Ilex aquifolium

The common holly or English holly is in the holly or Aquifoliaceae family and is native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa and southwest Asia. It is a highly adaptive evergreen tree, reaching up to 10 m in height, being widely used in gardens.

• Leaves are oval, leathery, shiny, 5–19 cm long and 2–6 cm broad, evergreen, lasting about five years, and are dark green on the upper surface and lighter on the underside. In the young and in the lower limbs of mature trees, the leaves have three to five sharp spines on each side, pointing alternately upward and downward, while leaves of the upper branches in mature trees lack spines.
• The species is dioecious; in male specimens, the flowers are yellowish and appear in axillary groups; in the female, flowers are are white or slightly pink, four-lobed, and pollinated by bees; they are isolated or are in groups of three.
• Fruit is a drupe (stone fruit), about 6–10 mm in diameter, a bright red or bright yellow, which matures around October or November; at this time they are very bitter due to the ilicin content and so are rarely eaten until late winter after frost has made them softer and more palatable. They are eaten by rodents, birds and larger herbivores. Each fruit contains 3 to 4 seeds which do not germinate until the second or third spring.