Susan Hogarth wrote:

Is anyone growing Yaupon Holly in Raleigh? If so, could I possibly have a
few trimmings or sprigs? I've heard that the leaves contain caffeine and I
would like to experiment with brewing them.

I just tried Yaupon tea for the first time at lunch today - it's delicious!
It's smooth and flavorful, doesn't need any sugar. I was expecting it to
be similar to yerba mate, which is made from the leaves of another holly,
Ilex paraguayensis. Yerba mate is more of an acquired taste, but enjoyable
and also gives you a jolt of caffeine. To me Yaupon tea tasted more like
the South African rooibos. You can find both yerba mate and rooibos
locally in specialty food stores such as A Southern Season, but Yaupon
you'll have to collect yourself.

A few months ago I noticed the numerous Yaupons at work were putting on a
new flush of growth, so I collected some tender young leaves, dried them at
low temperature in an oven, then crumbled them into a jar. I'd almost
forgotten about it until I read your message.

Some might be put off by the scientific name Ilex vomitoria, which refers
to the Native American ceremonial use as an emetic and purgative. However,
I remember reading somewhere that they had to consume large quantities of
Yaupon tea before they achived the desired effect. Regular tea would
probably also have this effect if you drank too much of it. Yaupon makes
an excellent tea - don't be afraid to try it.

Yaupon makes an excellent ornamental, too, and grows very well locally.
There's even a weeping cultivar available, though I prefer its natural
form. I have some photos of it here, part of my website on "Trees, Shrubs,
and Woody Vines of Central North Carolina":

http://www.duke.edu/~cwcook/trees/ilvo.html

*And* - which are considered the best hollies to plant along a fenceline? We
want them to provide a dense, prickly border something between a hedge and
a windbreak - a 'wall-o-holly', if that image helps at all

While I much prefer the native hollies, I must admit that if you want an
impenetrable fenceline, it's hard to beat the Chinese Holly, Ilex cornuta
http://www.duke.edu/~cwcook/trees/ilco.html
It is somewhat invasive, spreading into the woods through bird droppings. A
less aggressive native or hybrid holly would be better, but I'm not sure
what to recommend.

--
Charles W. "Will" Cook w 919-660-7423
http://www.duke.edu/~cwcook
Box 90340, Biology Dept., Duke Univ., Durham, NC 27708