Ilex vomitoria Aiton, Aquifoliaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Evaluate, score: 3.5 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: winterberry, yaupon

Habit:  shrub/tree

Description:  "An erect, slow-growing, 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.  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"  (Fire Effects Information System).

Habitat/ecology:  In the United States (native), "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" (Fire Effects Information System).

Propagation:  Seed and root sprouting.  Birds are the primary mode of seed dispersal (Fire Effects Information System).

Native range:  Central and southeastern United States, Mexico (Chiapas); also cultivated (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island		Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (1994) (voucher ID: BISH 637348) Taxon name on voucher: Ilex vomitoria Aiton

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Chiapas

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	United States (other states)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)

Control:  If you know of control methods for Ilex vomitoria, please let us know.