Question From: KENTUCKY
Q: Your entry for Inkberry Holly (Ilex glabra) has some very serious errors. Both sexes are fully evergreen. Instead of 4 petals, there are 5 to 9. Female flowers are not always solitary. This species is not at all suitable for windy, dry sites. Appalachian Tea is not a valid common name; this species does not occur anywhere near the Appalachians. Furthermore, there is no native holly to which that common name applies. PLEASE correct your misinformation.
A: Mr. Clark, The information written by Jeff Ball 30 years ago was accurate at that time. The plant has been hybridized many times over and those on the market are much improved.
Nowhere does Yardener state it grows in Appalachia. The common name Appalachin Tea, still used in print. today, comes from the native American Indian who used it as medicinal hundreds of years ago. I reference Michael Dirr's Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrub (2011) who also references Applichian tea as a common name
The Missouri Botanical Gardens website explains the use of Appalachian Tea as a common name.
Check out their website at www.missouribotanicalgarden.org
Google Mike Dirr Ilex gabra Appliachian
Tea and find all sorts of history and updated information from wide variety of sites.
Nancy at Yardener.
