page_title: Ilex opaca
section_title: The holly in winter
hierarchical_section_title: Ilex opaca / Cultivation and uses / The holly in winter
caption_attribution_description: English: A female American Holly, Ilex opaca, bearing fruit at the beginning of winter
context_page_description: Ilex opaca, the American holly, is a species of holly, native to the eastern and south-central United States, from coastal Massachusetts south to central Florida, and west to southeastern Missouri and eastern Texas.
context_section_description: Holly is a popular winter Christmas and holiday season decoration. In English poetry and English stories the holly is inseparably connected with the merry-making and greetings which gather around the Christmas time. The custom is followed in North America, and holly and mistletoe  are widely used for decoration of homes and churches.
  The European holly is smaller than the American holly, but closely resembles the American holly. The leaves of both species are similar in outline and toothed and bristled very much the same way, but the leaves are brighter in the American holly and larger. The American holly, called the evergreen or Christmas holly (Ilex opaca Aiton) was named the state tree of Delaware on 1 May 1939.
  Holly fruit (drupes) appear late in the season, and whether due to the need to ripen or being a food of last resort, often last until midwinter.  Cedar Waxwings will strip the trees of fruit if they are not already bare during their northward migration.
caption: Not only is the holly associated with winter decoration, it serves as a source of food and shelter during inclement weather
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