American Holly – Ilex opaca | Evergreen Healing Tree & Wildlife Sanctuary

The Evergreen Guardian of the Louisiana Landscape

American Holly (Ilex opaca) is a stately evergreen tree that anchors the Louisiana landscape through every season. Its glossy, spiny leaves stay green all winter while its brilliant red berries feed cedar waxwings, mockingbirds, and bluebirds through the cold months. Traiteurs used the bark in small doses as a fever remedy and bitter tonic, following careful traditions of plant medicine. It grows slowly into a magnificent specimen tree that provides year-round structure, wildlife habitat, and quiet medicine.

• Light: Full sun to part shade
• Evergreen: Yes
• Maintenance: Low

A tree that gives all year — to the birds, to the garden, and to the healing tradition.