Ilex gardneriana

Ilex gardneriana is an extinct species of the genus holly. She was endemic to the Nilgiri mountains in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Description

Ilex gardneriana was a shrub or small tree whose habit was crawling at the base and then gradually erected. The trunk was almost smooth. The lanceolate - ovate, arranged in groups of three leaves by 5 to 7.6 centimeters long. The leaf shape was rounded at the base and tapered on both sides. The leaf margin was spiky. The 1.2 -inch-long pink flowers growing singly or in clusters. There were five petals and five sepals. The sepals were shorter than the petals. The front, at the top slightly arched petals formed a filamentous spur that was as long as the flower. The upper Kronlappen was shorter than the front. The seed capsule was oblong, pointed and smooth. The flowering period was from January to February.

Occurrence and habitat

Ilex gardneriana grew on damp grassland on the western slopes of the Nilgiri Mountains.

Status

Ilex gardneriana was collected only once in 1859 in 1829 m altitude at Sispara Ghat. An intensive search in the region in recent decades was unsuccessful. Causes for the disappearance of the nature of the conversion of habitat into human settlements and agricultural areas.