Saratoga Gold Yaupon Holly. This selection of the ubiquitous Yaupon Holly has unusual golden yellow berries. It is a larger grower which can reach 12-14'. One rarely has to worry about a male pollinator for this female selection since Ilex vomitoria 'Schillings', a heavy flowering male cultivar, is so common in southern landscapes. The leaves of Yaupon Hollies have one of the highest caffeine contents of any known plant, and after the Boston tea party when the British cut off the colonists source of tea during and after the Revolution, many Americans got their caffeine "fixes" from tea made from the leaves of this plant. The Indians referred to it as the "black drink" and it was used by them as a ceremonial drink, where if one imbibed a large enough quantity of it, they would "regurgitate," hence the Latin specific epithet "vomitoria." It grows well in full sun to part shade and is not particular as to soil as long as it is not standing in water.
Zones 7-9
