Horrible Holly: A Festive Plant Runs Amok

Henry Mustin popped open the trunk of his electric Volkswagen to reveal his arsenal: Loppers, pruners, saws and trowels, tucked into bags. Taking up the most space was Mustin’s weed wrench, an L-shaped specialty tool branded The Extractigator, which leverages the ground to yank deeply rooted vegetation from the earth.

We were in the parking lot of Island Center Forest, a 440-acre wooded park home to miles of hiking trails and one large pond where birdwatchers flock. Island Center Forest is on Vashon Island, southwest of Seattle. Mustin’s summer home is on Vashon, and my partner and I have a small farm here.

We were looking for English holly, a cherished Christmas symbol that is threatening biodiversity in the Pacific Northwest. We were there to poison it.

Perhaps nobody in the state of Washington has killed more holly trees than Mustin. After a long career as a doctor, Mustin retired in 2013 and began dedicating several days a week to bushwacking deep into the woods to destroy the plant he loathes.

We hiked through a tunnel of greenery: Douglas firs towered above and sword ferns fanned around our feet. It was a mild day in July, and Mustin, wearing long sleeves and work pants, worked up a sweat. At 75, he is a discursive thinker and talker, answering questions before I could ask them.

“Start looking for where the contrast in the vegetation stands out,” he said. Holly’s dark green leaves and red berries pop against the forest’s lighter hues. We climbed over downed branches, dodged stinging nettles and stomped across carpets of trailing native blackberry. 

We walked until we found a tree not already flagged for removal by county workers. Standing at about 20 feet tall, its many branches were lined with alternating leaves,