Historic Holly Hails Herein

Here in Oregon, we have all seen holly trees growing in yards and on roads, as well as holly tree farms planted for commercial use. A bit of an oddity, all holly plants are in the family Aquifoliaceae and genus Ilex - which is the only genus in the family. There are 400 - 600 species of holly around the world, both evergreen and deciduous. For the most part, what we find here in Oregon is English Holly or European Holly (Ilex aquifolium). It's a native of Europe, Africa, and Asia. There are no native holly plants in Oregon (gasp!).

Male English holly with berries.

Female "Golden King" holly - note lack of thorns!

What is the association of holly with Winter/Christmas, I wondered during a recent walk where I encountered an old and very colorful holly tree growing along the road? Is it just crass commercialism, or that "holly" sounds a bit like "holy"? I understand the appeal and symbolism of something like mistletoe, but holly - not so sure. Commercially grown holly is big business, especially this time of year; and there are dozens of holly cultivars for sale at nurseries. 

After a bit of Internet research, while sipping my heavily spiced hot cider, I learned there are many stories and legends surrounding this one. No surprise there! As with many very old legends, holly has a pre-Christian and post-Christian storyline, which I will attempt to outline here, very briefly.

The Druids seemed to have been the first to use holly as a kind of protective headgear when going into the forest for hunting. Later, the Romans used holly as an offering of sorts to their Saturn god. In addition, Roman citizens gifted holly sprigs to each other, possibly for good luck or to indicate prolonged friendship.

In Christian times, holly was originally placed above home doors to indicate it was a Christian home and to possibly ward off evil spirits as well. Over time this became a general symbol of Christmas festivities, joining mistletoe and Christmas trees. In addition, the red berries have been symbolic of the blood of Druid gods and later of Christ.

Many of these holly legends and practices are based on English holly's evergreen status (triumph over winter), thorns (protection, weapon), and red berries (blood, sacrifice, warning). In fact, the berries are fairly toxic with alkaloids, and should not be consumed by humans. The leaves on the other hand contain caffeine and are used to make Yerba Mate, a coffee alternative.

English holly trees are either male or female, producing slightly different flowers, but otherwise nearly identical, although female leaves have fewer thorns. In its native habitat, holly enriches the soil and provides good cover for birds and mammals alike. It's an indicator species in those areas as well. Here in our area, it can be considered an invasive plant, disrupting some of our natives. See link below.

On closer examination, male holly tree on left and female
 on right. Looks like they've been a couple a long time!

Female English holly leaves.

Old male in town.

I also found scores of songs and poems with seasonal holly in the theme. One notable one was actually written (or "penned") as they say, by King Henry VIII (yes, THE King of England in 1509-1547). It seems to be a love poem of sorts, which is amusing given the King's marital history (he was married six times):

Green groweth the holly,

So doth the ivy.

Though winter blasts blow never so high,

Green groweth the holly.

As the holly groweth green

And never changeth hue,

So I am, ever hath been,

Unto my lady true.

As the holly groweth green

With ivy all alone

When flowers cannot be seen

And greenwood leaves be gone,

Now unto my lady

Promise to her I make,

From all other only

To her I me betake.

Adieu, mine own lady,

Adieu, my special

Who hath my heart truly

Be sure, and ever shall. 

And most of us have heard some version of the Christmas Carol, "The Holly and the Ivy." This British carol's exact origin is unclear, although it likely started with the Druids. The earliest printed lyrics are dated in the early 1700's; the more recent ones are likely mid 1800's. These two plants were associated with fertility, holly being male and ivy being female. They probably did not realize at the time that holly has both male and female plants. In addition, since "Holly" became a popular girl's name, the original idea must have morphed somewhere along the way!

Locally, you can visit a well known holly farm right here on the west side of Portland. The Teufel Holly Farm is mainly wholesale, but they have a seasonal retail shop open until Christmas. They have been in operation since 1890 and have helped develop several new holly cultivars. See link below.

And so in closing, I'll just say "happy holly days, warm up your tea, and get that fireplace going!"

Links:

English Holly Wiki Page

Teufel Holly Farm

Portland Plant Invader Link

King Henry VIII Wiki Page

NW Conifers Christmas Tree Post