Index of Species Information
SPECIES: Ilex vomitoria
Introductory
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Coladonato, Milo 1992. Ilex vomitoria. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online].
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station,
Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/shrub/ilevom/all.html [].
ABBREVIATION :
ILEVOM
SYNONYMS :
NO-ENTRY
SCS PLANT CODE :
ILVO
COMMON NAMES :
yaupon
cassena
cassine
evergreen cassena
emetic holly
evergreen holly
Indian Blackdrink
Christmas berry
TAXONOMY :
The currently accepted scientific name for yaupon is Ilex vomitoria Ait.
[9]. There are no recognized subspecies, varieties, or forms.
LIFE FORM :
Tree, Shrub
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Ilex vomitoria
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Yaupon grows along the Gulf and Atlantic coastal plains of the
southeastern United States. Its range extends from the northern coast
of Virginia south to central Florida and west to Oklahoma and eastern
Texas [2,6,38]
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES12 Longleaf - slash pine
FRES13 Loblolly - shortleaf pine
FRES14 Oak - pine
FRES15 Oak - hickory
FRES16 Oak - gum - cypress
STATES :
AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC OK SC
TN TX VA
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
NO-ENTRY
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K090 Live oak - sea oats
K091 Cypress savanna
K100 Oak - hickory forest
K111 Oak - hickory - pine forest
K112 Southern mixed forest
K113 Southern floodplain forest
K114 Pocosin
SAF COVER TYPES :
68 Mesquite
70 Longleaf pine
73 Southern redcedar
80 Loblolly pine - shortleaf pine
81 Loblolly pine
82 Loblolly pine - hardwood
83 Longleaf pine - slash pine
84 Slash pine
89 Live oak
100 Pondcypress
101 Baldcypress
102 Baldcypress - tupelo
103 Water tupelo - swamp tupelo
104 Sweetbay - swamp tupelo - redbay
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
NO-ENTRY
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
SPECIES: Ilex vomitoria
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE :
The wood of yaupon is heavy, hard, strong, and close grained. It is
sometimes used for turnery, inlay work, and woodenware [38].
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
Yaupon fruit and seed are eaten by a variety of animals such as wild
turkey, racoon, squirrel, and wild hog [10,14,33].
Yaupon leaves are a high choice browse of white-tailed deer [10].
PALATABILITY :
The leaves of yaupon are considered highly palatable to white-tailed deer
[10].
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
Percent dry weight nutrient values for yaupon are as follows [18].
spring summer fall winter
protein 9.36 8.71 8.85 6.94
fat 3.09 3.12 3.67 4.84
fiber 17.33 26.69 21.85 21.62
N-free extract 46.34 42.40 46.34 48.53
ash 8.88 4.07 4.28 3.07
phosphorus 0.11 0.07 0.06 0.07
calcium 0.27 0.23 0.62 0.41
COVER VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
Because of yaupon's ability to survive the combined effects of salt
spray, constant wind, full sunlight, and high temperatures, it has been
planted on the beaches and dunes of the Southeastern Coastal Plain
[4,14]. In Texas, yaupon was planted to restore borrow pits for
wildlife use [22].
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
Yaupon leaves were used by Native Americans for their emetic and
purgative qualities [38].
Yaupon is often cultivated as an ornamental because of its bright red
berries and evergreen leaves [38]. It is used extensively for hedges
and is also planted on seaside resorts [14,39].
OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Yaupon is undesirable in understories of southern pine plantations. It
competes with pine seedlings and contributes to an accumulation of
understory fuels, which increases the potential for wildfires
[12,23,34].
Aerial applications of tebuthiuron were found to control yaupon and
other hardwoods effectively in eastern Texas [19,25].
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Ilex vomitoria
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Yaupon is an erect, slow-growing, native evergreen shrub or small tree.
It forms dense thickets about 25 feet (8 m) tall. Many stems ascend
from the base, forming a low, dense, rounded crown [9]. The thick
evergreen leaves are simple, alternate, leathery, and vary in size and
shape on the different plants. The inconspicuous flowers are dioecious
and are borne in short-stalked axils at the base of the leaves. The
bark is thin, gray, and smooth. The small, shiny red fruit is a drupe
[6,36,38].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Phanerophyte (microphanerophyte)
Phanerophyte (nanophanerophyte)
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Yaupon reproduces sexually, and vegetatively by root sprouting [9,38].
Details on the regenerative processes of this species are lacking.
Birds are the primary mode of seed dispersal [31].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Yaupon grows best in climates with mild winters and long, hot, humid
summers. It is found on coastal dunes, maritime forests, upland
woodlands of various mixtures, and pine flatwoods. For the most part,
yaupon inhabits well-drained sites but also occurs on streambanks, in
wet woodlands, and floodplains. Yaupon commonly forms shrub thickets on
coastal dunes where it is a component of the slanting,
salt-spray-pruned, dense masses of shrubs characteristic of seaside
communities [6,9,29,32].
Common overstory associates include flowering dogwood (Cornus florida),
sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), sweetbay (Persea borbonia), blackgum
(Nyssa sylvatica), sassafras (Sassafras albidum), loblolly-bay (Gordonia
lasianthus), hickory (Carya spp.), and oak (Quercus spp.). Understory
associates include American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana), southern
bayberry (Myrica cerifera), swamp fetterbush (Leucothoe racemosa),
greenbrier (Smilax spp.), and poor-man's soap (Clethra alnifolia)
[3,4,21,24].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
Yaupon occurs in early- to mid-seral communities. It grows best in sunny
sites but also grows well in light shade [26]. Young [41] describes
yaupon as an early invader in south-central Texas rangelands.
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
Yaupon flowers from April through May, and its fruit ripens in September
and October [1].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Ilex vomitoria
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Yaupon is only moderately well adapted to fire [28,30]. Presumably, it
survives fire by sprouting from the root crown.
Dense thickets of yaupon are a primary fuel source, promoting fire spread
in many parts of the Southeast [23,37].
FIRE REGIMES :
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find Fire Regimes".
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
survivor species; on-site survivng root crown or caudex
off-site colonizer; seed carried by animals or water; postfire year 1&2
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Ilex vomitoria
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Mild fires probably top-kill yaupon [5,11,15]. Yaupon may be killed by
fires severe enough to consume the soil's organic layer.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
Sprouting and increased fruit production in yaupon following fire have
been reported, but details have not been described [13,28].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
A fire management program that precludes a build up of understory yaupon
is recommended [11,40]. In Kisatchie Hill Wilderness of Louisana, crown
scorch of pine resulting from 25- to 30-foot (7.5-12 m) flame heights
was associated with the combustion of understory yaupon. The size and
density of yaupon was a result of 30 years of fire exclusion in the area
[23].
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Ilex vomitoria
REFERENCES :
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