Ilex aquifolium wild type - Holly - Plant

Description

• Aquifoliaceae
• Central and Western Europe
• H 9m x L 5m
• Z6
• Evergreen shrub, slow growing
• 1 plant bare root available all year

Details

Dioecious plant with leathery foliage, dark green, shiny, varnish-like on the upper side, with thorny growths very pronounced on the female plants.

Spring flowering, white, discreet, during many weeks, very pleasantly honey-scented, and extremely attractive to bees.

Only the female plant bears very decorative bright red berries in autumn and early winter - traditionally used in Christmas decorations - contrasting greatly with the dark green background of the leaves. Birds feed on them during winter and contribute to spread seeds all around.

Holly is interesting in the garden as an evergreen, planted isolated or to make hedges. The plant is extremely hardy and withstands the harshest conditions of cold and drought.

Its dense wood is rare and highly sought after by artisans, for both its hardness and aesthetic (light color). It can be used as a fuel too.

Ilex aquifolium is a medicinal plant and finds various applications with human health through its properties: astringent, diaphoretic, diuretics, emetics, expectorant, antipyretic and purgative. However, the berries are toxic and will cause nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.

Our Holly plants are of the wild species, and obtained from spontaneous seedlings in the natural environment of our farm.