American holly, male

An evergreen hardwood tree. Leaves are leathery with sharp points. American holly is dioecious, with separate male and female trees. The flowers of each sex appear superficially to have both stamens and pistils, but only one structure is functional in each plant. In the flowers pictured, there is a false pistil and four true stamens per flower. Horticulturists suggest planting one male tree per three female trees to get efficient pollination and fruit production. Pollination is carried out by a variety of insects including ants and bees.