#Ilex aquifolium

[huariqueje]

Common Holly  , Traitae des Arbres et Arbustres * -   Henri Redouté , 1850.

Belgian,  1766-1852

Illustration

*Henri Louis Duhamel du Monceau , 1852.

Ilex aquifolium

[helluvatimes]

Christmas Holly

A Christmas Holly, sometimes also known as European Holly (Ilex aquifolium), making an appearance by the side of the Flower Field in the conservatory. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

This holly was planted in the Flower Dome here by the Ambassador of Ireland to Singapore to commemorate 50 years of diplomatic relations.

[natur-nah-dran]

Reifende Früchte der Stechpalme (Ilex aquifolium)

[pnwnativeplants]

Corruption in PNW Conservation: Holly Farmer on Weed Control Board Prevents Board From Protecting Forests from Invasive Holly

Original article by Becky Chaney, WNPS Conservation Committee Chair (Full original article can be read here)

In November, the Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board (hereafter referred to as the Board) considered the Whatcom County Noxious Weed Board proposal to list English holly (Ilex aquifolium) as a Class C noxious weed, as requested by Thomas and Tricia Morrel, owners of a designated Stewardship Forest in Whatcom County. The effects of holly on western Washington public and private lands, documented by numerous studies and mapping from multiple agencies and scientists, was presented to the Board during the November 1 public hearing. The information included statements regarding the negative impacts of holly, including its detrimental crowding out of under-story vegetation and the increased forest fire risk resulting from this relatively recent addition of a non-native ladder fuel. The information presented was quantitative and backed by scientific research from numerous studies. Eleven speakers, included botanists and land managers from a wide variety of agencies and environmental groups, spoke in favor of the state listing. Two speakers, owner of Holly Hill Orchards and his son, spoke in opposition. Expressing concern that the listing would destroy their family business, a holly farm purchased in 2011. They are convinced the habitat risks are over-stated and find the dollars spent on control ($90,000 from 2007-2009 at just a SINGLE Seattle site) inconceivable.

The Board considered the potential impacts to the holly farms and the floral industry. To ensure no harm to these small family businesses, a concurrent addition, developed with input from Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, was proposed and approved before taking a vote on listing holly. A new definition—feral—was added to Washington’s noxious weed laws. The definition reads: “Feral means where a plant species has escaped a managed landscape or is growing without human management or design. ‘Feral’ does not include any plants grown for agricultural or commercial purposes” (WAC 16-750-003). The proposed Class C listing of feral holly only applies to escaped holly—holly existing outside of gardens and cultivated lands such as holly farms. It would allow wildland managers to fund control of invasive holly where it is negatively impacting forestland and for educational programs addressing why and where feral holly is a problem. Nothing in the listing would restrict farming holly, or selling it, either live or cut, within or outside of the state. A class C listing as feral holly would not require its removal from ornamental gardens or farms, or restrict its commercial uses. This consideration wasn’t enough to ease the concerns of the Washington holly growers. The holly farmers argued that the image of holly would be tarnished, and that holly farming would no longer be economically feasible. No economic data was provided to back up their claim. Board Education Specialist Anne Schuster did provide information noting that Pacific Northwest holly growers supply 90% of English holly sold in the United States, export it to countries such as Japan, and that it has grown here for over 90 years.

Sadly (from my perspective), the listing of English holly as a Washington State class C noxious weed received only a 3-3 vote from the Board members present; passage of the listing needed a majority. There are nine voting positions on the Board, but the Northeast Tier is currently vacant. Two members, Randy Johnson and Brad White, did not attend the meeting, so only six members voted. The listing was supported by board members William (Bill) Agosta, Janet Spingath, and Allen Evanston. In opposition were members Jerry Hendrickson, Carey Caruso, and Ken Bajema. Bajema, in addition to being on the Board, is owner of Columbia Gorge Holly Farms, a multi-generational family farm growing holly since 1959. He is a long- term, vocal opponent of listing holly as a state noxious weed. Again, from my perspective, I can’t help wondering how conflict of interest (a thorny issue) may have affected the vote. At least one respondent to a 2022 survey provided to the Board ahead of the hearing expressed concern that the Board had a conflict-of-interest problem. As far as I know, this was not publicly addressed by the Board or staff ahead of the vote. After the vote, the question over conflict of interest was raised during public comment. The Chair responded “Obviously, there is a conflict of interest if you are talking about...a member of the Board being a holly grower, but there’s no law against that...he is a member of the Board and he is a holly grower and that’s perfectly legitimate. Yes, that creates at least one person with a conflict of interest but I’m afraid... there’s no law against that. We have no rules about recusal and so there’s no basis for requiring a person with a conflict of interest to recuse himself in this circumstance.” Staff indicated that it was important to have Board members who feel the impacts of these decisions and expressed the opinion that it is “rightfully so that Ken has a vote.” I agree that the boards are supposed to include representation from various affected interest groups and are mandated to consider and mitigate impacts on business. However, I believe elevating special interests above the Board’s legal mission is wrong. A Capital Press article written in 2010, then updated in 2018, states that “Dee and Ken Bajema scoff at claims that English holly is invasive.” It states that the Bajemas (say) it’s difficult to remain positive about the fate of the requested “noxious” listing. Ken Bajema says nothing to correct this public record. He does not acknowledge that holly is invasive, is environmentally detrimental, or that it is a multi-county problem. Survey comments verify that holly is a concern in at least ten Washington counties. More than half of the survey respondents who note that holly impacts their county also stated that holly’s unlisted status (negatively) impacts their ability to control it.

[rosanacafe]

Tiny snail por Rosana Por Flickr: For Looking close... on Friday: "Flora & Fauna in Vertical Photo"

[hellsitegenetics]

it's amazing, just incredible, how this site keeps getting asks that go like "I hope it's a cat", "I love birds", and then the organism that comes out isn't even in the same phylum. anyway; not me, I'm different I'm special, and analysis of this text WILL result in a lizard

String identified: t' aag, t c, t t gttg a tat g " t' a cat", " ", a t t ga tat c t 't t a . aa; t , ' t ' ca, a aa t tt t a a

Closest match: Ilex aquifolium genome assembly, chromosome: 7 Common name: Christmas holly

[noosphe-re]

Ilex aquifolium Root system drawing Wurzelatlas (Lore Kutschera, Erwin Lichtenegger)

[literaryvein-reblogs]

One Poem a Day: December

"beautiful" words related to December for your next poem/story

December - 12th month of the Gregorian calendar. Its name is derived from decem, Latin for “ten,” indicating its position in the early Roman calendar.

Alabasterine - pertaining to the compact fine-textured usually white and translucent gypsum often carved into vases and ornaments

Caducity - senility; the quality of being transitory or perishable

Clementine - a small nearly seedless citrus fruit that is probably a hybrid between a tangerine and an orange

Complaisance - disposition to please or comply; affability

Diaphanous - characterized by extreme delicacy of form; ethereal

Ecru - a pale or light grayish yellow or brown; beige

Eggnog - a drink consisting of eggs beaten with sugar, milk or cream, and often alcoholic liquor

Etiolate - to make pale

Exsanguination - the action or process of draining or losing blood

Frisson - a brief moment of emotional excitement; shudder, thrill

Frore - frosty, frozen

Graupel - granular snow pellets

Holly - any of a genus (Ilex) of trees and shrubs especially: either of two (I. opaca and I. aquifolium) with spiny-margined evergreen leaves and usually red berries often used for Christmas decorations

Imparadise - to make supremely happy, transport with delight or joy

Lambent - playing lightly on or over a surface; flickering; softly bright or radiant

Morpheus - the Greek god of dreams

Nacreous - possessing the qualities of, consisting of, or abounding in nacre, also: iridescent

Nascence - birth, origin

Névé - the partially compacted granular snow that forms the surface part of the upper end of a glacier

Overwinter - to last through or pass the winter

Paperwhite - a polyanthus narcissus bearing clusters of small very fragrant pure white flowers

Parturition - the action or process of giving birth to offspring; childbirth

Passementerie - an ornamental edging or trimming (such as tassels) made of braid, cord, gimp, beading, or metallic thread

Pellucid - reflecting light evenly from all surfaces

Purfle - to ornament the border or edges of

Sublunary - of, relating to, or characteristic of the terrestrial world

Sylph - an elemental being in the theory of Paracelsus that inhabits air

Tanzanite - a mineral that is a deep blue variety of zoisite and is used as a gemstone

Turquoise - a mineral that is a blue, bluish-green, or greenish-gray hydrous basic phosphate of copper and aluminum, takes a high polish, and is valued as a gem when sky blue

Umbral - of little or no light

Zircon - a tetragonal mineral consisting of a silicate of zirconium and occurring usually in brown or grayish square prisms of adamantine luster or sometimes in transparent forms which are used as gems

Sources: 1 2 3 ⚜ More: Word Lists �� Writing Prompts

[flowerishness]

Berberis aquifolium - formerly Mahonia aquifolium (Oregon grape)

Oregon grape is another native spring flower and is usually found as an understory plant in our local coniferous rainforests. The species name aquifolium is based on Ilex aquifolium (English holly) and you must admit, Oregon grape leaves are remarkably holly-like. Actually, it's neither a grape nor a holly but rather a member of the barberry family. Incidentally, Oregon grape was declared the state flower of Oregon in 1899.

[rebeccathenaturalist]

Can you tell an invasive species from a native one?

I've pulled up a lot of invasive plants over the years, and some of them have native species that are close look-alikes. This is a great example. On the left you can see a European holly seedling (Ilex aquifolium) that I uprooted, and on the right are the leaves of Oregon grape (Berberis aquifolium) that was growing nearby.

Both plants have leaves that are oval in shape with spiky edges, dark green in color on top with a paler green underside, a shiny/waxy texture, and a prominent central vein with more slender veins branching off to both sides. Both can grow into a sizable shrub, though holly often grows into a small tree much taller than its native counterpart.

The biggest giveaway that the plant on the left is holly is the fact that the edges are wavy and the spikes are more unruly, often pointing in different directions. They may also be spaced further apart. Oregon grape's leaf margins are flatter, and the spikes more orderly. Oregon grape leaves are usually a little lighter in color, and a little less shiny, especially when dry. If you have a chance to see the berries of each species, holly berries are bright red, while Oregon grape's are a dusty blue, and they show up earlier in the year than holly berries. Oregon grape flowers, which are yellow, also appear earlier in the year than holly's white flowers.

Holly seedlings often dot forest floors in the Pacific Northwest because it is a common ornamental shrub, and the region also produces large quantities of holly for holiday decorations. Unfortunately birds will eat the seeds and then distribute them far and wide, making this plant hard to control. If you decide to pull holly seedlings by hand, double check those leaves to be sure you aren't accidentally pulling a small native Oregon grape.

[francescointoppa]

Agrifoglio (Ilex aquifolium L., Aquifoliaceae)

[helluvatimes]

A Bejewelled Seasonal Favourite

Common Hollies blooming just in time for Christmastide. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

This was shot against the light with the exposure biased 3 stops brighter. With an electronic viewfinder, it was much easier to nail the exposure with the first shot. 

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Friday 15 September 2023

Outside the Stamford Library, Lincolnshire, was this container which included the evergreen Ilex aquifolium 'Argentea Marginata' (broad-leaved silver holly). This female holly has white-margined, dark green leaves and masses of bright red berries in autumn through to winter. It's particularly suitable for urban or coastal sites since it copes well with pollution and salt-laden air.

Jill Raggett

[chang-trai-cua-gio]

Khi cây Holly (Ilex aquifolium) phát hiện lá của mình đang bị hươu gặm, nó sẽ gửi tín hiệu khiến lá có gai khi chúng mọc lại. Vì vậy, các lá phía trên (ngoài tầm với của hươu) sẽ có mép cong và nhẵn, các lá nằm phía dưới sẽ có gai.

Một số loài cây còn phát tín hiệu khiến lá có vị đắng chát để lá không bị ăn. Thực vật thật nhiệm màu phải không mình? 🪴

Nếu thấy có gì không ổn mình cũng có thể “phát tín hiệu” tự điều chỉnh hoặc tìm kiếm sự giúp đỡ từ bạn bè, gia đình nhé! ☺️

Sách: Sống như những cái cây

Ảnh: Green life

[transparentgentlemenmarker]

Si un houx (Ilex aquifolium) constate que ses feuilles sont grignotées par un animal, il modifie son ADN pour les rendre épineuses lorsqu'elles repoussent. Ainsi, sur les houx plus grands, les feuilles supérieures ont des bords lisses, tandis que les feuilles inférieures sont épineuses

[worldsandemanations]

Ilex aquifolium Root system drawing Wurzelatlas