Holly

For other uses, see Holly (disambiguation).
"Ilex" redirects here. For other uses, see Ilex (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Holy.

Holly
Temporal range: Turonian–recent[1]
European holly (Ilex aquifolium) leaves and fruit
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Aquifoliales
Family: Aquifoliaceae
DC. ex A.Rich.
Genus: Ilex
L.
Type species
Ilex aquifolium
Species

About 570, see text

Ilex (/ˈaɪlɛks/) or holly[3] is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family.[4] Ilex has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus.[5] The species are evergreen or deciduous trees, shrubs, and climbers from tropics to temperate zones worldwide. The type species is Ilex aquifolium, the common European holly used in Christmas decorations and cards.

  1. ^ "Aquifoliales". www.mobot.org. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Index Nominum Genericorum". Smithsonian Institution. 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  3. ^ Sunset Western Garden Book. 1995. pp. 606–07.
  4. ^ "Ilex Tourn. ex L." Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  5. ^ Yao, Xin; Tan, Yun-Hong; Liu, Ying-Ying; Song, Yu; Yang, Jun-Bo; Corlett, Richard T. (2016). "Chloroplast genome structure in Ilex (Aquifoliaceae)". Scientific Reports. 6: 28559. Bibcode:2016NatSR...628559Y. doi:10.1038/srep28559. PMC 4932625. PMID 27378489.