Attributes:
Perennial
Wildlife Value:
Fruits are attractive to birds. Flowers attract bees. Members of the genus Ilex support the following specialized bee: Colletes banksi.

• Wildlife Food Source
• Wind Break
• Particularly Resistant To (Insects/Diseases/Other Problems):
• Resistant to damage by deer and Phytophthora root rot.
• Edibility:
• Use caution. Berries are slightly toxic to humans if eaten in quantity.
• Dimensions:
• Height: 15 ft. - 20 ft.
• Width: 10 ft. - 20 ft. 
• Whole Plant Traits:
• Plant Type:
• Shrub
• Tree
• Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
• Broadleaf Evergreen
• Habit/Form:
• Dense
• Erect
• Pyramidal

Growth Rate:

• Rapid
• Maintenance: Medium
• Texture: Coarse
• Appendage: Spines
• Thorns
• Cultural Conditions:

Light:

Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)

Available Space To Plant:

• 6-feet-12 feet
• 12-24 feet
• Fruit Color: Red/Burgundy
• Fruit Value To Gardener: Long-lasting
• Showy
• Display/Harvest Time: Fall,Winter
• Fruit Type: Berry

Fruit Description:

• A good fruiter with vivid red, 1/4 inch diameter berries. They are produced on female plants. Fruits persist into winter.
• Flowers:
• Flower Color: White
• Flower Inflorescence: Cyme
• Insignificant
• Flower Value To Gardener:
• Fragrant
• Flower Bloom Time: Spring
• Flower Petals: 4-5 petals/rays
• Flower Size: 1 inch

Flower Description:
Small, 4-parted, radial, axillary, dull-white flowers in late spring that are 1/4 to 1/3 of an inch. Male and female flowers are on different plants (dioecious). Fragrant but not showy.

• Leaves: Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics Broadleaf Evergreen
• Leaf Color: Green
• Leaf Feel: Glossy, Leathery, Prickly, Waxy
• Leaf Shape: Oblong
• Leaf Length: 1-3 inches
• Leaf Width: 1-3 inches

Leaf Description:
Alternate, simple, lustrous dark green above, yellow-green below. Leaves are spiny, coriaceous, and 1 1/2 to 2 inches long, oblong-rectangular in shape, slightly twisted with a large spine at the tip.