Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
Photo by: John Bradford, Martin County Chapter FNPS
Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS

Nomenclature

Common Name:

dahoon holly

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Ilex cassine

Family:

Aquifoliaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

tree

Size:

20-30 ft tall, spread 10-15 ft.

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

white

Fruit Color:

red

Phenology:

Evergreen. Blooms in spring. Fruits ripen in fall and persist into winter.

Noted For:

Showy Fruits, Hurricane Wind Resistance, Interesting Foliage

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Specimen tree.

Considerations:

It's dioecious; so make sure you have at least one male plant in the vicinity to produce berries on the females.

Availability:

Quality Nurseries, Native Nurseries, FNPS Plant Sales

Propagation:

Naturally clonal, so easily started from new offshoots. Seeds of most holly species require 2-3 years of dormancy before they will germinate.

Light:

Full Sun, Part Sun, Shade

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded------------------------------------------------Extremely Dry

Coming Soon!

Stays wet ---to--- Not wet but not extremely dry

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand, Loam

Soil pH:

acidic to circumneutral

Suitable to Grow In:

8A,8B,9A,9B,10A,10B,11

Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators, Birds

Bees pollinate flowers. Documented bee visitors include   Hylaeus confluens, Augochlorapura, Augochlorella gratiosa, Dialictus placidensis and Sphecodes heracle (Deyrup et al. 2002).

Fruits are eaten by birds and small mammals.

Native Habitats:

Dome swamps, coastal flatwoods, transitional edges of dome swamps in flatwoods, coastal flatwoods, bay swamps, cutthroat seep.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

While naturally a wetland plant, this species does well across a broad array of cultural conditions.