‘Tis the Season to Celebrate the American Holly
Whether or not you celebrate Christmas, one of the great pleasures of the season is that so many natural symbols are incorporated into people's decorations. But while mistletoe, evergreen trees and wreaths, reindeer, poinsettias, and snowflakes are lavishly placed indoors and out, few things say Christmas more than the holly tree. After all, so many people deck their halls with it.
In fact, the tree historically became so closely associated with Christmas that its red-and-green color scheme was embraced as the official colors of the season. With the holiday season fully upon us, this is the perfect time to dive into the natural and folk history of the tree.
The American holly is native to Wild Philly, especially in South Jersey where the tree is commonly interspersed among the pines of the Pinelands. Hollies are so typical of South Jersey that we named a prominent town-- Mount Holly-- after the tree, and holly farms once dotted the South Jersey landscape. While the species grows in Pennsylvania too, it’s just not as common there. Predominantly a southern tree, Wild Philly essentially marks the northern extent of the American holly.
The European holly, its close cousin and fellow member of the Ilex genus, is the tree that was originally adopted especially by the English to serve as the quintessential Christmas decoration, and colonial settlers of course brought that tree over to the New World. Today, it is not uncommon to see both species hereabouts, sometimes growing side by side
Though both sport bright green evergreen leaves tipped by thorns, it is easy to tell the two apart: English holly leaves have a glossy surface with wavy edges; American holly’s leaves are a little more demure, with a duller green finish and straighter edges.
Hollies are dioecious, which simply means each tree produces flowers of one sex. So— surprise!— there are male and female trees, and only females produce the bright red berries. If you see a large mature holly with no berries, you’ve got a male tree. Female trees can only produce fruits if the flowers are pollinated, and bees and other insects happily visit their nectar-rich flowers to perform this essential chore.
As the berries ripen in the fall and winter, the tree becomes an important winter food for birds, the characteristic bright red color shouting to birds that they are ready to eat.
The holly has held an important place in winter solstice celebrations for millennia, as the tree thumbs its nose at the new cold, dark season. While nearby trees are losing their leaves and going dormant-- seemingly dying-- hollies were seen as doubly powerful. They not only stayed bright green all winter, but they added bright red berries too. Druids believed sacred woodland spirits took cover within its branches, and some etymologists see its name as deriving from this legend, as “holly” and “holy” are so closely related, as Neil Diamond musically reminded us. The Romans incorporated holly into their solstice rituals too, offering sprigs as gifts.
When Catholicism swept through Europe, the religion adopted and adapted numerous pre-Christian practices and traditions, and holly was given a distinctly Christian reinterpretation. Its thorny leaves reminded Christians of the crown of thorns, so ”Christ thorn” became a nickname widely used in England; the red berries then symbolized the drops of blood the crown of thorns produced.
And holly holds a special place in Harry Potter’s world, as the young wizard’s wand famously contains its twig.
Whether you deck the halls or not, be on the lookout for American holly on your walks in Wild Philly, especially if you hike through the Pines.
Happy holidays.