Ilex vomitoria
| Ilex vomitoria | |
|---|---|
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| Foliage and fruit | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Aquifoliales |
| Family: | Aquifoliaceae |
| Genus: | Ilex |
| Species: | I. vomitoria |
| Binomial name | |
| Ilex vomitoria Sol. ex Aiton |
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Ilex vomitoria, commonly known as Yaupon or Yaupon Holly, is a species of holly that is native to southeastern North America.[1] The word yaupon was derived from its Catawban name, yopún, which is a diminutive form of the word yop, meaning "tree". Another common name, Cassina, was borrowed from the Timucua language[2] (despite this, it usually refers to Ilex cassine).
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[edit] Description
Yaupon Holly is an evergreen shrub or small tree reaching 5–9 m tall, with smooth, light gray bark and slender, hairy shoots. The leaves are alternate, ovate to elliptical with a rounded apex and crenate or coarsely serrated margin, 1-4.5 cm long and 1–2 cm broad, glossy dark green above, slightly paler below. The flowers are 5–5.5 mm diameter, with a white four-lobed corolla. The fruit is a small round, shiny, and red (occasionally yellow) drupe 4–6 mm diameter containing four pits, which are dispersed by birds eating the fruit. The species may be distinguished from the similar Ilex cassine by its smaller leaves with a rounded, not acute apex.[3][4][5][6][7]
[edit] Habitat and range
I. vomitoria occurs in the United States from Maryland south to Florida and west to Oklahoma (only in the extreme southeast)[6] and Texas. A disjunct population occurs in the Mexican state of Chiapas.[1] It generally occurs in coastal areas in well-drained sandy soils, and can be found on the upper edges of brackish and salt marshes, sandy hammocks, coastal sand dunes, inner-dune depressions, sandhills, maritime forests, nontidal forested wetlands, well-drained forests and pine flatwoods.[3]
[edit] Ecology
The fruit are an important food for many birds, including Florida Duck, American Black Duck, Mourning Dove, Ruffed Grouse, Bobwhite Quail, Wild Turkey, Northern Flicker, sapsuckers, Cedar waxwing, Eastern Bluebird, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, and White-throated Sparrow. Mammals that eat the fruit include Nine-banded Armadillo, American Black Bear, Gray Fox, raccoon and skunks. The foliage and twigs are browsed by White-tailed Deer.[3]
[edit] Cultivation and uses
Native Americans used the leaves and stems to brew a tea, commonly thought to be called asi or black drink for male-only purification and unity rituals. The ceremony included vomiting, and Europeans incorrectly believed that it was Ilex vomitoria that caused it (hence the Latin name). The active ingredient is actually caffeine, and the vomiting was either learned or as a result of the great quantities in which they drank the beverage coupled with fasting.[3][8] Others believe the Europeans improperly assumed the black drink to be the tea made from Ilex vomitoria when it was likely an entirely different drink made from various roots and herbs and did have emetic properties.[9]
[edit] Ornamental
Ilex vomitoria is a common landscape plant in the Southeastern United States. The most common cultivars are slow-growing shrubs popular for their dense, evergreen foliage and their adaptability to pruning into hedges of various shapes. These include:
- 'Folsom Weeping' – weeping cultivar
- 'Grey's Littleleaf'/'Grey's Weeping' – weeping cultivar
- 'Nana'/'Compacta' – dwarf female clone usually remaining below 1 m in height.
- 'Pride of Houston' – female clone similar to type but featuring improvements in form, fruiting, and foliage.
- 'Schilling's Dwarf'/'Stokes Dwarf' – dwarf male clone that grows no more than 0.6 m tall and 1.2 m wide.[10]
[edit] See also
- Ilex paraguariensis or yerba maté – a caffeinated holly native to subtropical South America.
- Ilex guayusa or guayusa – a caffeinated holly native to the Ecuadorian Amazon Rainforest.
- Kuding tea – a Chinese tisane made from I. kudingcha
[edit] References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ilex vomitoria |
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Wikispecies has information related to: Ilex vomitoria |
- ^ a b "Taxon: Ilex vomitoria Sol. ex Aiton". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2011-05-09. http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?19791. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
- ^ Cutler, Charles L. (2000). O Brave New Words!: Native American Loanwords in Current English. University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 10, 163, 215. ISBN 9780806132464. http://books.google.com/books?id=83CIggbRi8YC.
- ^ a b c d USDA Plant Guide: yaupon Ilex vomitoria (doc file)
- ^ Florida Department of Environmental Protection: Florida's Hollies
- ^ Martin, C. O., & Mott, S. P. (1997). Yaupon (Ilex vomitoria): Section 7.5.10,U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wildlife Resources Management Manual. Technical Report EL-97-16, U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, MS. Available online (pdf file)
- ^ a b Oklahoma Biological Survey: Ilex vomitoria
- ^ Bioimages: Ilex vomitoria
- ^ Hudson, C. M. (1976). The Southeastern Indians. University of Tennessee Press ISBN 0-87049-248-9.
- ^ Gibbons, E. (1964). Stalking the Blue-eyed Scallop. David McKay Company, Inc. ISBN 0-91146-905-2.
- ^ Flint, Harrison Leigh (1997). Landscape Plants for Eastern North America (2 ed.). John Wiley and Sons. pp. 282–283. ISBN 9780471599197. http://books.google.com/books?id=Q1_fAywb_bkC&.
