Species

Ilex aquifolium

Etymology

Ilex: An old Latin name for the Holm oak, which holly allegedly resembles

Common Name(s)

holly

Authority

Ilex aquifolium L.

Family

Aquifoliaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Exotic

NVS Species Code

ILEAQU

The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Trees & Shrubs

Habitat

Terrestrial.

Features

An evergreen much branched shrub or small tree to 12 m tall. Leaves (3-10cm long) alternate along the stem, and are dark glossy green above, paler below, with the characteristic undulating, thick, usually deeply serrate margins, with a spine at the point. Flowers occur as clusters, with 4 white petals (3-5mm long). Conspicuous bright red spherical berries develop in the winter.

Flowering

October, November

Flower Colours

White

Year Naturalised

1901

Origin

W., C., and S. Europe, W. Asia, N.W. Africa

Reason for Introduction

Ornamental

Life Cycle and Dispersal

Perennial

Poisonous plant

Most parts of this plant are poisonous especially the scarlet red berries.

References and further reading

Johnson, A. T. and Smith, H. A (1986). Plant Names Simplified: Their pronunciation, derivation and meaning. Landsman Bookshop Ltd: Buckenhill, UK.

This page last updated on 3 Jun 2014