{"id":6914,"date":"2022-07-13T19:21:40","date_gmt":"2022-07-13T19:21:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orleansconservationtrust.org\/?p=6914"},"modified":"2022-07-13T19:21:40","modified_gmt":"2022-07-13T19:21:40","slug":"american-holly-ilex-opaca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandieboxx.com\/grapes\/american-holly-ilex-opaca\/","title":{"rendered":"American Holly (Ilex opaca)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-6916 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/sandieboxx.com\/grapes\/wp-content\/uploads\/image-72.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"401\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sandieboxx.com\/grapes\/wp-content\/uploads\/image-72.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/sandieboxx.com\/grapes\/wp-content\/uploads\/image-72-400x300.jpeg 400w, https:\/\/sandieboxx.com\/grapes\/wp-content\/uploads\/image-72-768x576.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px\" \/> Mostly found in the moisture-rich forests of the southeastern US, this broadleaved evergreen reaches the tip of its indigenous range along the coast of Cape Cod. It grows slowly, so it is often seen as an understory shrub, especially in sandy soils like those of Cape Cod. However, in nutrient-rich soils more common to the southern parts of its range, it can grow up to 100 feet with a canopy almost 70 feet wide. Though its shade tolerance makes it prevalent in dense woods, its thick roots and salt tolerance enable it to prevent erosion and restore damaged coastlines.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright  wp-image-6917\" src=\"https:\/\/sandieboxx.com\/grapes\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2022-07-13-at-3.20.11-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"245\" height=\"288\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sandieboxx.com\/grapes\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2022-07-13-at-3.20.11-PM.png 938w, https:\/\/sandieboxx.com\/grapes\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2022-07-13-at-3.20.11-PM-341x400.png 341w, https:\/\/sandieboxx.com\/grapes\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2022-07-13-at-3.20.11-PM-873x1024.png 873w, https:\/\/sandieboxx.com\/grapes\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2022-07-13-at-3.20.11-PM-768x901.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 245px) 100vw, 245px\" \/>American holly\u2019s deep green sharply pointed leaves and bright red berries make it widely cultivated for ornamental purposes in gardening and holiday decoration. Yet, it is also an important native plant: it is a larval host for Henry\u2019s elfin butterfly and a pollinator plant for numerous insects, including bees and ants. Further, its thick canopy provides shade and protection for birds who, along with many mammal species, feed on its berries as they persist into winter. However, they are very toxic to humans, cats, and dogs.&nbsp; <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mostly found in the moisture-rich forests of the southeastern US, this broadleaved evergreen reaches the tip of its indigenous range along the coast of Cape Cod. It grows slowly, so it is often seen as an understory shrub, especially in sandy soils like those of Cape Cod. However, in nutrient-rich soils more common to the&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":6915,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-native-plants"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandieboxx.com\/grapes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandieboxx.com\/grapes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandieboxx.com\/grapes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandieboxx.com\/grapes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandieboxx.com\/grapes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6914"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sandieboxx.com\/grapes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6914\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6918,"href":"https:\/\/sandieboxx.com\/grapes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6914\/revisions\/6918"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandieboxx.com\/grapes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandieboxx.com\/grapes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandieboxx.com\/grapes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandieboxx.com\/grapes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}