From the Germans, we have small forest evergreens for Christmas. From the Druids of ancient Britain, we use holly.

Originally, the Druids, or tree worshipers, considered the thorns (or prickles) on their evergreen trees to be protection from evil spirits and hung branches of holly in their windows at what we now call Christmastime. When the people turned to Christ, they began weaving different legends about this broad-leaf evergreen.

Holly crossed the Atlantic and in warmer parts of our continent was used for Christmas. The British Ilex aquifolia was not as happy here, so the stronger, slightly coarser Ilex opaca was often substituted. To this day, florists and others import cut branches of holly from our country’s Northwest holly orchards. Find variations on the green leaves and red berries to use for indoor decorations.

Holly societies are found where these shrubs and trees thrive, for the Ilex clan is good sized. Found in our woods and in light shade are natives, some losing their leaves, others, evergreen.

For berries, our native Ilex verticillata may be found in gardens, especially if the soil is slightly damp. That doesn’t mean one may dig up a small specimen in the wild and plant it in the yard, expecting displays of scarlet berries.

Like bittersweet and other plants, hollies are dioecious: each plant is either male or female and one needs the other for fruit. Both will bear white flowers earlier in the season, and you must know which shrub is the gent and which is the lady.

Named plants in a nursery will usually indicate the sex: “China Girl,” for instance, or “Blue Stallion.”

Oddly, ancient Britons associated the berried branches with good luck for men.

Here’s a tip: glossy holly twigs for the house will need to be in water if they are to last more than a few days. However, today I learned that in the wilds of Great Britain, ponies are sometimes fed wilted holly leaves as part of a winter diet. They’re not for you, however.