Plants 4 Bees :: Aquafoliaceae :: Photo_Ilex_opaca_brown_9

Ilex opaca

Scientific name	:	Ilex opaca
Origin	:	Eastern North America
Description	:	American holly is a slow-growing conical to columnar evergreen that under landscape conditions usually falls into the 15-30 ft. height range, but trees nearly 100 ft in height are known. The leaves are alternately placed, 1.5 to 4 inches long and come in a variety of shapes. They can be flat to keel-shaped with varying numbers of indentations and spines around the leaf edge. They are dull to glossy green above and yellowish green beneath, and to a large extent resemble the leaves of English holly, but are less glossy than their European cousins. The trees are unisexual (dioecious) and the flowers are creamy white with 4 petals that are attached below the ovary (ovary superior). They are generally arranged in groups of 2 to 9 flowers arising from a common stem. The spherical shaped fruit is generally scarlet to crimson in color (yellow fruited varieties exist) and are generally 0.3 to 0.5 inches in diameter. The fruits often persist well into the winter.
Distribution	:	In addition to the U. S. distribution, the species can be cultured in parts of British Columbia. southern Ontario and milder regions of the Maritime provinces. Dirr[5] considers the species to be a zone 5 to 9 plant, but see additional information below. It its natural setting it is most common in damp woods.
Blooming period	:	Dirr[5] provides the information that the species blooms in May in Athens, GA. At The Morton Arboretum near Chicago, most of its cultivars bloom in early June[10]. In the Lansing, Michigan area, I think of it as blooming about Memorial Day. Pellett[13], based on a letter from W. H. Hawkins of Camden, Arkansas, provides the information that it starts blooming from May 1 to May 20. There is also some variability in blooming dates between cultivars.
Importance	:	: Pellett[13] reports that the species is an important source of nectar in much of its southern distribution. On the basis of his extensive set of questionnaires, Oertel[12] records it as of at least some importance in 11 southeastern states within the area of NJ to FL south to FL and TX.
Honey potential	:	The Hawkins letter mentioned above claims to have produced as much as 150 lbs of honey from the species in ten to twelve days. Lovell[8] claims that the species occasionally produces 50 to 200 lbs of honey in Arkansas and adjacent states. Both the male and female plants produce nectar.
Honey	:	The honey from American holly is apparently high quality. According to Pellett it is a rich amber color with a “pleasant twang” in its flavor. According to Lovell[8] the honey is white or extra light amber with a good flavor, and is slow to crystallize.
Pollen	:	Bees collect pollen from the species.
Additional information	:	There are more than 1000 named varieties of American Holly, but don’t expect to find more than a few listed with most suppliers. Many have essentially been lost over time. Wood from American holly is used for turnery, interior finishing, and cabinetry. Holly sprays with their glossy green leaves and red berries are favorites for Christmas decorations. I think an industrious beekeeper could make a little extra money at Christmas time by raising holly. To produce sprays of holly would require a large planting because it is a very slow growing species, but smaller decorations, a few leaves and a few berries as a decoration for beeswax candles might well increase candle sales. As the holly orchard matured, more extensive use could be made of it. Beekeepers interested in pursuing this might also consider selling small holly trees at Christmas, started either as cuttings or as seeds. Before jumping into this, there are a few things to consider. First, to produce berries, the females will need a suitable suitor. The USDA Plants Website[16] suggests 1 male for every 10 females. Of the many different cultivars of holly available, there are differences in cold hardiness, and while the species is often advertised as a zone 5 plant, this statement pushes the limits in at least the colder parts of zone 5, and the species benefits significantly from some protection. Of my collection of hollies, which I selected based on their advertised extreme cold hardiness, none have survived unless they are shaded during the winter. The only members of the species that I know of that are doing well on the Michigan State University Campus are on the north side of buildings. There are also pests like leaf miners that will make the leaves unacceptable for Christmas decorations. My advice—start small, expand the successes; cut the failures.
Reference	:	1. Arnold, L. E. . 1954. Some honey plants of Florida. University of Florida Agricultural Experiment Stations Bulletin 548. University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. 2. Ayers, G. S. and J. R. Harman. 1992. Bee Forage of North America and the Potential for Planting for Bees. In The Hive and the Honey Bee (J. M. Graham, Ed.), Dadant and Sons. Hamilton, IL. 3. Billington, C. 1977. Shrubs of Michigan. Cranbrook Institute of Science Bulletin 20. (2nd Edition). Cranbrook Institute of Science. Bloomfield Hills, MI. 4. Crane, E., P. Walker and R. Day. 1984. Directory of Important World Honey Sources. International Bee Research Association. London. 5. Dirr, M. A. 1998. Manual of Woody Landscape Plants. Stipes Publishing L.L.C. Champaign, IL. 6. Fernald, M. L. 1970. Gray's Manual of Botany (8th edition). D. Van Nostrand Company. New York. 7. Galle, F. C. 1997, The Hollies--The Genus Ilex. Timber Press in association with the Holly Society of America Inc. Portland, OR. 8. Lovell, H. B. 1966. Honey Plants Manual. A Practical Field Handbook for Identifying Honey Flora. A. I. Root Co. Medina, OH. 9. Lovell, J. 1926. Honey Plants of North America. A. I. Root Co. Medina, OH. 10. Morton Arboretum Staff. 1990. Woody Plants of The Morton Arboretum. The Morton Arboretum. Lisle, IL. 11. Morton, J. A. 1964. Honeybee plants of South Florida. Proceedings, Florida State Horicultural Society 77:415-436. 12. Oertel, E. 1939. Honey and Pollen Plants of the United States (U. S. D. A. Circular 554) U. S. Government Printing Office. Washington D. C. 13. Pellett, F. C. 1978. American Honey Plants. Dadant and Sons, Hamilton, IL. 14. Sanborn, C. E. and E. E. Scholl. 1908. Texas Honey Plants. Texas Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 102. Texas Agricultural Experiment Stations, College Station, Texas. 15. Sanford, M. T. Florida Bee Botany Florida Cooperative Extension Service/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Circular 686. University of Gainesville, FL 16. USDA, NRCS. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA 17. Wilder, J. J. 1907. The Gallberry as a honey-plant. Gleanings in Bee Culture 36:1200-1211.