Ilex cassine is a holly native to the southeastern coast of North America. It grows from Virginia to the Colorado River in Texas, with subspecies growing southward on the Gulf Coast as far as Veracruz, Mexico, and in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas in the Caribbean.

It’s commonly known as a dahoon holly or cassena. It is a large shrub or small tree growing up to 39 feet. The leaves are evergreen, glossy dark green, and entire or with a few small spines near the apex of the leaf. The flowers are white with a four-lobbed corolla. The fruit is a red drupe containing seeds. The seeds contain measurable amounts of stimulants such as caffeine and theobromine, which were used in early literature with the Native Americans, such as the black drink.

Source: Wikipedia