News — USDA

Florida Friendly Plant of the Week: Yaupon Holly LILLY BROWNING Lilly Browning is the Hernando County Florida Friendly Landscaping Program Coordinator Yaupon Holly, Ilex vomitoria, is a great native plant that can be used as a shrub or as a small, specimen tree. They have tiny leaves and produce white, spring through summer flowers. The red fruit provides food for wildlife in the late fall and into the winter. It will grow 15-30 feet tall and 6-20 feet wide. They prefer wet or partially moist soil. They enjoy a sunny to partial sunny location in the landscape. They have a...

  YAUPON Ilex vomitoria Aiton Plant Symbol = ILVO Contributed by: USDA NRCS East Texas Plant Materials Center Photo courtesy:USDA/NRCS East Texas Plant Materials Center Caution: Ingestion of berries causes nausea and vomiting. Yaupon is the only plant native to North America that contains caffeine. Alternate Names Yaupon holly, cassena, cassina, cassine, evergreen cassena, evergreen holly, Indian black drink, Christmas berry. Uses Ethnobotanical: Native Americans in the southeastern United States used this plant extensively. They used the wood to build arrows, and roasted leaves and shoots to make a dark, tea like drink called "black drink". This drink was used...

  YAUPON Ilex vomitoria Aiton Plant Symbol = ILVO Contributed by: USDA NRCS East Texas Plant Materials Center Photo courtesy:USDA/NRCS East Texas Plant Materials Center Caution: Ingestion of berries causes nausea and vomiting. Yaupon is the only plant native to North America that contains caffeine. Alternate Names Yaupon holly, cassena, cassina, cassine, evergreen cassena, evergreen holly, Indian black drink, Christmas berry. Uses Ethnobotanical: Native Americans in the southeastern United States used this plant extensively. They used the wood to build arrows, and roasted leaves and shoots to make a dark, tea like drink called "black drink". This drink was used...