Ilex cassine
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| Ilex cassine | ||||||||||||||
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| Ilex cassine L. |
Ilex cassine (Dahoon Holly; also sometimes known as Cassena, but see also Ilex vomitoria), is a holly native to the southeastern coast of North America, in the United States from Virginia to southeast Texas, in Mexico in Veracruz, and in the Caribbean on the Bahamas, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.[1]
It is a large shrub or small tree growing to 10-13 m tall. The leaves are evergreen, 6-15 cm long and 2-4 cm broad, glossy dark green, entire or with a few small spines near the apex of the leaf. The flowers are white, with a four-lobed corolla. The fruit is a red drupe 5-6 mm diameter containing four seeds.[2][3][4]
As with other hollies, it is dioecious with separate male and female plants. Only the females have berries, and a male pollenizer must be within range for bees to pollinate them.
- Ilex cassine var. cassine. United States, Caribbean.
- Ilex cassine var. angustifolia Aiton. United States.
- Ilex cassine var. mexicana (Turcz.) Loes. Mexico.
[edit] Cultivation
It is grown as an ornamental plant for the attractive bright red berries set against the glossy green leaves. Its original range was close to the coast, but the range has been extended by planting.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Germplasm Resources Information Network: Ilex cassine
- ^ Florida Department of Environmental Protection: Florida's Hollies
- ^ Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan ISBN 0-333-47494-5.
- ^ http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=462
