Ilex chinensis

The Ilex chinensis [no commonly used English name] is in the holly or Aquifoliaceae family and is native to China and Japan. It can reach up to 10 m in height.

• Leaves are evergreen, elliptic or lanceolate (rarely ovate), 5–11 cm long and 2–4 cm broad, leathery, shiny, pointed tip, with 6-9 pairs of lateral veins; petiole up to 1 cm long; leaves last on the tree about five years; colour is dark green on the upper surface and lighter on the underside.
• The species is dioecious; in male specimens, the flowers are purplish or purple-red and appear in axillary groups; in the female, flowers are are purplish or slightly pink, and pollinated by bees; they are isolated in 2 or 3 cymes, 3–7 flowered.
• Fruit is a red drupe (stone fruit), narrowly globose, about 1–1.2 cm in diameter, maturing by October or November.