
Native Garden
Water Garden
Hedge
Screen/Privacy
Security
Drought
Deer
Wet Soil
Wind
Salt
Woodland
Naturalized Area
Coastal
Butterflies
Pollinators
Songbirds
Small Mammals
Specialized Bees
Ilex vomitoria Image Gallery
Ilex vomitoria Attributes
Ilex vomitoria: Country Or Region Of Origin
USA, to Mexico
Ilex vomitoria: Distribution
AL , AR , FL , GA , LA , MS , NC , OK , SC , TX , VA
Ilex vomitoria: Wildlife Value
It is a host plant for the Henry's Elfin butterfly. Butterflies and other pollinators nectar at the blooms. The fruits are eaten by songbirds and small mammals. Also provides winter cover. Members of the genus Ilex support the following specialized bee: Colletes banksi.
Ilex vomitoria: Particularly Resistant To (Insects/Diseases/Other Problems)
This plant is highly resistant to damage from deer and salt tolerant.
Ilex vomitoria: Edibility
The young leaves may be picked, browned and dried in an oven, steeped in hot water and used to make Yaupon tea. It contains caffeine.
Ilex vomitoria: Life Cycle
Annual
Biennial
Bulb
Perennial
Woody
Ilex vomitoria: Recommended Propagation Strategy
Division
Grafting
Layering
Leaf Cutting
Root Cutting
Seed
Stem Cutting
Ilex vomitoria: Play Value
Attractive Flowers
Attracts Pollinators
Buffer
Colorful
Defines Paths
Easy to Grow
Edible fruit
Fragrance
Pieces Used in Games
Screening
Shade
Sound
Textural
Wildlife Cover/Habitat
Wildlife Food Source
Wildlife Larval Host
Wildlife Nesting
Wind Break
Wind Shimmer
Ilex vomitoria: Fire Risk Rating
extreme flammability
high flammability
low flammability
medium flammability
Ilex vomitoria Fruit
Ilex vomitoria: Fruit Description
1/4 inch red drupes in clusters mature in fall and persist into winter.
Ilex vomitoria: Fruit Type
Achene
Aggregate
Berry
Capsule
Caryopsis
Drupe
Follicle
Legume
Nut
Pome
Samara
Schizocarp
Siliqua
Ilex vomitoria: Fruit Color
Red/Burgundy
Ilex vomitoria: Fruit Value To Gardener
Edible
Fragrant
Good Cut
Good Dried
Long Bloom Season
Long-lasting
Showy
Ilex vomitoria: Display/Harvest Time
Fall
Spring
Summer
Winter
Ilex vomitoria: Fruit Length
< 1 inch
1-3 inches
> 3 inches
Ilex vomitoria: Fruit Width
< 1 inch
1-3 inches
> 3 inches
Ilex vomitoria Flowers
Ilex vomitoria: Flower Description
Small greenish-white flowers that appear on male and female plants in the spring (April). The flowers are fragrant but generally inconspicuous. They grow solitary or in pairs and are clustered on peduncles in leaf axils. Blooms from March to May.
Ilex vomitoria: Flower Color
Green
White
Ilex vomitoria: Flower Inflorescence
Catkin
Corymb
Cyme
Head
Insignificant
Panicle
Raceme
Solitary
Spadix
Spike
Umbel
Ilex vomitoria: Flower Value To Gardener
Edible
Fragrant
Good Cut
Good Dried
Long Bloom Season
Long-lasting
Showy
Ilex vomitoria: Flower Bloom Time
Winter
Spring
Summer
Fall
Ilex vomitoria: Flower Size
1-3 inches
3-6 inches
< 1 inch
> 6 inches
Ilex vomitoria Leaves
Ilex vomitoria: Leaf Description
1.5-inch oval leaves are glossy green and leathery with toothed margins and rounded at base and tip.
Ilex vomitoria: Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics
Broadleaf Evergreen
Deciduous
Needled Evergreen
Semi-evergreen
Ilex vomitoria: Leaf Color
Green
Ilex vomitoria: Leaf Type
Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Fronds
Needles
Sheath
Simple
Ilex vomitoria: Leaf Arrangement
Alternate
Opposite
Other/more complex
Rosulate
Whorled
Ilex vomitoria: Leaf Shape
Acicular
Auriculate
Cordate
Cuneate
Deltoid
Elliptical
Filiform
Lanceolate
Linear
Oblanceolate
Oblong
Obovate
Obtuse
Orbicular
Ovate
Palmasect
Palmatifid
Peltate
Pinnatifid
Pinnatisect
Reniform
Rhomboidal
Spatulate
Subcordate
Subulate
Ilex vomitoria: Leaf Margin
Crenate
Crenulate
Dentate
Denticulate
Doubly Crenate
Doubly Dentate
Doubly Serrate
Entire
Lobed
Serrate
Sinuate
Undulate
Ilex vomitoria: Hairs Present
No
Yes
Ilex vomitoria: Leaf Length
< 1 inch
1-3 inches
3-6 inches
> 6 inches
Ilex vomitoria: Leaf Feel
Fleshy
Glossy
Leathery
Papery
Prickly
Rough
Rubbery
Slippery
Smooth
Soft
Velvety
Waxy
Ilex vomitoria: Leaf Value To Gardener
Edible
Fragrant
Good Cut
Good Dried
Long-lasting
Showy
Ilex vomitoria: Leaf Width
< 1 inch
1-3 inches
3-6 inches
> 6 inches
Ilex vomitoria Bark
Ilex vomitoria: Bark Description
Thin, smooth and light gray to almost white. As the tree ages, the bark might become a bit scaly.
Ilex vomitoria: Bark Color
Light Gray
White
Ilex vomitoria: Surface/Attachment
Bumpy
Exfoliating
Fissured
Furrowed
Lenticels
Papery
Patchy
Peeling
Ridges
Scaly
Shaggy
Shiny
Shredding
Smooth
Spongy
Ilex vomitoria Stem
Ilex vomitoria: Stem Description
Young stems are purple and turn gray to white-gray as they age.
Ilex vomitoria: Stem Color
Gray/Silver
Purple/Lavender
Ilex vomitoria: Stem Is Aromatic
No
Yes
Ilex vomitoria Poisonous to Humans
Ilex vomitoria: Poison Symptoms
Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea
Ilex vomitoria: Poison Toxic Principle
Illicin, possibly saponic glycosides, and triterpenoids
Ilex vomitoria: Poison Severity
High
Low
Medium
Ilex vomitoria: Causes Contact Dermatitis
No
Yes
Ilex vomitoria: Poison Part
Bark
Flowers
Fruits
Leaves
Roots
Sap/Juice
Seeds
Stems
Ilex vomitoria Whole Plant Traits
Ilex vomitoria: Plant Type
Annual
Bulb
Carnivorous
Edible
Epiphyte
Fern
Ground Cover
Herb
Herbaceous Perennial
Houseplant
Mushroom
Native Plant
Ornamental Grasses and Sedges
Perennial
Poisonous
Rose
Shrub
Succulent
Tree
Turfgrass
Vegetable
Vine
Water Plant
Weed
Wildflower
Ilex vomitoria: Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics
Broadleaf Evergreen
Deciduous
Needled Evergreen
Semi-evergreen
Ilex vomitoria: Habit/Form
Arching
Ascending
Broad
Cascading
Climbing
Clumping
Columnar
Conical
Creeping
Dense
Erect
Horizontal
Irregular
Mounding
Multi-stemmed
Multi-trunked
Open
Oval
Prostrate
Pyramidal
Rounded
Spreading
Vase
Weeping
Ilex vomitoria: Growth Rate
Slow
Medium
Rapid
Ilex vomitoria: Texture
Fine
Medium
Coarse
Ilex vomitoria Cultural Conditions
Ilex vomitoria: Light
Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day)
Deep shade (Less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight)
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Ilex vomitoria: Soil Drainage
Frequent Standing Water
Good Drainage
Moist
Occasional Flooding
Occasionally Dry
Occasionally Wet
Very Dry
Ilex vomitoria: Available Space To Plant
12 inches-3 feet
12-24 feet
24-60 feet
3 feet-6 feet
6-feet-12 feet
Less than 12 inches
more than 60 feet
Ilex vomitoria: NC Region
Coastal
Mountains
Piedmont
Ilex vomitoria: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone
7a
7b
8a
8b
9a
9b
Ilex vomitoria: Soil Texture
Clay
High Organic Matter
Loam (Silt)
Sand
Shallow Rocky
Ilex vomitoria Landscape
Ilex vomitoria: Landscape Theme
Asian Garden
Butterfly Garden
Children's Garden
Cottage Garden
Cutting Garden
Drought Tolerant Garden
Edible Garden
English Garden
Fairy Garden
Garden for the Blind
Native Garden
Nighttime Garden
Pollinator Garden
Rain Garden
Rock Garden
Shade Garden
Water Garden
Winter Garden
Ilex vomitoria: Design Feature
Accent
Barrier
Border
Flowering Tree
Foundation Planting
Hedge
Mass Planting
Screen/Privacy
Security
Shade Tree
Small groups
Small Tree
Specimen
Street Tree
Understory Tree
Ilex vomitoria: Resistance To Challenges
Black Walnut
Compaction
Deer
Diseases
Drought
Dry Soil
Erosion
Fire
Foot Traffic
Heat
Heavy Shade
Humidity
Insect Pests
Pollution
Poor Soil
Rabbits
Salt
Slugs
Squirrels
Storm damage
Urban Conditions
Voles
Wet Soil
Wind
Ilex vomitoria: Landscape Location
Coastal
Container
Hanging Baskets
Houseplants
Lawn
Meadow
Naturalized Area
Near Septic
Patio
Pond
Pool/Hardscape
Recreational Play Area
Riparian
Rock Wall
Slope/Bank
Small Space
Vertical Spaces
Walkways
Woodland
Ilex vomitoria: Attracts
Bats
Bees
Butterflies
Frogs
Hummingbirds
Moths
Pollinators
Predatory Insects
Reptiles
Small Mammals
Songbirds
Specialized Bees
