Ilex cornuta seeds chinese holly horned holly

Uses: Bonsai or Topiary. Effective as a specimen or in small groups or as a hedge. Foundation plantings. Foliage and fruit provide good color for the winter landscape.

chinese Holly is native to china and Korea. It is a broadleaf evergreen that typically grows as a shrub 8 to 10 feet tall, but may be trained as a small tree to as much as 25 feet tall. Unusually shaped rectangular leaves to 4 inches long have three large spines at the apex. Dull white flowers appear in May. Flowers are fragrant but generally inconspicuous. Pollinated flowers give way to berry like red drupes 1/3 inch long which ripen in fall and persist into winter. Birds are attracted to the fruit.
 
 
Leaf: Alternate, simple, evergreen, elliptical, 1 1/2 to 3 inches long, margin with varying number of spines, some leaves have only a terminal spine, shiny dark green above, dull green below, glassy feeling.
Flower: Dioecious; small, white, 4-petaled, 1/4 to 1/3 inch wide, not showy, male flowers are very fragrant, appearing in early spring.
Fruit: Bright red, round drupe, 1/3 to 1/2 inch in diameter, occur in clusters of 4 to 8, very showy, persistent. Attracts birds.
Warning: Ilex fruits, while eagerly eaten by wildlife, are Poisonous to humans. Be certain that small children do not eat them.
Twig: Slender, green turning reddish green in the winter, buds small, leaf scar with 1 bundle scar.
Bark: Smooth, gray, with size becoming very finely flaky.
Form: Small tree that can reach 20 feet in height, with a round crown, often pruned as a hedge.
 
 Other Names: Horned Holly