Ilex cornuta

Ilex cornuta
as penjing, Shanghai Botanical Garden
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Aquifoliales
Family:	Aquifoliaceae
Genus:	Ilex
Species:	I. cornuta
Binomial name
Ilex cornuta Lindl.

Ilex cornuta, commonly known as Chinese holly^[1] or horned holly,^[2] is a slow-growing, densely foliaged evergreen shrub in the Aquifoliaceae plant family. It is native to eastern China and Korea^[3] and attains a height of about 3 metres (9.8 ft). The leaves are usually 5-spined (sometimes 4), between 3.5 cm and 10 cm long,^[4] oblong and entire. The fruits are red berries, which are larger than those of the European Holly (Ilex aquifolium).

Ilex cornuta is valued horticulturally for its attractive and distinctive rectangular foliage and for its large red berries. Several cultivars and hybrids have been introduced by the horticultural trade, including 'Burfordii' (compact and free-fruiting), 'Dazzler' (large fruits), 'Dwarf Burfordii' (particularly compact), and 'Nellie R. Stevens' (a hybrid with I. aquifolium, very free-fruiting).

Ilex cornuta and its cultivars will tolerate a wide variety of soils and will grow in sun or shade.

References

1. "Ilex cornuta". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
2. "BSBI List 2007". Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-02-25. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
3. Hillier Nurseries, The Hillier Manual of Trees and Shrubs, David & Charles, 1998, p281
4. Phillips, R. & Rix, M., Shrubs, Macmillan, 1994, p277