YAUPON HOLLY
By LYNN ARTZ and SANDY TEDDER
Yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria) is one of three native hollies at Sopchoppy Depot Park. This large, evergreen shrub (or small tree) has small, fragrant, white flowers that attract bees and butterflies in spring. Yaupon holly is most dramatic in the fall and winter when female plants sport bright red “berries.” Birds eat the fruit and nest in the dense branches.
The small, evergreen leaves are not prickly like other hollies, and feed the caterpillars of Henry’s Elfin butterflies. Yaupon holly grows 10-25 feet high, does well in varied conditions, and tolerates both drought and salt spray. Prune this versatile plant into a specimen tree or use to create a dense hedge, screen, or windbreak. Yaupon hollies form the east and west borders of the northern gardens at Sopchoppy Depot Park.