Ilex crenata

Ilex crenata (Japanese holly or box-leaved holly; Japanese: イヌツゲ inutsuge) is a species of holly native to eastern China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Sakhalin.[1]

Ilex crenata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Aquifoliales
Family: Aquifoliaceae
Genus: Ilex
Species:
I. crenata
Binomial name
Ilex crenata

It is an evergreen shrub or small tree growing to a height of 3–5 m (rarely 10 m) tall, with a trunk diameter up to 20 cm. The leaves are glossy dark green, small, 10–30 mm long and 10–17 mm broad, with a crenate (wavy) margin, sometimes spiny. The plants are dioecious (having separate male and female plants), with white, four-lobed flowers. The fruit is a black drupe (stone fruit) 5 mm diameter, containing four seeds. It grows well in acidic soil, between a pH of 3.7 and 6.0.[2][3][4]

Cultivation
Ilex crenata edging parterre beds in an English garden

Ilex crenata is grown as an ornamental plant for its dense evergreen foliage, and is a popular plant among Bonsai enthusiasts.[5] It is superficially similar in appearance to boxwood (box), and is often used in similar situations, such as low hedging; but it can readily be distinguished from boxwood by its alternate, not opposite, leaf arrangement.

Numerous cultivars have been selected, including plants with the leaves variegated (e.g. 'Golden Gem', 'Shiro-Fukurin'), dark green (e.g. 'Green Lustre'), or greyish-green (e.g. 'Bad Zwischenahn'); with yellow fruit (e.g. 'Ivory Hall'); and with an erect habit (e.g. 'Chesapeake'), spreading (e.g. 'Green Island', 'Hetzii'), or dwarf (e.g. 'Mariesii', 'Stokes').[4] The cultivars 'Golden Gem'[6] and ‘Fastigiata’ (Fastigiata Group)[7] have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[8]

References
  1. "Ilex crenata". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 2018-01-12.
  2. Osaka hundred trees: Ilex crenata Archived 2009-06-08 at the Wayback Machine (in Japanese; google translation)
  3. Okayama Science University: Ilex crenata Archived 2007-10-11 at the Wayback Machine (in Japanese; google translation)
  4. Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan ISBN 0-333-47494-5.
  5. "Japanese Holly Bonsai". BonsaiDojo.net.
  6. "RHS Plant Selector". Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 2013-05-20.
  7. "RHS Plantfinder - Ilex crenata 'Fastigiata'". Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  8. "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 52. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
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