Burford Holly – History
Burford holly, Ilex cornuta ‘Burfordii’, is a ubiquitous shrub in the Southeast. The red berries are striking in winter.
It’s interesting to know that the Burford holly originated in Atlanta, at Westview Cemetery in the southwest quarter of the city.
I found a history of the plant in an article, written in 1954, in the Atlanta Journal and Constitution magazine.
It was sent to me in two versions, both somewhat hard to read.
Then I found a version of the holly’s history that was completely different from the first. It was written by Gerald Klingaman, a retired but knowledgeable horticulturist at the University of Arkansas. Which one is wrong? It could be both! Mr. Burford was known to tell different versions of where the first plant was discovered and these could be two of the versions. I tend to believe Klingamon’s version because he would have the botanical knowledge to judge whether a “bud sport” or “the result of cross-pollination” was more likely. Here is what he wrote:
Burford holly is a bud sport of the thorny-leafed Chinese holly that was found in the early 1900s by Thomas Burford, the superintendent of Atlanta’s West View Cemetery. The original plant was part of a shipment of seedlings received from the Department of Agriculture, which had plant explorer Frank Meyer in China during much of the first 20 years of this century.
You be the judge!
Great to know that millions of plants, spread all over the world, came from that one plant in Atlanta!
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