Audubon® Native Possumhaw Holly

Create a bird habitat paradise with a pretty grove of Possumhaws! This nifty native shrub (or multi-stemmed tree) makes a thicket of twiggy stems that songbirds love to nest in or just take refuge in when pursued by predators. As a bonus, female plants will produce a generous crop of showy red berries for avian snacking. The fruits are rather bitter, so birds tend to leave them alone throughout most of the winter, but eventually the time comes when they are grateful for the nourishment. Robins and other thrushes, bluebirds, mockingbirds, Cedar Waxwings, flickers, and White-throated Sparrows may come to dine then.

Though it doesn’t look much like the Holly branches you see on Christmas cards, Possumhaw is in fact a species of Holly. This Holly is different from most because it is deciduous. When cold weather arrives, its leaves turn gold and then drop, putting the abundant scarlet-red berries on full display. Even without leaves, a few cut branches make for a wonderful tabletop decoration indoors. Possumhaw is native to the southeastern United States, where it is most often found in swampy areas. Its natural range reaches from Texas to Florida and north to Missouri and Virginia.

Only female Possumhaws bear fruit, but both male and female plants offer something to wildlife—flowers! The tiny white blossoms in late spring or early summer attract loads of happy honeybees and many native pollinators as well. Possumhaw leaves also host several caterpillar species that songbirds feed on.