Ilex opaca
The American Holly is a tree, bush, or shrub--some sources may call them either--that can can be as little as the ones in my photo, or be as large as sixty ft. (18.3 meters) tall, though that is rare. The leaves are a bright green, and in the wild, I am pretty sure that the leaves are not shiny. The leaves have 6-15 sharp "points" that CAN CUT! It does hurt, for the record...
The larger bushes, I have seen, grow in a pyramidal shape. The berries, if more than three are eaten, can cause severe nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and some drowsiness. There aren't any berries on the particular plant in my backyard yet, but when that happens I will edit the post to include the pictures of the bush with berries. I would also refrain from letting your pets eat the berries without further research, for the sake of Mr. and Ms. Fido. The small flowers are a whitish-greenish and bloom in the late-spring early-summer period of the year, with four to six petals. The bark is light grey, and there is an average trunk diameter of fifty centimeters. The leaves are around 2-3 in (5-7.5 cm). Ta-ta for now, fellow folks!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilex_opaca
http://www.na.fs.fed.us/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_2/ilex/opaca.htm
http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=51
http://www.sfrc.ufl.edu/4h/american_holly/amerholl.htm
http://www.arborday.org/treeguide/treeImages.cfm?ID=49
