Ilex aquifolium
Family: Aquifoliaceae
Perennial evergreen tree. Native to Central and Southern Europe,
Asia, North Africa and Central China. The use of Holly as a symbolic
winter decoration, with its shiny, prickly leaves and blood-red berries,
goes all the way back to the Druids, who decorated their huts with it during
the time of Saturnalia. The leaves contain a bitter alkaloid, ilicin,
and the tea has a pronounced diaphoretic effect, traditionally used for
treatment of fever and as an upper respiratory decongestant. The
berries are violently emetic and have been employed in small doses as a
purgative (not recommended). Cultivation: Soak seed
in water for 24 hours. Sow in spring for germination the following
spring. Germination continues for three years. Provide seedlings
with partial shade for first year, and transplant in the fall, when the
plants have attained a height of at least one foot. Unfailingly winter-hardy.
Prefers to grow in Oak woodlands, but will grow almost anywhere as long
as the drainage is good. May be pruned to shape. Pruning also encourages
berries to set. Grows slowly, but eventually attains a height
of 30 feet and a diameter of 2 feet.
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