| General Description | Ilex cassine is a small, single trunked, and rare evergreen tree. It is a low-maintenance, slow-growing tree that flowers in the spring and produces fruit in the fall and winter. |
| ID Characteristic | Ilex cassine has dark green foliage that lacks the teeth that traditional holly foliage has. It has yellow-white flowers that are in bloom during the spring season. It also produces red berries that are present in the fall and winter season. |
| Shape | This plant has an open and oval to pyramidal canopy. It is a shrubby and dense evergreen tree which can be either small or tall. |
| Landscape | Best suited as a specimen tree, street tree, or a hedge screening in the landscape, but can also be planted in containers and above-ground planters. It can also be used for pollinator gardens and winter gardens, as it is an attractive plant year round. |
| Propagation | Ilex cassine can be propagated by seed or by cuttings. Seeds take one year to germinate and are best if planted immediately after they have been collected. To propagate by cuttings, cut 7 - 12 cm off of the top of new growth, and remove all leaves except the top three or four. Plant the cuttings into pots with a moist potting medium and
keep in a warm location of 60 - 70 °F where the plant will have partial shade in a bright location. After 4 - 6 weeks, set the pots in a warm, full sun location. After a few months they can be transplanted into bigger pots and kept inside, or outside if the temperatures
are warm enough. |
| Cultivation | For best growing conditions the Ilex cassine prefers the soil to be moist and well drained with mostly sand particles. It prefers the soil to be more acidic with the pH in the ranges of 5.5 to 7, and thrives in partial shade to full sun conditions. |
| Pests | There are no major pests or disease problems that affect this plant. A twig gall sometimes forms in response to a fungus infection. Mites can infest foliage on trees planted on dry sites. |
| Notable Specimens | There is a specific specimen of Ilex cassine in the United States at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge in Saint Marks, Florida. |
| Habitat | The Ilex cassine can be found in the moist woods of the Coastal Plains. It likes to grow in uncultivated swamps, rich moist soils, and on high sandy banks along pine barren streams. |
| Bark/Stem Description | The bark can be light/dark grey, white, or brown. It is very thin and can be easily damaged. The bark has a smooth surface. Both the bark and the stems are brown or grey when young and as the tree matures can become warty. |
| Flower/Leaf Bud Description | The buds that attach the leaves and berries to the stem are very short. They are a red-green colour and straight. |
| Leaf Description | The leaves are green, glossy, and leathery. The leaves are cuneate to oblanceolate, simple, and alternate. The margin is entire and serrate. The average length of each leaf is 5-7 cm long. |
| Flower Description | The flowers are yellow-white in colour with a four-lobed corolla, and bloom during the spring. They are a small flower with 4-5 petals each. This plant is dioecious, meaning the flowers can be of the male or female sex; however, each individual plant can only produce either female or male flowers. They are pollinated by bees as it is not a
self-fertile plant. |
| Fruit Description | Ilex cassine has red-orange and round berries produced only by the female plants. They are very small in size, being less than 1 cm in both length and width. They occur in clusters and are present in the autumn and winter seasons. |
| Colour Description | The foliage on this plant is green throughout every season. The bark is a mix of dark grey, light grey, and white colours. The fruit is a red or burgundy colour, and the flowers are yellow-white when in bloom. |
| Texture Description | It is a medium-textured plant in every season. |