Holly - Ilex aquifolium

 

Holly is an evergreen plant with shiny dark foliage with strong sharp prickles.

 

Holly often stays as a shrub but can sometimes grow into an impressive conical tree. It is a very slow growing species.

It's bark is smooth and silvery grey. With age the bark can develop fissures and tubercles.

In it's youth its branches turn upwards but when older, its branches sweep downwards.

 

Leaves are very alternate on Holly plants, they can be different from tree to tree.

It's leaves can grow up to 12cm long and have very leathery, waxy and tough surface. The lower surface is pale in comparison to the dark green upper surface, as you can see in the picture above.

They can also have a variegated leaf which is dark green in the centre but is framed with a creamy white colour around the edges.

 

Smaller ilex tend to have a more curved, pointy leaf. Larger trees tend to have more flat, mostly spineless leaves. This suggests that the smaller holly species have evolved to fend off predators with their prickly leaves, where as taller plants do not have to deal with predators as they are too high to reach.

 

Hollies produce small 4 petalled flowers in small clusters on the leaf axis. Male flowers are fragrant.

They produce small, round, bright red berries which can be around 12mm long.

 

Holly is native to Britain and Ireland but is found in woodland and open habitats across Western and Southern Europe as well as parts of Western Asia. It is commonly found underneath the canopies of large deciduous trees like Oaks and Beech.