Yaupon holly is an evergreen shrub or small tree reaching 5–9 m tall, with smooth, light gray bark and slender, hairy shoots.

[7] The fruit are an important food for many birds, including Florida duck, American black duck, mourning dove, ruffed grouse, bobwhite quail, wild turkey, northern flicker, sapsuckers, cedar waxwing, eastern bluebird, American robin, gray catbird, northern mockingbird, and white-throated sparrow.

[7] Some Native American tribes brew the leaves and stems to create an herbal tea, commonly called black drink.

Historically, the ceremonial consumption often included vomiting, and Europeans deduced that yaupon caused it (hence the Latin name - Ilex vomitoria).

[12] The active ingredients, like those of the related yerba mate and guayusa plants, are caffeine, theobromine, and theophylline;[13][14] the vomiting may have resulted from the great quantities in which they drank the beverage, coupled with fasting.

The most common cultivars are slow-growing shrubs popular for their dense, evergreen foliage and their adaptability to pruning into hedges of various shapes.