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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 usually quite 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. There are occasional trees that are up to 2 feet in diameter and 60 feet high, so there are, rarely, planks available. Many reports say that the tree has to be cut in winter, milled, and put into a kiln almost immediately and dried carefully or the wood will warp and/or develop serious blue-stain and/or turn gray which really ruins the white color that is this wood's claim to fame. BUT ... I am assured by a very knowledgeable sawyer in Illinois that you can cut it in summer and make it come out just fine IF you mill it the same day you cut the tree down and put it somewhere dry.

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.

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my samples:


sample piece and end grain sold to me as holly / Ilex opaca --- the color is NOT correct; this wood is WHITE, not yellow.


end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


both sides of a sample plank sold to me as American holly / Ilex opaca


end grain and end grain closeup of the sample plank directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from 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 a sample plank sold to me as English holly / Osmanthus aquifolia --- 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


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


end grain and end grain closeup of a piece of spalted holly, milled and contributed to the site by Funktionhouse, with my thanks.


This veneer sheet was loaned to me by John Koehn whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.

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The Wood Book pics


flat cut, quartersawn, end grain
American holly (Ilex opaca) from The Wood Book --- both levels of enlargement are available for all 3 views


flat cut, quartersawn, end grain
mountain holly (Ilex monticola aka large-leaf holly) from The Wood Book --- both levels of enlargement are available for all 3 views


flat cut, quartersawn, end grain
cassena holly (Ilex cassine aka dahoon and Henerson wood) from The Wood Book --- both levels of enlargement are available for all 3 views


flat cut, quartersawn, end grain
swamp holly (Ilex decidua aka deciduous holly) from The Wood Book --- both levels of enlargement are available for all 3 views


flat cut, quartersawn, end grain
evergreen holly (Ilex vomitoria, listed in the Wood Book as cassena and yaupon) from The Wood Book --- both levels of enlargement are available for each of the 3 views. I note that the specific epithet is "vomitoria" and one of the common names is "emetic holly" and I conclude that SOMETHING about this tree is not friendly to the human digestive track.

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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.


lumber


log end showing greyish sapwood and a lot of dark gray heartwood


planks and slabs


curly holly thinwood pair; pic provided by Todd Levy (thanks, Todd)


planks


planks listed as European holly / Ilex aquifolium


planks and turning stock listed as holly / Ilex opaca


slabs listed as holly / Ilex opaca


log listed as holly / Ilex opaca


turning stock


bowl blanks --- I'm not sure about the color on these


pen blanks


misc with unlikely pink color (these are probably pure white and badly photographed)


turning stock specifically listed as "white" holly, but I think that's redundant


spalted turning blocks / end grain. Pics contributed by Funktionhouse, with my thanks.


spalted stump


veneer


flat cut veneer listed as holly / Ilex aquifolium

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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.


bowls


spalted hollow form