SUN JOURNAL • December 15, 2023
What could anyone have against holly? Plenty if you are an ecologist. This cheery herald of Christmas, with its serrated green leaves and red berries, has become an invader, crowding out native plants on the forest floor. And the most fearsome of the 500 species is the beloved English holly. Holly joins other beautiful non-indigenous plants now threatening less glamorous natives in the North American wilds. Purple Loosestrife, for example, with its striking spikes of purple flowers, have taken over wetlands. ~ Froma Harrop