Ilex aquifolium Alaska - Common Holly

Ilex aquifolium Alaska, or Common Holly, is a female bush with an erect and compact habit and grey, smooth bark. It is an upright columnar shrub composed of numerous green stems striped with cream. It takes several years to reach its adult size and can live for a hundred years if well established. Positioned on these stems are ovate, undulate, and very spiny glossy dark green leaves. These leaves, 5 to 8 cm (2 to 3.1 in) long, have spines on the edges. It is a decorative evergreen shrub.

During the months of May and June, white flowers, slightly pinkish, appear close to the leaves, grouped in small cymes. The flowers are fragrant, making the plant melliferous, meaning it contains substances collected by pollinating insects or some birds that can be transformed into honey. From September to March, these flowers produce small, bright red spherical berries, 4 to 6 mm (0.2 to 0.2 in) in diameter. The fruits are very decorative. They are only produced in the presence of a male and a female plant, as the plant is dioecious. The fruit is toxic. The Alaska variety has an abundance of fruit.

Native to Western and Southern Europe, North Africa, and Asia Minor, Ilex aquifolium is very hardy.  At maturity, the Alaska variety can reach up to 15 m (49 ft 2 in) in height. It can be a solitary plant or used in dense hedges, as long as they do not become too wide. It provides a good windbreak.  It is an ornamental tree that can also work well as topiary or in woodlands and naturalistic planting. It can also be cultivated in containers on terraces. Holly is a symbol of pagan and religious celebrations.