Holly

Ilex aquifolium

COMMON NAMES

• Common Holly
• English Holly
• European Holly
• Holly
• Mountain Holly

Holly - an evergreen tree growing up to 70 feet tall, but averaging 6-15 feet in height when cultivated. Holly has glossy, leathery, spiny-edged, alternate leaves and small white flowers (June-July). Only female trees produce the berries.

To "deck the halls with boughs of holly," as the old carol enjoins, is to observe a custom that early Christians most likely adopted from the Roman Saturnalia. The observances of this pagan festival, which began each year on December 17, influenced those of the Christian Yuletide. According to Roman folk belief, the holly's white flowers would turn water into ice. Hollies planted near houses would ward off lightning and witchcraft -a precaution still followed in parts of rural England. According to medieval legend, the holly first sprang up in Jesus' footsteps, with spiny leaves to symbolize the crown of thorns and red berries to recall the blood shed on the cross.

In times past, physicians and herbalists found many uses for holly. An infusion, or tea, of the leaves was believed to promote sweating and hence was given for malaria and other intermittent, or recurring, fevers. The juice of the berries, although highly toxic, was a common remedy for jaundice. Indians of the southern United States brewed a strong tea from the leaves of a native American holly. This tea, known as the "black drink," may have played a role in ritual purifications. Yaupon leaves contain caffeine, and pioneers sometimes used them as a substitute for imported tea.

PARTS USED

Leaves, berries.

USES

Holly is rarely used today. Its leaves are diuretic, fever-reducing, and laxative, and they have been employed to treat fevers, jaundice, and rheumatism. Holly berries purge the bowels and cause vomiting if taken in large doses.

An early Anglo-Saxon herbal, the Lacnunga, recommended holly bark boiled with goat's milk to treat a constricted chest. As importantly, the holly tree was considered to protect against witchcraft and spells. In the 19th century, some physicians felt that the bark equaled or surpassed cinchona  as a fever remedy.

HABITAT AND CULTIVATION

Holly grows throughout much of Europe, western and central Asia, and North Africa. Holly is found in woods and hedges, and thrives in gravelly soil or loam. Holly is also grown as a garden plant. The leaves are gathered in spring, the berries in winter.

CONSTITUENTS

Holly contains ilicin (a bitter principle), ilexanthin, theobromine (only in the leaf), and caffeic acid. Theobromine is a caffeine type alkaloid, used to treat asthma.

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