Ilex vomitoria, yaupon
Coladonato, Milo 1992. Ilex vomitoria, yaupon. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/ilevom
| Abbreviation | Common Name | Scientific Name | Classification | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plants | ||||
| ILEVOM | yaupon | Ilex vomitoria | Life Form: Plants/Shrub, Plants/Tree Kingdom: Plantae Class: Dicot Order: Celastrales Family: Aquifoliaceae Genus: Ilex | Fed. Protected: No Nativity: Native Invasiveness: Noninvasive |
Taxonomy
The currently accepted scientific name for yaupon is Ilex vomitoria Ait. [9]. There are no recognized subspecies, varieties, or forms.
Synonyms
- None
Other Common Names
cassena, cassine, evergreen cassena, emetic holly, evergreen holly, Indian Blackdrink, Christmas berry
General Distribution
Yaupon grows along the Gulf and Atlantic coastal plains of the southeastern United States. Its range extends from the northern coast of Virginia south to central Florida and west to Oklahoma and eastern Texas [2,6,38].
States and Provinces
- United States: AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC OK SC TN TX VA
Site Characteristics
Yaupon in the understory of a longleaf pine community, Kisatchie National Forest, Louisiana.
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 [6,9,29,32].
Common overstory associates include flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), sweetbay (Persea borbonia), blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica), sassafras (Sassafras albidum), loblolly-bay (Gordonia lasianthus), hickory (Carya spp.), and oak (Quercus spp.). Understory associates include American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana), southern bayberry (Myrica cerifera), swamp fetterbush (Leucothoe racemosa), greenbrier (Smilax spp.), and poor-man's soap (Clethra alnifolia) [3,4,21,24].
Plant Communities
No entry.
Botanical Description
Yaupon fruits.
Yaupon is an erect, slow-growing, native 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 [9]. 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 [6,36,38].
Raunkiaer Life Form (Raunkiaer 1934)
- Phanerophyte
Seasonal Development
Yaupon flowers from April through May, and its fruit ripens in September and October [1].
Regeneration Processes
Yaupon reproduces sexually, and vegetatively by root sprouting [9,38]. Details on the regenerative processes of this species are lacking. Birds are the primary mode of seed dispersal [31].
Successional Status
Yaupon occurs in early- to mid-seral communities. It grows best in sunny sites but also grows well in light shade [26]. Young [41] describes yaupon as an early invader in south-central Texas rangelands.
Immediate Fire Effects
Mild fires probably top-kill yaupon [5,11,15]. Yaupon may be killed by fires severe enough to consume the soil's organic layer.
Postfire Regeneration Strategy (Stickney 1989)
- survivor species; on-site surviving root crown or caudex
- off-site colonizer; seed carried by animals or water; postfire year 1&2
Fire Adaptations
Yaupon is only moderately well adapted to fire [28,30]. Presumably, it survives fire by sprouting from the root crown.
Dense thickets of yaupon are a primary fuel source, promoting fire spread in many parts of the Southeast [23,37].
Plant Response to Fire
Sprouting and increased fruit production in yaupon following fire have been reported, but details have not been described [13,28].
Fire Regimes
For fire regime information, search FEIS for this species by entering the species name or acronym on the home page and selecting “Fire Regime” as the publication type.
Fire Management Considerations
A fire management program that precludes a buildup of understory yaupon is recommended [11,40]. In Kisatchie Hill Wilderness of Louisiana, crown scorch of pine resulting from 25- to 30-foot (7.5-12 m) flame heights was associated with the combustion of understory yaupon. The size and density of yaupon was a result of 30 years of fire exclusion in the area [23].
Federal Status
None
Other Status
No entry.
Importance to Wildlife and Livestock
Yaupon fruit and seed are eaten by a variety of animals such as wild turkey, raccoon, squirrel, and wild hog [10,14,33].
Yaupon leaves are a high choice browse of white-tailed deer [10].
Palatability and Nutritional Value
The leaves of yaupon are considered highly palatable to white-tailed deer [10].
Percent dry weight nutrient values for yaupon in different seasons are as follows [18]:
| Nutrient | Spring | Summer | Fall | Winter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Protein | 9.36 | 8.71 | 8.85 | 6.94 |
| Fat | 3.09 | 3.12 | 3.67 | 4.84 |
| Fiber | 17.33 | 26.69 | 21.85 | 21.62 |
| N-free extract | 46.34 | 42.40 | 46.34 | 48.53 |
| Ash | 8.88 | 4.07 | 4.28 | 3.07 |
| Phosphorus | 0.11 | 0.07 | 0.06 | 0.07 |
| Calcium | 0.27 | 0.23 | 0.62 | 0.41 |
Cover Value
No entry.
Value for Rehabilitation or Restoration of Disturbed Sites
Because of yaupon's ability to survive the combined effects of salt spray, constant wind, full sunlight, and high temperatures, it has been planted on the beaches and dunes of the Southeastern Coastal Plain [4,14]. In Texas, yaupon was planted to restore borrow pits for wildlife use [22].
Other Uses
Yaupon leaves were used by Native Americans for their emetic and purgative qualities [38].
Yaupon is often cultivated as an ornamental because of its bright red berries and evergreen leaves [38]. It is used extensively for hedges and is also planted on seaside resorts [14,39].
The wood of yaupon is heavy, hard, strong, and close grained. It is sometimes used for turnery, inlay work, and woodenware [38].
Other Management Considerations
Yaupon is undesirable in understories of southern pine plantations. It competes with pine seedlings and contributes to an accumulation of understory fuels, which increases the potential for wildfires [12,23,34].
Aerial applications of tebuthiuron were found to control yaupon and other hardwoods effectively in eastern Texas [19,25].
Table A1— Forest and range ecosystems, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) physiographic regions, Kuchler plant associations, Society for American Foresters (SAF) forest cover types, and Society for Rangeland Management (SRM) rangeland cover types in which this species occurs.
Forest and Range Ecosystems (Garrison et al. 1977)
- FRES12 Longleaf - slash pine
- FRES13 Loblolly - shortleaf pine
- FRES14 Oak - pine
- FRES15 Oak - hickory
- FRES16 Oak - gum - cypress
BLM Physiographic Regions (Bernard and Brown 1977)
- No entry.
Kuchler Plant Associations (Kuchler 1964)
- K090 Live oak - sea oats
- K091 Cypress savanna
- K100 Oak - hickory forest
- K111 Oak - hickory - pine forest
- K112 Southern mixed forest
- K113 Southern floodplain forest
- K114 Pocosin
SAF Cover Types (Eyre 1980)
- 68 Mesquite
- 70 Longleaf pine
- 73 Southern redcedar
- 80 Loblolly pine - shortleaf pine
- 81 Loblolly pine
- 82 Loblolly pine - hardwood
- 83 Longleaf pine - slash pine
- 84 Slash pine
- 89 Live oak
- 100 Pondcypress
- 101 Baldcypress
- 102 Baldcypress - tupelo
- 103 Water tupelo - swamp tupelo
- 104 Sweetbay - swamp tupelo - redbay
SRM Rangeland Cover Types (Shiflet 1994)
- No entry.
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