Holly is so white that even its end grain is white, whereas maple and other "white" woods tend to be rather dark in their end grain. I use holly for this reason in a body of work using end grain laminations as decorative top panels for boxes large and small. I've used actual ivory in inlay work, and honestly holly end grain reads more like what one wants ivory to look like than ivory! Here's an example:https://www.alladd.com/large-jewelry...box/index.html