Ilex cornuta seeds chinese holly horned holly

LATIN NAME: Ilex cornuta

COMMON NAME: Chinese Holly, Horned Holly

Chinese holly is an evergreen with real character, and its leaves are unlike almost anything else in the garden. They are thick, glossy and dark green, with a curious, angular shape, and each leaf has a few sharp, horn-like spines along the edges, which is how the plant got its common name. It grows as a dense, rounded shrub or small tree, usually two or three metres tall, and it keeps its leathery green leaves all year. In spring it carries small, white flowers, and on female plants these are followed by clusters of bright red berries that ripen in autumn and glow against the dark foliage through winter. It is a tough, handsome shrub that brings colour and structure to the garden in every season.

Chinese holly belongs to the holly family, Aquifoliaceae, and it is native to central and eastern China, where it grows in woods and scrub. It is a hardy, adaptable shrub that tolerates shade, poor soil and city pollution, and it has been planted widely as an ornamental across the temperate world.

Positive & Encouraging Seed Germination Guide

Growing Chinese holly from seed takes patience, but it is a satisfying shrub to raise. The seeds sit inside the red berries, and they need a long period of cold, moist conditions to germinate, so collect the berries in autumn, clean off the flesh, and keep the seeds cool and damp for several months, or sow them in pots and leave them outdoors through winter. In spring, bring the pots to a bright spot and keep them moist. Germination can be slow and uneven, with some seeds taking many months, so be patient and keep the pots going. Grow the young shrubs on in pots for a year or two before planting out in a sheltered spot. A Chinese holly you have raised from seed will give you glossy evergreen foliage and winter berries for many years.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

Chinese holly has a genuine place in both horticultural and natural-products research. As a member of the genus Ilex, it is related to the holly used to make a traditional tea in South America, and researchers have studied the genus for its bioactive compounds, including triterpenoids and antioxidants. In horticulture, the plant is studied for its adaptability, its glossy evergreen foliage and its tolerance of shade and urban conditions, which make it valuable for hedging and screens, and its winter berries are prized in research on garden plants for year-round interest. The genus Ilex as a whole has also been the subject of studies on plant chemistry and on the traditional uses of holly in medicine. For a shrub of such sturdy habits, Chinese holly has a steady and practical record of research.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

Ecologically, Chinese holly is a valuable evergreen. Its dense, spiny foliage gives year-round shelter and safe nesting sites for birds, and its bright red berries feed birds and small mammals through the winter, when food is scarce.

Its economic value lies mainly in ornamental horticulture. It is widely grown for hedging, screens, borders and specimen planting, prized for its glossy evergreen leaves and its winter berries, and it is a staple of the nursery trade in temperate regions. In China, the leaves have also been used in traditional herbal tea. For a grower, Chinese holly is a dependable, low-care shrub with steady demand, and for a gardener it brings glossy structure and winter colour that lasts for months.

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