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Botanical Name: Ilex opaca f. xanthocarpa
Common Name: Yellow-berried American Holly
Origin: E. & SC. USA
Location: CNE
Notable Feature: This female form is known for its yellow berries, as opposed to the red berries of Ilex opaca, and occurs sporadically throughout the native range of American Holly. Over fifty, yellow-berried cultivar selections have been made according to holly expert, Fred Galle.
Habit: An upright, pyramidal, evergreen tree with branching to the ground. It slowly matures to 15 to 30 feet in height. At maturity the habit may be open, irregular and picturesque or it may remain dense, upright, and symmetrical.
Flower: Dioecious, meaning male and female flowers are borne on separate trees. This form has white, 4-lobed, female flowers that occur singly or in very small clusters of three.
Fruit: Abundant, dull yellow berries that mature in October and persist into winter.
Foliage: Evergreen, alternate on the branch, elliptic in shape, and 1 ½ to 3 ½ inches long with spiny teeth on the margins.
Interesting Fact: This is a female form of the species which requires a male selection of the same species growing nearby in order to set fruit. A major source of nectar for bees.