iEuropean Holly
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Aquifoliales Family: Aquifoliaceae Genus: Ilex Species: I. aquifolium
Binomial name
Ilex aquifolium L.

The European Holly Ilex aquifolium is a holly native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa and southwest Asia. Image File history File links Acebo. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Divisions Green algae Chlorophyta Charophyta Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) †Rhyniophyta - rhyniophytes †Zosterophyllophyta - zosterophylls Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses †Trimerophytophyta - trimerophytes Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta... It has been suggested that Angiospermae, and Anthophyta be merged into this article or section. ... Orders See text. ... Families Aquifoliaceae Helwingiaceae Phyllonomaceae The Aquifoliales are an order of flowering plants, including most notably the Aquifoliaceae, or holly family. ... Genera  Ilex - Holly  Nemopanthus - Mountain holly Aquifoliaceae is a small plant family with two genera, by far the best-known being Ilex, the hollies, a large genus with about 600 species distributed nearly world-wide, absent only from Australasia and western North America. ... Species Ilex ambigua - Sand Holly Ilex amelanchier - Swamp Holly Ilex aquifolium - European Holly Ilex bioritsensis Ilex buergeri Ilex canariensis - Small-leaved Holly Ilex cassine - Dahoon Holly Ilex centrochinensis Ilex ciliospinosa Ilex colchica Ilex collina Ilex corallina Ilex coriacea Ilex cornuta - Chinese Holly Ilex crenata - Japanese Holly Ilex cyrtura Ilex decidua... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as  , (May 23, 1707 – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist[1] who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of nomenclature. ... Species Ilex ambigua - Sand Holly Ilex amelanchier - Swamp Holly Ilex aquifolium - European Holly Ilex bioritsensis Ilex buergeri Ilex canariensis - Small-leaved Holly Ilex cassine - Dahoon Holly Ilex centrochinensis Ilex ciliospinosa Ilex colchica Ilex collina Ilex corallina Ilex coriacea Ilex cornuta - Chinese Holly Ilex crenata - Japanese Holly Ilex cyrtura Ilex decidua... World map showing Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa. ... World map showing the location of Asia. ...

It is an evergreen tree growing to 15-23 m tall and 40-80 cm trunk diameter, with smooth grey bark. The leaves are 5-8 cm long and 2-4 cm broad, variable in shape; on young plants and low branches, with 3-5 sharp spines on each side, pointing alternately upward and downward; on higher branches of older trees with few or no spines except for the leaf tip, often entire. A Silver Fir shoot showing three successive years of retained leaves In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant which retains its leaves year-round, with each leaf persisting for more than 12 months. ... The coniferous Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on earth. ... The leaves of a Beech tree A leaf with laminar structure and pinnate venation In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. ...

European Holly flowers; male above, female below (leaves cut to show flowers more clearly)

The flowers are dioecious, white, four-lobed. The fruit is a red berry 6-10 mm diameter, containing four seeds; although mature in late autumn, they are very bitter so are rarely touched by birds until late winter after frost has made them softer and more palatable. They are poisonous for people. Holly (Ilex aquifolium) flowers; male above, female below. ... Holly (Ilex aquifolium) flowers; male above, female below. ... Field of Poppy flowers Cluster of Clivia miniata flowers A flower, (<Old French flo(u)r<Latin florem<flos), also known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Magnoliophyta, also called angiosperms). ... Plant sexuality deals with the wide variety of sexual reproduction systems found across the plant kingdom. ... Fruit stall in Barcelona, Spain. ... Several types of berries from the market. ... A ripe red jalapeño cut open to show the seeds For other uses, see Seed (disambiguation). ... Orders Many - see section below. ... Frost on black pipes Frost is a solid deposition of water vapor from saturated air. ... The skull and crossbones symbol traditionally used to label a poisonous substance. ...

Cultivation and uses

European Holly was traditionally sacred to druids. It is also a very popular ornamental tree in its native range. Dozens of cultivars have been selected, including plants with variegated, yellow, contorted, thornless, or exceptionally thorny leaves. Female clones are particularly popular, with the shoots with berries being used as a traditional christmas decoration. Two druids, from an 1845 publication, based on a bas-relief found at Autun, France. ... An ornamental plant is a plant species or cultivar that is grown indoors, or in gardens and parks for its amenity value, or for beauty (in its end use), rather than commercial or other value. ... This Osteospermum Pink Whirls is a successful cultivar. ... Variegation is the appearance of differently coloured zones in the leaves, and sometimes the stems, of plants. ... Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday that marks the traditional birthdate of Jesus of Nazareth. ...

The wood is heavy, hard and white; one traditional use is (together with ebony) for chess pieces, with holly for the white pieces, and ebony for the black. Other uses include turnery, inlay work and as firewood. Trunks A tree trunk as found at the Veluwe, The Netherlands Wood is derived from woody plants, notably trees but also shrubs. ... Binomial name Diospyros ebenum Koenig ex Retz. ... Chess is an abstract strategy board game and mind sport for two players. ...

Outside of its native range, European Holly has been widely planted in New Zealand, the cooler areas of Australia, and the Pacific Northwest of North America; in all of these areas, concern has been expressed over its becoming an invasive species harming local native vegetation. The Pacific Northwest from space This page is about the region that includes parts of Canada and the US. For the US only region, see Northwestern United States The Pacific Northwest (abbreviated PNW, or PacNW) or Cascadia is a region in the northwest of North America. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... Lantana Invasion of abandoned citrus plantation; Moshav Sdey Hemed, Israel; May 2, 2006 The term invasive species refers to a subset of those species defined as introduced species or non-indigenous species. ...