Deck the halls with boughs of dahoon holly? Probably not. This isn't the classic holly we use to celebrate Christmas and the New Year. But it's close.

Dahoon holly, scientifically known as Ilex cassine, is a cousin to English holly, Ilex aquifolium, and American holly, Ilex opaca, the plants typically associated with the holidays. Dahoon has the bright, red berries that the classic hollies sport, but its leaves lack the sharply pointed teeth that are the hallmark of its cousins and part of holly's symbolic importance to Christmas.

Dahoon isn't left out of the holiday celebrations altogether. Its brilliant berries, which ripen in late summer and fall, persist on the tree through winter and are used as Christmas decorations. The boughs, however, probably should be left intact on the tree.

Dahoon holly is a Florida native that grows throughout most of the state, with the notable exception of the Keys. it's also native to the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains from North Carolina to Texas. The Caribbean, including the Bahamas and Cuba, Mexico and Central America are part of dahoon's natural range.

It is a tree, usually of modest size growing to about about 10 to 30 feet tall but capable of doubling that under the right conditions. Its trunk often splits into multiple branches a short ways off the ground. It's bark is grayish-white and typically covered with lichens. It produces inconspicuous greenish white flowers year round, but mostly in the spring.

One important note: Dahoon holly is diocious, meaning male and female flowers grow on separate plants. Both sexes need to be present in order to produce fruit, and nurseries often use cuttings rather than seeds to grow dahoon so that they know the sex of the plants.