Some wild animals and birds eat the Yaupon Holly, but the berries cause vomiting in humans. The latin name is Ilex vomitoria. Anything that has “vomit” in the name should be avoided. From the information that has been found on this plant, the berries are not poisonous – its an overload of caffine that causes the vomiting. The dried leaves can be boiled into a tea, but drink in moderation.
The Yaupon Holly an evergreen shrub or small tree reaching 15 – 30 feet tall, with smooth, light gray bark and slender, hairy shoots. The leaves are alternate, ovate to elliptical with a rounded apex and crenate or coarsely serrated margin, about 2 inches long and about 1 inch across, glossy dark green above, slightly paler below. The flowers are 1/4 inch in diameter, with a white four-lobed corolla.
The picture below is of a Yaupon Holly bush in East Texas. Notice the bright red berries. It is the red berries that draws people to the shrub, and then they eat the berries.
During the late fall and into the winter, the Yaupon Holly will sprout a bright red berry. The fruit is a small round or red (occasionally yellow) drupe about 1/4 inch in diameter containing four seeds, which are dispersed by birds eating the fruit. The species may be distinguished from the similar Ilex cassine by its smaller leaves with a rounded, not acute apex.
The leaves can be dried and used to make a tea that was drank by the Aiys and Sequoyah North American Indian tribes, used to make the Black Drink. When the leaves are used to make a tea, thetea has a high caffine content. When drank in excess, vomiting may occur.
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