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Read about Holly in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
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Evergreen or deciduous trees or shrubs: lvs. alternate, petioled, with small, caducous stipules, sometimes spiny: fls. dioecious, usually in rather few-fld. axillary cymes; calyx-lobes, petals and stamens usually 4, sometimes more; ovary superior; style very short: fr. a berry-like drupe, with 2-8 bony 1-seeded stones.— About 275 species in N. and S. Amer., Trop. and Temp. Asia, and few in Afr., Austral, and Eu. Monograph by Loesener in Nov. Act. Leop.-Carol. Acad. 71, pt. 1 (1901). For a horticultural monograph, see Dalli- more, Holly, Yew and Box, pp. 1-149 (1909), with many illustrations. The hollies have medium-sized, simple leaves, small, inconspicuous, whitish flowers in axillary clusters or solitary, and black, red or sometimes yellow berries, remaining on the branches often until the following spring. Of the evergreen species, only I. glabra and I. opaca are hardy North, and also I. crenata in somewhat sheltered positions. I. aquifolium, I. pernyi, and 7. cornuta are more tender, but stand many degrees of frost if sheltered, while most of the others can be grown only in the South. Of the deciduous species, I. decidua, I. monticola, I. laevigata and 7. I. verticillata are hardy North; also I. serrata and some other Japanese species are hardy or nearly so. The hollies, especially those with scarlet or red berries, are highly ornamental, and the berried branches of I. opaca and I. aquifolium are in great demand for Christmas decoration. Also I. laevigata and I. verticillata, the prettiest in fruit of the deciduous kinds, are sometimes sold for this purpose. The deciduous species are mostly shrubs, while many of the evergreen species grow into small or medium-sized trees, and I. opaca is the tallest of the broad-leaved evergreens which are hardy North and thrives even on extremely poor soil, and has good color also; the evergreens I. crenata, and I. glabra always remain shrubby. I. aquifolium is a favorite evergreen in English gardens, and numerous varieties are there in cultivation; it also grows well on the Pacific coast from British Columbia to California. It stands severe pruning well, and can be clipped and trained into almost every shape; it also makes fine hedges, but its slow growth is a disadvantage. As the chief value of the deciduous species is in the ornamental fruits, and the hollies are dioecious, care should be taken to choose in planting mostly pistillate plants and a few staminate ones and to give the former the most prominent place. The light, close-grained and tough wood of some of the arborescent species is much valued for turnery-work, engraving and cabinent-making. The leaves of some tropical species, as I. paraguariensis and 7. conocarpa, yield a kind of tea known as Yerba de Mate, or Paraguay tea, which is much used in South America. The hollies grow best in rich, well-drained soil, and the evergreen ones in partly shaded situations, but I. laevigata, I. verticillata and also I. serrata prefer moist places, and grow even in swamps. Most of the species grow slowly, and are not easily transplanted when older. The best tune for moving the evergreen species is the early fall, when the young wood has almost ripened, or in the spring just before the plants start into new growth. The leaves should be stripped on I. opaca and I. aquifolium when transplanted, particularly if at all exposed—or at least nearly all. This is absolutely necessary to insure success. Wild hollies may be handled this way with success, particularly if cut back as well. Propagation is by seeds, which do not germinate until the second year, and are therefore stratified and treated like those of the slow-growing hawthorns. The young seedlings should be transplanted^ after the second year. The evergreen species may be" increased by cuttings of ripened wood under glass, especially the shrubby ones; they are also sometimes grafted or budded on seedlings of I. aquifolium or I. opaca. Index. albo-marginata, 21. albo-picta, 22. alteclarenois, 2. amelanchier, 50. angustifolia, 44. aquifolium, 1. argentea, 21. argenteo-marginata , 21. argenteo-medio-picta , 22. argutidens, 53. aureo-maculata, 23. aureo-marginata, 24. aureo-regina, 24. aureo-picta latifolia, 25. aureo-variegata, 46. bronxensis, 52. camelliaefolia, 20. caroliniana, 45. cassine, 44, 45. chinensis, 8. chrysocarpa, 52. conspicua, 7. cornuta, 36. crenata, 46. crispa, 19. dahoon, 44. decidua, 48. dipyrena, 38. dubia, 49. echinata, 14. fargesii, 42. fastigiata, 52. ferox, 14. ferox argentea, 26. ferox aurea, 27. fortunei, 46. fructu aurantiaco, 32. fructu luteo, 31. glabra, 47. handsworthensis, 9. hastate, 10. herveyi, 51. heterophylla, 15. heterophylla aureo-picta, 28. hodginsonii, 3. integra, 40. laevigata, 51. latifolia, 4,41. latifolia marginata, 24. laurifolia, 16. laurifolia longifolia, 20. lineate, 11. longifolia, 46. luteo-variegata, 46. macropoda, 49. maderensis, 35. magnifica, 20. marginata, 17. megalophylla, 42. microphylla, 11,46. mollis, 49. monticola, 49. mundyi, 7. myrtifolia, 12, 44. nobilis, 7. opaca, 39. othera, 40. paraguariensis, 43. paucispinosa, 38. pendula, 33. perado, 35. pernyi, 37. platyphylla, 35. platyphyllos, 5. princeps, 6. pyramidalis, 34. quercifolia, 39. recurva, 19. scotica, 18. scotica aurea, 29. serrata, 53. serratifolia, 13. shepherdii, 7. sieboldii, 53. tenuifolia, 52. tortuosa, 19. variegate, 35. veitchii, 37. verticillata, 52. vomitoria, 45. wateriana, 30. wilsonii, 7. xanthocarpa, 39,53.
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. |
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| Ilex ambigua - Sand Holly Ilex amelanchier - Swamp Holly |
Holly (Ilex) is a genus of about 400 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only genus in that family. They are shrubs and trees from 2-25 m tall, with a wide distribution in Asia, Europe, north Africa, and North and South America. The leaves are simple, and can be either deciduous or evergreen depending on the species, and may be entire, finely toothed, or with widely-spaced, spine-tipped serrations. Hollies are mostly dioecious, with male and female flowers on different plants, with some exceptions. Pollination is mainly by bees and other insects. The fruit is a small berry, usually red when mature, with one to ten seeds.
Holly berries are mildly toxic and will cause vomiting and/or diarrhea when ingested by people. However they are extremely important food for numerous species of birds, and also are eaten by other wild animals. In the fall and early winter the berries are hard and apparently unpalatable. After being frozen or frosted several times, the berries soften, and become edible. During winter storms, birds often take refuge in hollies, which provide shelter, protection from predators (by the spiny leaves), and food. The flowers are sometimes eaten by the larva of the Double-striped Pug moth. Other Lepidoptera whose larvae feed on holly include Bucculatrix ilecella (which feeds exclusively on holly) and the Engrailed.
The species Ilex mucronata, formerly treated in a separate genus Nemopanthus, is now included in Ilex on molecular data (Powell et al. 2000).
Origin of Name
The origin of the word holly is the 11th century Old High German hulis and Old English holegn both meaning holly. The word hulis originates from an even older proto-Germanic word khuli - a shortened derivation of the ancient Gaelic cuilieann both meaning holly. Today in modern Gaelic, holly is still known as cuileann.
The botanic name ilex was the original Latin name for the Holm oak, which has similar foliage to common holly, and is occasionally confused with it.
Uses
In many western cultures, holly is a traditional Christmas decoration, used especially in wreaths. Many of the hollies are highly decorative, and are widely used as ornamental plants in gardens and parks. The wood is heavy, hard and white; one traditional use is for chess pieces, with holly for the white pieces, and ebony for the black. Other uses include turnery, inlay work and as firewood. Looms in the 1800s used holly for the spinning rod. Because holly is dense and can be sanded very smooth, the rod was less likely than other woods to snag threads being used to make cloth.
Several American holly species are used to make various caffeine rich teas. The South American I. paraguariensis is used to make yerba mate, a common drink. I. guayusa is used both as a stimulant and as an admixture to the entheogenic tea ayahuasca; The leaves of I. guayusa have the highest caffeine content of any known plant. In North and Central America, I. vomitoria, Yaupon, was used by southeastern American Indians as a ceremonial stimulant and emetic known as the black drink. As the name suggests, the tea's purgative properties were one of its main uses, most often ritually. In China, the young leaf buds of I. kudingcha are processed in a method similar to green tea to make a tisane called Ku Ding tea.
References
- Germplasm Resources Information Network: Ilex species list
- Flora of China: Ilex species list
- Flora of Ecuador: Ilex
- Flora Europaea: Ilex species list
- Flora of Nepal: Ilex species list
- USDA Plants Profile: Ilex
- Powell, M., Savolainen, V., Cuénod, P., Manen, J. F., & Andrews, S. (2000). The mountain holly (Nemopanthus mucronatus: Aquifoliaceae) revisited with molecular data. Kew Bulletin 55: 341-347.