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Ilex aquifolium

L. (1753)

This name is accepted

Kingdom: Viridiplantae Phylum: Magnoliophyta Class/Clade: Eudicot-Asterids Order: Aquifoliales Family: Aquifoliaceae Genus: Ilex

English holly, European holly

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Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Evergreen shrubs or small trees 2–10 m tall.

Stems:

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Alternate. Blades ovate or elliptic, 5-12 cm long, 2.5-5.5 cm wide. Surfaces glabrous dark green. Margins usually thickened, undulate, regularly or irregularly toothed, the teeth stiff, spreading, spinose, rarely entire. Petiolate. Stipules minute.

Flowers: Flowers in fasciculate cymes, along previous year's growth, up to ca. 1 cm long. Peduncles flattened, 0.3–0.5 cm long. Flowers unisexual, occasionally some of the flowers appearing bisexual (perfect); fragrant; pedicels ca. 2–6 mm long with 2 bracteoles below the middle, these 2–3 mm long. Calyx lobes 4, deltate, ca. 1.5–2 mm long. Corolla lobes ca. 4 mm long, usually as many as sepals. Stamens as many as petals, inserted at the base of the corolla, staminodia in pistillate flowers similar to fertile stamens, but usually smaller. Ovary superior; 4-celled.

Fruit: Fruit drupaceous; with as many 1–seeded pyrenes as carpels. fruit bright red; 8–10 mm in diameter. Seeds with abundant oily or proteinaceous endosperm.

Ploidy: 2n = 40; ca. 46

Habitat: now naturalized at the edge of degraded wet forest and spreading via game birds.

Elevation Range:

Historical Distribution

Images

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Synonyms (145)

Aquifolium croceum Raf. (1838)
Aquifolium ferox Mill. ex Rafin. (1838)
Aquifolium heterophyllum Raf. (1838)
Aquifolium ilex Scop. (1771)
Aquifolium lanceolatum Raf. (1838)
Aquifolium planifolium Raf. (1838)
Aquifolium spinosum Lam. (1779)
Aquifolium undulatum Raf. (1838)
Aquifolium vulgare St.-Lag. (1880)
Ilex aquifolium f. albopicta (Loudon) Geerinck (2001)
Ilex aquifolium f. arbutifolia (T.Moore) Loes. (1901)
Ilex aquifolium f. argentea-marginata (T.Moore) Schelle (1903)
Ilex aquifolium f. aureopicta (Loudon) Geerinck (2001)
Ilex aquifolium f. bacciflavum (Weston) Rehder (1949)
Ilex aquifolium f. ferox (Aiton) C.K.Schneid. (1907)
Ilex aquifolium f. frivaldskyana Loes. (1901)
Ilex aquifolium f. heterophylla (Aiton) Loes. (1901)
Ilex aquifolium f. pendula (Loudon) Schelle (1903)
Ilex aquifolium f. pyramidalis Schelle (1903)
Ilex aquifolium pendula-variegata Van Geert (1858)
Ilex aquifolium subf. pendula (Loudon) Loes. (1901)
Ilex aquifolium var. albolineata T.Moore (1875)
Ilex aquifolium var. albomarginata Loudon (1838)
Ilex aquifolium var. albopicta Loudon (1838)
Ilex aquifolium var. alcicornis T.Moore (1874)
Ilex aquifolium var. algarviensis Chodat (1909)
Ilex aquifolium var. angustifolia Loudon (1838)
Ilex aquifolium var. arbutifolia T.Moore (1874)
Ilex aquifolium var. argentea-elegantissima T.Moore (1875)
Ilex aquifolium var. argentea-erecta T.Moore (1875)
Ilex aquifolium var. argentea-latifolia T.Moore (1875)
Ilex aquifolium var. argentea-longifolia T.Moore (1875)
Ilex aquifolium var. argentea-lucida T.Moore (1875)
Ilex aquifolium var. argentea-marginata T.Moore (1875)
Ilex aquifolium var. argentea-marginata-major T.Moore (1875)
Ilex aquifolium var. argentea-medio-picta T.Moore (1875)
Ilex aquifolium var. argentea-pectinata-major T.Moore (1875)
Ilex aquifolium var. argentea-pectinata-minor T.Moore (1875)
Ilex aquifolium var. argentea-pendula T.Moore (1875)
Ilex aquifolium var. argentea-purpurea T.Moore (1875)
Ilex aquifolium var. argentea-regina T.Moore (1875)
Ilex aquifolium var. argentea-stricta T.Moore (1875)
Ilex aquifolium var. argentea-varians T.Moore (1875)
Ilex aquifolium var. atrovirens T.Moore (1874)
Ilex aquifolium var. aureomarginata Loudon (1838)
Ilex aquifolium var. aureopicta Loudon (1838)
Ilex aquifolium var. bacciflavum Weston (1775)
Ilex aquifolium var. balearica (Desf.) Loes. (1901)
Ilex aquifolium var. barcinonae Pau (1922)
Ilex aquifolium var. beetii T.Moore (1874)
Ilex aquifolium var. belgica T.Moore (1874)
Ilex aquifolium var. bicolor T.Moore (1875)
Ilex aquifolium var. calamistrata Göpp. (1852)
Ilex aquifolium var. canadensis Göpp. (1852)
Ilex aquifolium var. carnola Göpp. (1852)
Ilex aquifolium var. ciliata Loudon (1838)
Ilex aquifolium var. ciliata-major T.Moore (1874)
Ilex aquifolium var. ciliata-minor Loudon (1838)
Ilex aquifolium var. compacta T.Moore (1874)
Ilex aquifolium var. crassifolia Aiton (1789)
Ilex aquifolium var. crispa Loudon (1838)
Ilex aquifolium var. dipirena Laurentius (1868)
Ilex aquifolium var. doningtonensis T.Moore (1874)
Ilex aquifolium var. elegans Göpp. (1852)
Ilex aquifolium var. elliptica T.Moore (1874)
Ilex aquifolium var. ferox Aiton (1789)
Ilex aquifolium var. ferox-argentea Loudon (1838)
Ilex aquifolium var. ferox-aurea Loudon (1838)
Ilex aquifolium var. fisheri T.Moore (1874)
Ilex aquifolium var. foxii T.Moore (1874)
Ilex aquifolium var. fructu-albo Loudon (1838)
Ilex aquifolium var. fructu-aurantiaco T.Moore (1874)
Ilex aquifolium var. fructu-luteo Loudon (1838)
Ilex aquifolium var. fructu-nigro Loudon (1842)
Ilex aquifolium var. furcata Laurentius (1868)
Ilex aquifolium var. grandifolia T.Moore (1874)
Ilex aquifolium var. handsworthensis T.Moore (1874)
Ilex aquifolium var. hastata T.Moore (1874)
Ilex aquifolium var. hendersonii T.Moore (1874)
Ilex aquifolium var. heterophylla Aiton (1789)
Ilex aquifolium var. heterophyllum Rchb. (1831)
Ilex aquifolium var. hybrida T.Moore (1874)
Ilex aquifolium var. ingramii T.Moore (1875)
Ilex aquifolium var. integrifolia Göpp. (1852)
Ilex aquifolium var. laetevirens Sennen
Ilex aquifolium var. latifolia Loudon (1838)
Ilex aquifolium var. latispina Göpp. (1852)
Ilex aquifolium var. laucifolia T.Moore (1874)
Ilex aquifolium var. laurifolia Lej. (1825)
Ilex aquifolium var. lineata T.Moore (1874)
Ilex aquifolium var. longifolia-maculata T.Moore (1875)
Ilex aquifolium var. maderensis Göpp. (1852)
Ilex aquifolium var. magnifica T.Moore (1874)
Ilex aquifolium var. marginata Loudon (1838)
Ilex aquifolium var. microphylla T.Moore (1874)
Ilex aquifolium var. monstrosa Göpp. (1852)
Ilex aquifolium var. myrtifolia Göpp. (1852)
Ilex aquifolium var. nigra T.Moore (1874)
Ilex aquifolium var. nigrescens T.Moore (1874)
Ilex aquifolium var. nigricans Göpp. (1852)
Ilex aquifolium var. nobilis Laurentius (1868)
Ilex aquifolium var. obscura T.Moore (1875)
Ilex aquifolium var. ovata T.Moore (1874)
Ilex aquifolium var. pendula Loudon (1842)
Ilex aquifolium var. pendula-alba-marginata C.Pynaert (1893)
Ilex aquifolium var. pendula-aurea-marginata C.Pynaert (1893)
Ilex aquifolium var. pendula-aurea-picta C.Pynaert (1893)
Ilex aquifolium var. perryana-major T.Moore (1875)
Ilex aquifolium var. platyphylla Göpp. (1852)
Ilex aquifolium var. polymorpha Göpp. (1852)
Ilex aquifolium var. recurva Aiton (1789)
Ilex aquifolium var. revoluta Göpp. (1852)
Ilex aquifolium var. rigida T.Moore (1874)
Ilex aquifolium var. rotundifolia Göpp. (1852)
Ilex aquifolium var. scotica T.Moore (1874)
Ilex aquifolium var. senescens Gaudin (1828)
Ilex aquifolium var. serratifolia Loudon (1829)
Ilex aquifolium var. serratifolia-albomarginata T.Moore (1875)
Ilex aquifolium var. smithiana T.Moore (1874)
Ilex aquifolium var. thunbergiana Göpp. (1852)
Ilex aquifolium var. tortuosa T.Moore (1874)
Ilex aquifolium var. trapeziformis T.Moore (1874)
Ilex aquifolium var. variegata Loudon (1838)
Ilex aquifolium var. virens T.Moore (1874)
Ilex aquifolium var. vulgaris Aiton (1789)
Ilex aquifolium var. whittingtonensis T.Moore (1874)
Ilex aquifolium var. wiseana T.Moore (1875)
Ilex balearica Desf. (1809)
Ilex balearica var. cordata Göpp. (1852)
Ilex camelliifolia (K.Koch) A.Henry (1913)
Ilex chrysocarpa Wender. (1828)
Ilex ciliata A.Vilm. (1860)
Ilex citriocarpa Murr (1912)
Ilex crassifolia Aiton ex Steud. (1840)
Ilex echinata Mill. (1768)
Ilex ferox Aiton ex Steud. (1840)
Ilex fischeri Carrière (1887)
Ilex maderensis Willd. (1814)
Ilex myrtifolia var. aureomaculata Van Geert (1875)
Ilex nigricans (Göpp.) A.Henry (1913)
Ilex perado subsp. iberica (Loes.) S.Andrews (1984)
Ilex perado var. iberica Loes. (1901)
Ilex platyphylla Booth (1854)
Ilex sempervirens Salisb. (1796)
Ilex vulgaris Gray (1822)

Uses and Culture

USES

Natural History

Statewide Status

Naturalized

Island Status

Kaua'i Only found in cultivation
Maui Naturalized
Hawai'i Naturalized

Dispersal Agents

Birds

Vegetative Reproduction

Pollinators

Notes

  • Description digitized by Pumehana Imada
  • Native to southern and western Europe, northern Africa, and western Asia, widely cultivated; in Hawai‘i occasionally cultivated and now naturalized.

Bibliography

Name Published In: Sp. Pl.: 125 (1753)

Other References

Wagner et al. 1990:222 (H); Wagner & Herbst 1995:15 (EM); Staples & Herbst 2005:129 (KEY), 130 (DESCR)

Wagner, W. L., Herbst, D. R., & Sohmer, S. H. (1999). Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai'i, Vols. 1 and 2 (No. Edn 2). University of Hawai'i and Bishop Museum Press.

Occurrences

SNo. Scientific Name Locality Habitat Basis of Record Description Recorded By Record Number Island Source Date
1 Ilex aquifolium Mauna Kea, Puaakala, Shipman Estate Preserved_Specimen Shrubs to small trees with red fruit. Herbst, D.R. 8815 Hawaii BISH 1987-02-20
2 Ilex aquifolium East Maui, Haiku Uka Olinda Preserved_Specimen 2 m. trees St.John, H. 20360 Maui BISH 1943-08-04
3 Ilex aquifolium Mauna Kea, Puaakala, Shipman Estate Preserved_Specimen Shrubs to small trees with red fruit. Herbst, D.R. 8816 Hawaii BISH 1987-02-20
4 Ilex aquifolium East Maui, Makawao District, Old homestead above Olinda Preserved_Specimen Tree 20' tall, berries red. Mitchell, A.L. 70 Maui BISH 1945-09-30
5 Ilex aquifolium Top gulch crossing, Kahaka pao loop trail, Makawao Forest Reserve Vegetation: Peperomia, Coprosma foliosa, Acacia koa Preserved_Specimen Tree/shrub, perennial, erect. 1 meter tall. Flowers: none seen yet. Foliage: prickly Starr, F. 412261 Maui BISH 2004-12-26
6 Ilex aquifolium Mauna Kea, Puaakala, Shipman Estate Preserved_Specimen Shrubs to small trees with red fruit. Herbst, D.R. 8814 Hawaii BISH 1987-02-20
7 Ilex aquifolium Waimea Canyon State Park; cultivated plants from cabins near Kokee Methodist Camp Preserved_Specimen Flynn, T.W. 2041 Kauai BISH 1986-12-30
8 Ilex aquifolium East Maui, Makawao District, Olinda Prison Camp area Preserved_Specimen Tanabe, L. 37 Maui BISH 1961-01-02
9 Ilex aquifolium East Maui, Makawao Distr., Waikamoi Preserve, East of Old Ukulele Dairy /Camp In Acacia/Metrosideros montane mesic forest. Preserved_Specimen Naturalized. Small trees (at this location) Lvs dark green, glossy, Fr red. Oppenheimer, H.L. 32502 Maui BISH 2025-03-27
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