Ilex cornuta
Chinese holly (Ilex cornuta )
The Chinese holly (Ilex cornuta ) is a shrub or small tree with thick leathery leaves and red fruits stachelspitzigen from the family of holly plants ( Aquifoliaceae ). The natural range is in China and Korea. The species is sometimes used because of the decorative fruits as an ornamental shrub.
Description
The Chinese holly is an evergreen, usually from 0.6 1 to 4 meters high, densely branched, rounded shrub or small tree. Young branches are longitudinally furrowed, glabrous or slightly pubescent along the furrow. Older branches are gray-white, nearly terete, finely longitudinally fissured, with prominent leaf scars without Korkporen. The leaves are divided into petiole and leaf blade. The stem is 4-8 mm long, upper side narrowly furrowed and slightly pubescent. The leaf blade is simple, thick leathery, 4-9 cm long, 2-4 cm wide, oblong- rectangular or rarely ovate, with an expiring with a sting often recurved blade tip, a rounded or almost wedge- shaped base, entire or with one to two spines on each side. The upper leaf surface is dark green and glossy, the lower greenish and brighter. There shall be five to six pairs of nerves, the midrib of the upper leaf surface is sunk.
More leaf shape
The inflorescences are axillary bundled Zyme and grow at two-year branches. The bracts are ovate, hairy, ciliated and have a blunt or stachelspitziges blade end. The flowers are yellowish and cruciform. The male inflorescences are Zyme first or second order. The flowers grow to 5 to 6 mm long, bare stems. The bracts are wide triangular. The calyx is disc-shaped with a diameter of about 2.5 millimeters. The calyx lobes are 0.7 mm long, 1.5 mm wide, broadly triangular, membranous, sparsely hairy and ciliated. The corolla has a diameter of about 7 millimeters. The petals are 3-4 mm long, recurved, oblong- ovate and fused at the base. The stamens are as long as the petals or slightly longer. The anthers are about 1 mm long and oblong- ovate. The rudimentary trained ovary is almost circular, with a blunt or rounded tip and lobed indistinctly four times. The female inflorescences are Zyme with bare flower stems 7-9 millimeters in length. The two bracts are wide triangular. Calyx and corolla similar to those of male flowers. The staminodes are slightly shorter than the petals, sterile anthers are ovate - arrow-shaped. The ovary is 3 to 4 millimeters long with a diameter of 2 millimeters, oblong- ovate. The scar is disc-shaped and vierlappig.
The fruits are round, 8 to 10 millimeters long and red. The fruit stalk is 1.3 to 1.4 inches long. The permanent calyx is quadrangular. The permanent scar is disc-shaped and clearly vierlappig. The four casts are 7-8 mm long with a diameter of about 5 millimeters, or elliptical obovate and wrinkled. The Chinese holly flowers from April to May and the fruits ripen from August to December.
The chromosome number is 2n = 38
Distribution and habitat requirements
The natural range is located on the Korean Peninsula, to the east of Hubei Province and Shandong. The Chinese holly grows on bush land, in open woods, on hills and along rivers and roads at altitudes 100-1900 m on moderately dry to moderately moist, mildly acidic to mildly alkaline, sandy- loamy, loamy or sandy- rich, moderately nutrient-rich soils in light to partial shade. The species is thermophilic and moderately frost hardy. The distribution area is the hardiness zone 7b associated with mean annual minimum temperatures -14.9 to -12.3 ° C ( 5 to 10 ° F).
System
The Chinese holly (Ilex cornuta ) is a species of the genus holly (Ilex ) in the family of holly -like ( Aquifoliales ). The species was described by John Lindley and Joseph Paxton in 1850 for the first time scientifically. Synonyms are Ilex burfordii S.R. Howell, Ilex fortunei Lindl. and Ilex furcata Lindl. ex Gopp .. The genus name Ilex is derived from Latin and was used for the holm oak (Quercus ilex ) were used. Even before Carl Linnaeus, who has chosen the generic name, it was customary for the European Holly ( Ilex aquifolium). The specific epithet cornuta comes from the Latin and means " horned ".
Use
The Chinese holly is seldom used because of the remarkable fruits as an ornamental shrub.