Holly
Holly - Ilex aquifolium
Shrub or small tree to 10 metres. Leaves ovate with undulate spiny margins shiny dark green. Flowers white 6 to 7 mm in small lateral clusters, the male and female on separate plants. Berry bright red when ripe.
Woodland, scrub and hedgerows.
April to June.
Evergreen.
Fairly common throughout Britain except the extreme north.
Quite common in Leicestershire and Rutland. In the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire it was found in 366 of the 617 tetrads.
stepgray4
Charnwood Lodge
22 November 2020
Berries and leaves.
Kaye Axon
Glen Parva, Hopyard Close
15 February 2024
leaves in shade are less spiny
Mike Higgott
County Hall
08 May 2017
Saharima Roenisch
Abbey Park
16 February 2017
variegated form Wistow Leics (taken 16.5.2006).JPG)
Graham Calow
Wistow
16 May 2006
Peter Smith
near Beacon Hill
17 September 2011
Graham Calow
Nailstone Colliery site
24 May 2016
AJ Cann
Tugby
05 May 2018
stepgray4
Charnwood Lodge
22 November 2020
Glossy leaf with spiky edges.
Barbara Cooper
Long Clawson
29 May 2021
Barbara Cooper
Long Clawson
16 May 2012
Saharima Roenisch
Leicester, Belgrave, St. Peters Churchyard
15 March 2019
Ray Pearce
Shepshed Cemetery
05 February 2018
Saharima Roenisch
Evington Park
13 February 2017
 Wistow Leics (taken 16.5.2006).JPG)
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 Church Walk Sapcote SP 4895 9326 (taken 16.5.2006).JPG)
All NatureSpot records
Aphis ilicis
The Holly Aphid (Aphis ilicis) lives in dense colonies on young shoots and undersides of young leaves of Holly. Attacked leaves curl towards their undersides. Later in the year, when the leaves have matured, aphids can be found colonizing the berry petioles. It is rare to find any species other than Aphis ilicis on Holly. Aphis ilicis apterae are dark olive-brown, reddish-brown or greyish-brown.
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Holly Leaf Miner
The larvae of the Agromyzid fly Phytomyza ilicis mine the leaves of Holly producing a characteristic but irregular upper surface linear-blotch mine.
Holly Parachute
This tiny fungus appears on the dead leaves of Holly. To 15 mm with a thin, wiry red stem and a very small off-white cap (2-6mm). Both cap and stems are covered in projecting hairs.
Microthyrium ciliatum
The fruit bodies of the fungus Microthyrium ciliatum are dark brown to blackish, circular, one cell thick, with central ostioles for spore release. Under the microscope they appear as a series of radiating cells, evenly coloured. They rest on the surface of their host with hyphae holding them in place.
Phacidium lauri
The round black pustules of the fungus Phacidium lauri are found on both surfaces of dead Holly leaves.
Holly Speckle
The dark speckling of the Holly Speckle fungus (Trochila ilicina) occurs only on the upper side of dead holly leaves.