Ilex vomitoria, or yaupon holly, is a species of holly that is native to southeastern North America. The name “Yaupon” comes from a word in Catawban (a Native American language). The Catawban name is “yopún”, which comes from the word “yop”. The word “yop” means tree. So basically “Yaupon Holly” means “Tree Holly” which is redundant, but cool! My mom loves decorating our house with holly around Christmas time. On Christmas Eve, my dad would make chocolate cake and take a branch of holly from our tree outside and put it on the cake. Seeing this Yaupon Holly reminded me of Christmas and my dad’s cakes.
