Ilex aquifolium

Ilex aquifolium subsp. var.	Holly, European Holly, Christmas Holly
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	Aquifoliaceae > Ilex aquifolium var. , L.

Ilex aquifolium (Holly, or European Holly to distinguish it from related species, may also be called Christmass Holly or Mexican Holly) is a species of holly native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa and southwest Asia.

It is an evergreen tree growing to 10-25 m tall and 40-80 cm (rarely 1 m or more) trunk diameter, with smooth grey bark. The leaves are 5-12 cm long and 2-6 cm broad, variable in shape; on young plants and low branches, with three to five sharp spines on each side, pointing alternately upward and downward; on higher branches of older trees with few or no spines except for the leaf tip, often entire.

The flowers are dioecious, white, four-lobed, and pollinated by bees. The fruit is a red drupe 6-10 mm diameter, containing four pits; although mature in late autumn, they are very bitter due to the ilicin content, and so are rarely touched by birds until late winter after frost has made them softer and more palatable.

Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Ilex aquifolium, Linn. English Holly. Tree, to 40 ft., with short, spreading branches, forming an oblong or pyramidal head, in cult, often shrubby, glabrous: lvs. short-petioled, usually ovate or oblong- ovate, waved and with strong, spiny teeth,- shining, in. long: fr. scarlet, globular, shining. May, June. a. and Cent. Eu., W. Asia, China.—A very variable species. Osmanthus aquifolium, Sieb. & Zucc., an oleaceous shrub, which may readily be known by its opposite Ivs., is occasionally supplied by dealers as a variety of Ilex Aquifolium. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Gallery

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  European Holly flowers; male above, female below (leaves cut to show flowers more clearly)
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  photo 1
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  photo 2
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  photo 3

References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

• w:Ilex aquifolium. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Ilex aquifolium QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)