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Clicking any heading in the main data area (at right) will scroll the page back to this top position. Use the following links to jump to the associated section in the main data. Boring Carving Common Names Common Uses Countries of Distribution Cutting Resistance Distribution Overview Drying Defects Ease of Drying Environmental Profile Family Name Gluing Grain Heartwood Color Kiln Drying Rate Kiln Schedules Luster Natural Durability Numerical Data Odor Planing Polishing Product Sources References Regions of Distribution Resistance to Impregnation Response to Hand Tools Sanding Sapwood Color Scientific Name Screwing Staining Texture Trade Name Tree Size Turning Veneering Qualities Scientific Name Ilex opaca Trade Name American holly Family Name Aquifoliaceae Common Names American holly, Dune holly, Holly, Hummock Holly, Scrub holly, White holly Regions of Distribution North America Countries of Distribution  [VIEW MAP] United States Common Uses Broom handles, Carvings, Chairs, Chests, Concealed parts (Furniture), Desks, Dining-room furniture, Dowell pins, Dowells, Drawer sides, Engraving, Fine furniture, Fixtures, Floor lamps, Furniture , Furniture components, Furniture squares or stock, Handles, Hatracks, Kitchen cabinets, Living-room suites, Novelties, Office furniture, Radio - stereo - TV cabinets, Rustic furniture, Scientific instruments, Shafts/Handles, Stools, T-Squares, Tables , Tool handles, Turnery, Utility furniture, Wardrobes, Woodwork Environmental Profile Vulnerable in parts of its habitat and may soon become Endangered if current trends of over-exploitation and habitat destruction persist Rank of relative endangerment based on number of occurences globally. May be rare in some parts of its range Generally widespread, secure, and abundant within most of its range Data source is World Conservation Monitoring Center Data source is Nature Conservancy Distribution Overview From the maritime forests of Massachusetts, American holly is scattered along the coast to Delaware. It grows inland to several Pennsylvania counties and to extreme southeastern Ohio. It occurs abundantly southward throughout the Coastal Plain, Piedmont, and Appalachians. Its range extends south to mid-peninsular Florida and west to eastern Texas and southern Missouri Heartwood Color Brown Red White Yellow Black Pink Orange The color of the heartwood is very white or ivory-white, and is usually cast or streaked with blue Sapwood Color White Yellow Brown Red Green/Grey Very wide Usually whiter than the heartwood Grain Closed Closed Devoid of any figure Texture Medium Fine Coarse Fine Luster Medium Low Natural Durability Susceptible to insect attack Non-durable Non-resistant to powder post beetles Perishable Non-resistant to termites Little or no natural resistance to insect and fungi attack Odor No specific smell or taste Kiln Schedules 6 - D4 (4/4); T4 - C3 (8/4) U Drying Defects Checking Splitting Distortion The wood may distort slightly and discolor during drying, but other drying degrades are minimal. Ease of Drying Moderately Difficult to Difficult Fairly Easy Rapidly The wood should be dried at a fairly rapid rate to avoid discoloration. Harvesting and converting in the winter or before the hot weather is suggested to retain the white color Kiln Drying Rate Naturally dries quickly Tree Size Tree height is 20-30 m Bole length is 10-20 m Sapwood width is 0-5 cm Sapwood width is 10-15 cm Sapwood width is 5-10 cm Tree height is 30-40 m Bark width is 5-10 mm This evergreen tree, which is very popular during Cristmas holidays because of its red berries and leaves, is the state tree of Delaware. It is usually small Product Sources Supplies of Holly are limited because the mature tree is usually small in size. The leaves and berries of Holly are also very popular which discourages its harvesting for lumber purposes. Boring Fairly easy to very easy Slow speeds are recommended in boring to prevent the wood from charring Carving Good carving properties Found desirable by carvers Cutting Resistance Easy to saw Gluing Glues without difficulty Planing Fair to Good Results Very Good to Excellent Results Difficult to work in most machining operations because of irregular grain Resistance to Impregnation Permeable sapwood Permeable heartwood Treatable or impregnable, but preservative treatment is usually not required because of its uses. Response to Hand Tools Easy to Work Sanding The wood responds well to sanding with the proper abrasives Screwing Good screw holding properties Turning Good results Veneering Qualities Suitable for peeling Veneers easily Veneers moderately easy Suitable for slicing No drying degrade Polishing Very Good to Excellent Results Fair to Good Results Works to a high glaze Good results Staining Stains well and uniformly Sometimes stained to match other wood species. It is also dyed black occasionally and used as a substitute for Ebony. Numerical Data Item Green Dry English Specific Gravity 0.46 0.53 Weight 54 38 lbs/ft3 Radial Shrinkage 5 % Tangential Shrinkage 10 % Volumetric Shrinkage 17 % Item Green Dry Metric Specific Gravity 0.46 0.53 Weight 865 608 kg/m3 Radial Shrinkage 5 % Tangential Shrinkage 10 % References Boone, R.S., C.J. Kozlik, P.J. Bois, E.M. Wengert. 1988. Dry Kiln Schedules for Commercial Hardwoods - Temperate and Tropical. USDA, Forest Service, General Technical Report FPL-GTR-57, Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin. Kline, M. 1978. Ilex opaca - American holly. In A Guide to Useful Woods of the World. Flynn Jr., J.H., Editor. King Philip Publishing Co., Portland, Maine. Page 192-193. Little, E.L. 1980. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees - Eastern Region. Published by Arthur A. Knopf, New York. Panshin, A.J. and C. deZeeuw. Textbook of Wood Technology. McGraw-Hill Series in Forest Resources. McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York. USDA. 1987. Wood Handbook - Wood as an Engineering Material, United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Agriculture Handbook No. 72, Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin. USDA. 1988. Dry Kiln Operators Manual, Preliminary Copy. Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin. WCMC. 1992. Conservation Status Listing - Trees and Timbers of the World. World Conservation Monitoring Center-Plants Programme, Cambridge, CB3 ODL, United Kingdom.