Hollyhock (Ilex aquifolium) Rocalba 1 g

Holly (Ilex aquifolium)

Contents of sachet 1 g

Shrub or, rarely, evergreen conical tree growing to a maximum height of 8 m, branched at the base. Young shoots are greenish flaky, older branches are greyish. Its branches are strongly branched.

Ovate, glossy, leathery, dark green leaves with wavy margins and short stems. Leaves with wavy teeth have spiny tips - but this is mainly true of the leaves of the younger specimens close to the ground: older shrubs and higher branches usually have simple oval leaves.

The dioecious, small, white flowers grow from the axils of the leaves:

the stamens in a three-flowered raceme,
white termites mostly solitary, rarely in multiples.
The flowers produce much nectar.

The fruit is a bright red berry, 8-10 mm long, with a dented tip.