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HOLLY
Ilex spp.
Ilex spp. of the family Aquifoliaceae
There are many Ilex species in North America but I don't know how many of them product lumber that is sold as holly. Generally, you will see it listed as Ilex opaca but I don't know how reliable that is.
The tree is slow-growing and small, so the wood is rare, particuarly in any substantial size, and it is likely to have knots which further reduces the sizes available for some applications. The tree has to be cut in winter and put into a kiln almost immediately or the wood will develop serious blue-stain which really ruins the white color that is this wood's claim to fame.
Fine-grained and nearly devoid of figure, this moderately expensive wood is used mostly for small objects. It is a terrific contrast-color wood that turns well, glues well, and works well in general.
my samples:
sample piece and end grain --- color is NOT correct; this wood is WHITE, not yellow.
end grain closeup of the piece directly above
both sides of an American holly sample plank --- the actual wood has a slight yellow tint that does not show up here
end grain and end grain closeup of the sample plank directly above
plank and end grain --- the actual wood is not as dingy as it appears here; it is more white, although certainly not milk-white
end grain closeup of the piece directly above
both sides of an English holly sample plank --- actual wood is slightly more pink that what shows up here; the end grain closeup below is very accurate in color
end grain and end grain closeup of the sample plank directly above
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both sides of a sample plank --- the poor quality of this sample plank is fairly common in the sample planks available from the IWCS. The color correction is a little off --- the plank is slightly less red than what shows here; it's more white than orange.
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end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
web pics
pen blanks. If I had never seen this wood I would NEVER believe the color but I have seen the wood and I do believe the color.
curly holly thinwood pair; pic provided by Todd Levy (thanks, Todd)
planks
turning stock
pen blanks
misc with unlikely pink color
turning stock specifically listed as "white" holly, but I think that's redundant
veneer
bowls by Bryan Nelson (NelsonWood). Bryan fine-polishes his bowls with 1200 or even higher grit sandpaper while they are spinning at high speed on the lathe and then finishes them there with a friction polish of his own devising, thus achieving a shine and color vibrancy that is beautiful to behold. These are all about 6" across.
bowl