Not really hidden, the diminutive blooms of the Possumhaw Holly, Ilex decidua, must be looked for, found out, and paid attention to. Tiny buds come first,
…before life-giving flowers open to a remarkable variety of insects.
There were few insects when I took this shot, as it’s been gloppy and drippy around here, but they’ll show up: fluttering, crawling, consuming.
The blooms are not unseen for them.
I’m glad to join in today with Anna’s Flutter and Hum and her wonderful Wednesday Vignette. Please pop over for garden, nature, and other musings.
My Gardener Says... 
Various trees are blooming around here and the bees are finally leaving the hummingbird feeders. I love Spring, everyday there is something new.
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You are so right! I swear that things grow by inches and flowers appear overnight!
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Things are stirring here as well – about a month later than usual, mind you. That Holly looks very much like a Berberis jamesiana I used to have – minus the thorns. I think they are somewhat related, aren’t they? It now happily resides in a friend’s big garden, as it would ultimately grow way too large for mine. Your photos made me mourn it a little, though – it’s such a great plant!
Thanks for joining in, Tina!
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Yes, you had a tidy blanket of snow and cold, so I’d imagine you’re running a bit late. I had to look up B. jamesiana, but it’s not related to the possumhaw. Gorgeous though–glad you found it a more appropriate home!
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Good to know – thanks for doing the research rather than me just assuming! 😉
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This turns out to be the holly everyone here was using as a Christmas decoration this year (and which I’d never heard or seen before). It looks amazing covered in all its berries. I wonder if we imported it or have started to grow it. Good to know that it is an insect magnet.
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That’s fascinating! It’s a native to these parts, southern-midwest-ish of the US, Central Texas. I wrote about it, under the “Seasonal Look’ section on my menu: https://mygardenersays.com/2015/02/13/possumhaw-holly-ilex-decidua-a-seasonal-look I forgot how many berries it can actually hold; it’s been a few years since mine has had a good berry show.
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The berries have been thick down here on both possumhaw and holly. I’ve never seen so many. I happened to read this post this morning before a friend took me out for a very early morning walk on a new (to me) hiking trail. I looked around, and discovered new flowers on the yaupon. I’m going to look around and see if I can find some flowers on possumhaw, too. Thanks for the “heads up!”
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Funnily enough, I don’t have any berries on, what I think are, my two yaupons. They arrived in my garden, one directly underneath a neighbor’s bodaciously berried yaupon, and the other, across the back garden.. But, they look the same as one another and the same as grownup yaupons, so I assumed they’re yaupons. Maybe next year!
My possumhaw use to berry much more. I don’t know if it’s the squirrels getting them early, but the last few years, it’s only produced a few. Still it’s a wonderful tree and I’m glad I have it in the garden.
Glad you were able to see so many gorgeous berries!
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Such a beautiful tree. A winner at all times of the year.
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Indeed!
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Flowers do what they must to attract their pollinators of choice, but not much more. It sort of makes one wonder what these tiny flowers are doing to get the attention of pollinators. Is there some fragrance that only the pollinators can smell?
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Yes they do! I’m sure there’s some sychronicity between plant and pollinator that we have yet to understand.
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Only a few decades ago, the theory that some insects can see infrared or ultraviolet color was a new concept.
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What do the berries look like? I have no Ilex of any kind in my garden, which seems wrong.
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Check out this link, Jason: https://mygardenersays.com/2015/02/13/possumhaw-holly-ilex-decidua-a-seasonal-look/#
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Very nice!
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