American holly, Ilex opaca

What a beautiful tree! American holly is a mid-size tree with gray bark and tough thorny evergreen leaves. They can get to about 90 feet tall. In fall the female trees are covered with red berries. The berries are poisonous to us, but birds love them. They are a favorite of the cedar waxwing, one of my favorite birds. Low growing cultivars of American holly are now frequent landscape shrubs. American holly grows in AL, AR, CT, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MO, MS, NC, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, and WV. Beal Gardens, MSU, 6/11/15. Holly family, Aquifoliaceae.