By CHRISTINE LYNCH
In the distant mists of time, a pelt-wrapped group trundled through the snow-covered forest, where all trees were barren of leaves. Suddenly, the leader stopped to behold a most welcoming site. Rich, dark green spiked leaves and glistening red berries floated just ahead, vibrantly alive. How can this one tree be thriving during these dark, frigid days?
Courtesy of Ian Ives, Sanctuary Director, Long Pasture Wildlife Sanctuary
Looking much the same throughout every season, holly trees appeared magical, and were treated with awe. It is not a surprise that the holly came to have great meaning for early people. Holly’s mystique grew from its many properties: staying evergreen, having thorn-like prickles and bearing colorful berries. It was considered so powerful that early people wore it on their bodies.
The striking green leaves of the holly tree along with lustrous crimson berries made it a prominent Yule season decoration, as it now has been for millennia. As dark and cold descended upon the year, religious leaders—be they Druid, Celtic, Roman—wove legends about holly as a symbol of rebirth, good fortune, and a potent protection against evil. Yule comes from the old Germanic word Jul describing a 12-day celebration held during the darkest time of the year. Holly defied the dark, an enduring symbol of life and hope. As the snows blew in the forests, the proud holly trees remained undaunted by the elements.
Another festival, Saturnalia, was an important event originally held on December 17, when the Roman god Saturn was honored as the God of Renewal and Agriculture. Holly, a symbol of the renewal of life, was formed into wreaths and given as gifts.
Christianity followed, bending the ancient beliefs into their new creed. Still, households continued to decorate for the holiday season, draping festive boughs of pine and holly over hearths and wreaths upon the doors. For them, the holly became a symbol for Christ in that the spiked leaves denoted his crown of thorns. The red of the berries signified His life’s blood, and holly’s refusal to perish paralleled His resurrection.
Yuletide greeting cards generally picture Ilex aquifolium, which is known as Christmas Holly, English Holly and other names. This holly has those red, gleaming berries, which only form on the female of the species. Hollys are known as a dioecious plant. That is, there are both male and female varieties and in order to be fertilized (hence, those berries), both need to be within a close distance.
Entrance to the Ashumet Holly Wildlife Sanctuary.
Though the berries are poisonous to dogs, cats, rabbits and humans, in our area deer, possums, squirrels, raccoons and other small mammals devour American holly (Ilex opaca) and the berries are an important source of food for as many as 18 species of birds. Belief held that if there was a surplus of the berries that year, then Nature was providing extra food for the animals during what would prove to be a harsh winter. Still today, native peoples hold the holly in high regard. It is permitted to cut a few branches from a tree, but never the entire tree, which is considered bad luck.
Besides being sacred, ancient people found many uses for the holly varieties found nearby. Being poisonous, a human who ate them would retch, so ancient healers used the plant when it was helpful to induce vomiting. Holly was also used as an ingredient in cough syrup, to lower fevers, as an insecticide, and as a cloth dye. Some believed holly could invoke pleasant dreams, and hung a sprig over their beds.
Lore also holds that the holly offers protection and can repel evil, so witches sought it out for their wands. Dr. Rose Wolf, a creative spinner of tales who works at Wynott’s Wands of Salem, shared that the wand wielded by Harry Potter was indeed made of holly. Readers might recall that Ollivander, the wise wand shop owner, said that such a wand often is chosen by those on a dangerous or spiritual quest.
Holly folklore also pairs it with the mighty Oak King, who takes over the reign of the Holly King after Yuletide. Another allegory tells of the masculine Holly and feminine Ivy together symbolizing potent fertility. Christianity evolved this tale so that the Holly represented Jesus, wearing the thorny crown, and the feminine Ivy became Mary, his Mother. The lyrics to “The Holly and the Ivy” encapsulate the Christmas legend.
Holly Wildlife Sanctuaries on Cape
There are over 600 types of holly worldwide with differing characteristics. Not all hollies are readily identifiable from those vivid green spiny leaves.
Many have duller, rounded leaves and there is a deciduous holly (ilex decidua) that loses its leaves in the autumn. To enjoy holly trees up close, we are fortunate to have two sites in the Upper Cape area: Mass Audubon’s Ashumet Holly Wildlife Sanctuary, located in East Falmouth off Route 151, and the Lowell Holly Reservation in Mashpee/Sandwich.
Albert Lawrence Lowell, a former President of Harvard, set aside 135 picturesque acres to establish The Lowell Holly Reservation. Working with Wilfred Wheeler, Massachusetts Commissioner of Agriculture, who was a master horticulturist and holly expert.
He noticed the dramatic decline of Holly trees in the state, so to stem this alarming problem, he began cultivating them on the Lowell Holly Reservation in the early 1920s. Now, these lands, bordering both Mashpee and Wakeby Ponds, are managed by The Trustees of Reservations.
Around that same time, Wilfred Wheeler also established the Ashumet Farm and in 1961 philanthropist Josiah K. Lilly III purchased this property to allow public access.
Ian Ives, sanctuary director, Long Pasture Wildlife Sanctuary, said of Ashumet, “There are eight different species of hollies, and 65 varieties. We estimate 1,500 hollies–both wild and propagated–at the Sanctuary.” Which means that many of the trees growing on these 49 fertile acres are over one hundred years old. Another one, known as the Franklinia Tree, is a rare type that was once nearly extinct in the wild.
To mark the Yule season and the importance of holly during that time, Mass Audubon has held a Holly Walk during the beginning of December. However, Mr. Ives mentioned, “We are not doing the public walk this year because of new priorities that demand our staff time, and the uncertainty of weather in November and December.” But, he added, “We may renew the walk next year.”
Instead, January 11 from 2 to 3 pm, he will give a talk at the Falmouth Public Library, “Coming to a Neighborhood Near You.” Mr. Ives will talk about the Cape’s forests, fields, and neighborhoods that are alive with an ever-increasing number of wildlife that were once thought to be rare or in decline.
For more information, visit their website: https://www.massaudubon.org/places-to-explore/wildlife-sanctuaries/ashumet-holly