I noticed a nice wild Possumhaw Holly (Ilex decidua) on our property earlier this year. You can see it from our road as you’re leaving, but it hadn’t jumped out before. Perhaps it’s because it has such a great load of berries this year. It’s quite beautiful. The small tree is about 15 feet high.

Possumhaw Holly

The berries are striking against the bare, light bark.

Close up of the berries.

Possumhaws are similar to yaupon hollies (Ilex vomitoria). They are both true hollies – their species name is Ilex. They both bear fruit in the fall and winter. The main difference, or at least what helps me tell them apart, is that the possumhaws lose their leaves in the winter – their genus name is decidua. Sometimes the possumhaw berries are more orange than red, but you can see that is not the case with this one.

Almost two years ago, I posted about both hollies – A Tale of Two Hollies.