BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Ilex vomitoria | Yaupon 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
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 : 
   Phanerophyte (microphanerophyte)
   Phanerophyte (nanophanerophyte)


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].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
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].


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.


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Yaupon flowers from April through May, and its fruit ripens in September
and October [1].

Related categories for Species: Ilex vomitoria | Yaupon