Holly, also known as common holly, English holly, European holly, or occasionally Christmas holly, is a species of holly native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa, and southwest Asia.
It is a evergreen tree or shrub found in shady areas of forests of oak and in beech hedges.
It has a great capacity to adapt to different conditions and is a pioneer species that repopulates the margins of forests or clearcuts.
As a tree, it can exceed 10 m in height.
It is usually found as a shrub or a small tree about 1 m tall with a straight trunk and pyramidal crown, which branches from the base.
It is slow growing and it does not usually fully mature due to grazing, cutting, or fire. It can live 500 years, but usually does not reach 100.
In the young and in the lower limbs of mature trees, the leaves have three to five sharp spines on each side, pointing alternately upward and downward, while leaves of the upper branches in mature trees lack spines.
The flowers are white, four-lobed, and pollinated by bees.
The fruit is a red drupe, about 6-10 mm in diameter, a bright red or bright yellow, which matures around October or November; at this time they are very bitter and so are rarely eaten until late winter after frost has made them softer and more palatable.
They are eaten by rodents, birds and larger herbivores.
Each fruit contains 3 to 4 seeds which do not germinate until the second or third spring.
The fruit only appears on female plants, which require male plants nearby to fertilise them.
Today, holly is found in western Asia and Europe in the undergrowth of oak forest and beech forest in particular, although at times it can form a dense thicket as the dominant species.
It requires moist, shady environments, found within forests or in shady slopes, cliffs, and mountain gorges.
Pure stands of hollies can grow into a labyrinth of vaults in which thrushes and deer take refuge, while smaller birds are protected among their spiny leaves.
After the first frost of the season, hollies' fruit becomes soft and falls to the ground serving as important food for winter birds at a time of scarce resources.
The flowers are attractive as nectar sources for insects such as bees, wasps, flies, and small butterflies.
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11 сен 2024
