Florida Holly

Florida's Hollies

Florida has 11 natives species of Holly (Ilex). Hollies are found in almost every plant community from coastal scrub, tropical hammocks, pine flatwoods to river floodplains. The hollies are unusual in that they are either male or female. Male hollies are often overlooked as they can be confused with other alternately leaved woody plants. The flowers of some species such as Ilex glabra are important honey plants. The fruit of hollies are distinctive and often showy. When most people think of hollies they may automatically envision the evergreen American holly (I. opaca) with its red fruit and spiny leaves. This species is the ubiquitous "holly" of the Christmas holiday season. Every county in Florida has a species of holly, but the most wide spread of all the native species is dahoon holly (I. cassine) which is found throughout the state, even south into the Florida Keys. If dahoon holly is the most widespread, gallberry (Ilex glabra) is the most common as it is native to Florida's extensive pine flatwoods. This species along with several other groundcover species is adapted to the rather frequent ground fires that historically swept across Florida's pinelands during the summer thunderstorm season. This landscape of scattered pines with a dense groundcover including gallberry is one of the most common landscapes in Florida.