Historical Name: Washington
Common Name: American Holly
Latin Name: Ilex opaca
The Washington American Holly grows at the Virginia home of George Washington, the nation’s first president and commander of the Colonial Army that won the American Revolution. When Washington retired, it was an act that gained attention both at home and abroad. For Washington, however, it was a chance to return to the tranquil acres of his beloved Mount Vernon. Virginia, the “infant, woody country,” offered new opportunities for Washington. The Little Hunting Creek Farm was his favorite parcel of land. It had been deeded to his older brother, Lawrence, when Washington was 7 years old. Lawrence changed the name of the plantation to Mount Vernon in honor of his friend, Admiral Edward Vernon, a British Naval Officer. In 1792, Washington established an area at Mount Vernon specifically for “any and all kinds of plants fit for hedging,” according to his journal entries. This tree grew from a seed taken from an American Holly in those hedges, and was planted into UCNJ’s Historic Tree Grove in 2004.
(text adapted from American Forests)