Ilex aquifolium
Details Top
| Internal ID | UUID64402183da455828763157 |
| Scientific name | Ilex aquifolium |
| Authority | L. |
| First published in | Sp. Pl. : 125 (1753) |
Ethnobotanical Use Top
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Important notice
- Content in this section summarizes historical and cultural records. It is not medical advice.
- Do not use plants for self-treatment. Safety, efficacy, and appropriate use are not established here.
- Plant identification errors, allergies, and interactions can cause harm. Consult qualified professionals for health questions.
- Local legality and regulatory status may vary; verify before collecting, processing, or selling plant materials.
In the British Isles the fresh or dried leaves of Ilex aquifolium have traditionally been taken as a gentle tea to promote urination and to soothe a dry cough; Grieve (1931) records that an infusion of the leaves was a common household remedy for urinary complaints and throat irritation. Among French Alpine practitioners a decoction of the bark is prepared by simmering about ten grams of bark in half a litre of water for fifteen to twenty minutes and then drinking the liquid to aid in the passage of small kidney stones; Chevallier (1996) notes this bark decoction as a traditional diuretic and lithotriptic aid. In the Italian Apennines the leaves are infused in hot water for about five minutes and taken after meals to calm flatulence and indigestion; Wichtl (2004) describes this leaf infusion as a traditional digestive remedy in the region. The bark decoction is traditionally prepared in the spring thaw when the bark is most flexible, a detail recorded by Chevallier (1996).
To make a standard holly‑leaf tea, place 2 g of dried leaves (about one heaping teaspoon) in a tea infuser, pour 250 ml of just‑boiled water over them, and steep for 5–7 minutes. The resulting infusion is light green, aromatic, and slightly bitter, with a faint citrus note, and can be enjoyed warm up to two cups per day. If desired, a teaspoon of honey can be added to counteract the bitterness. Because the leaves contain caffeine and related methyl‑xanthines, the brew should be avoided by pregnant or nursing women, children under twelve, and anyone with high blood pressure, heart‑rhythm irregularities, or a known sensitivity to stimulants. Do not exceed three cups in a 24‑hour period.
Scientific analyses of Ilex aquifolium consistently report caffeine, theobromine and theophylline as the principal methyl‑xanthine alkaloids, alongside flavonoids such as quercetin, kaempferol and rutin, and phenolic acids like caffeic and chlorogenic acid. Small amounts of triterpenic saponins have also been reported, contributing to the characteristic bitterness. These compounds are known to possess mild diuretic, smooth‑muscle‑relaxing and antioxidant properties, which correspond with the traditional diuretic and soothing effects described above.
Today dried holly leaf is sold by several European herb suppliers as a traditional diuretic tea, and recent pharmacological studies confirm its ability to increase urine output in animal models, while ongoing ethnobotanical work records that many Alpine families still brew the bark decoction each spring for kidney‑related health. Commercial preparations are often labeled as “common holly tea” and are marketed to those seeking natural diuretic support.
General Uses Top
Suggest a correction!Common products:
Cut evergreen stems and branches are produced seasonally as wreaths, garlands, and holiday decorations, leveraging the plant’s glossy, spiny foliage and bright red berries.
Industrial and craft applications:
Scant commercial or industrial utilization; the plant is valued primarily in horticulture and decorative crafts rather than large‑scale manufacturing.
Colorants and tanning:
No documented use as a dye or tannin source.
Wood and fiber:
No documented timber or fiber products; not used for pulp, paper, or fiberboard.
Fragrance and cosmetics:
No documented use for essential oils, fragrances, or cosmetics.
Food and beverages (non-medicinal):
No documented edible or beverage applications; berries are considered toxic and unsuitable for food use.
Properties relevant to use:
Ornamental foliage exhibits persistent dark green, glossy, spiny leaves and bright red drupes, supporting decorative value.
Sustainability and sourcing:
Primarily cultivated as an ornamental shrub or small tree in gardens; stems for seasonal use are harvested from managed landscapes and horticulture operations.
Synonyms Top
| Scientific name | Authority | First published in |
|---|---|---|
| Aquifolium croceum | Raf. | Sylva Tellur. : 44 (1838) |
| Aquifolium ferox | Mill. ex Raf. | Sylva Tellur. : 44 (1838) |
| Aquifolium heterophyllum | Raf. | Sylva Tellur. : 44 (1838) |
| Aquifolium ilex | Scop. | Fl. Carniol. , ed. 2, 1: 116 (1771) |
| Aquifolium lanceolatum | Raf. | Sylva Tellur. : 44 (1838) |
| Aquifolium planifolium | Raf. | Sylva Tellur. : 44 (1838) |
| Aquifolium spinosum | Lam. | Fl. Franç. 3: 652 (1779) |
| Aquifolium undulatum | Raf. | Sylva Tellur. : 44 (1838) |
| Aquifolium vulgare | St.-Lag. | Ann. Soc. Bot. Lyon 7: 128 (1880) |
| Ilex aquifolium var. barcinonae | Pau | Mem. Mus. Ci. Nat. Barcelona, Ser. Bot. 1(1): 32 1922 |
| Ilex balearica | Desf. | Hist. Arbr. France 2: 262 (1809) |
| Ilex camelliifolia | Henry | Trees Great Britain 7: 1714 (1913) |
| Ilex chrysocarpa | Wender. | Index Seminum (MB, Marburgensis) 1828: 3 (1828) |
| Ilex ciliata | hort. ex Koehne | Bon Jard. 1860: 1173 (1860) |
| Ilex citriocarpa | Murr | Allg. Bot. Z. Syst. 18: 161 (1912) |
| Ilex crassifolia | Aiton ex Steud. | Nomencl. Bot. , ed. 2, 1: 802 (1840) |
| Ilex echinata | Mill. | Gard. Dict. ed. 8 : n.º 2 (1768) |
| Ilex ferox | Ait. ex Steud. | Nomencl. Bot. , ed. 2, 1: 802 (1840) |
| Ilex fischeri | hort. ex Carrière | Rev. Hort. (Paris) 59: 43 (1887) |
| Ilex nigricans | Henry | Trees Great Britain 7: 1714 (1913) |
| Ilex sempervirens | Salisb. | Prodr. Stirp. Chap. Allerton : 70 (1796) |
| Ilex heterophylla | G.Don | Gen. Hist. 2: 17 (1832) |
| Ilex aquifolium f. aureopicta | (Loudon) Geerinck | Taxonomaniac 1: 12 (2001) |
| Ilex aquifolium f. frivaldskyana | Loes. | Nova Acta Acad. Caes. Leop.-Carol. German. Nat. Cur. 78: 262 (1901) |
| Ilex aquifolium var. heterophylla | Aiton | Hort. Kew. 1: 169 (1789) |
| Ilex aquifolium var. crassifolia | Aiton | Hort. Kew. 1: 169 (1789) |
| Ilex aquifolium var. recurva | Aiton | Hort. Kew. 1: 169 (1789) |
| Ilex aquifolium var. ferox | Aiton | Hort. Kew. 1: 169 (1789) |
Common names Top
Add a new one! Suggest a correction!| Language | Common/alternative name |
|---|---|
| English | english holly |
| English | holly |
| English | christmas holly |
| English | common holly |
| English | european holly |
| Spanish | acebeo |
| Spanish | acebo cerezo |
| Spanish | acebo mallorquin |
| Spanish | acebo mallorquín |
| Spanish | alcebo |
| Spanish | alebro |
| Spanish | cebor |
| Spanish | crevol |
| Spanish | crévol |
| Spanish | espinu |
| Spanish | grabole |
| Spanish | grabolé |
| Spanish | grevole |
| an | cardonera |
| Arabic | بهشية مائية الأوراق |
| Azerbaijani | Şişyarpaq şümşə |
| Bulgarian | бодливолистен джел |
| br | kelenn |
| Catalan | agrifoli |
| Catalan | arbre de mal gruit |
| Catalan | arbre de visc |
| Catalan | boix grèvol |
| Catalan | coscoll de vesc |
| Catalan | grèvol |
| co | caracutu |
| Czech | cesmína ostrolistá |
| Czech | cesmína obecná |
| Welsh | celynen |
| Welsh | celynnen |
| Welsh | y gelynen |
| Welsh | y gelynnen |
| Welsh | celyn |
| Danish | almindelig kristtorn |
| German | europäische stechpalme |
| German | stechpalme |
| German | hülse |
| German | christpalme |
| German | gemeine stechpalme |
| German | gewöhnliche stechpalme |
| German | hulstbaum |
| German | stachelblattstrauch |
| German | stacheleiche |
| German | stechlaub |
| German | walddistel |
| Esperanto | ordinara ilekso |
| Estonian | teravalehine iileks |
| Basque | gorosti |
| Persian | خاس کریسمس |
| Finnish | euroopanorjanlaakeri |
| Finnish | piikkipaatsama |
| Finnish | orjanlaakeri |
| French | houx |
| Galician | acevo |
| Galician | acevro |
| Galician | acivo |
| Galician | xardón |
| Galician | acivro |
| Hebrew | צינית אירופאית |
| Croatian | božikovina |
| Croatian | božika |
| Hungarian | közönséges magyal |
| Armenian | Սղոցի սովորական |
| Indonesian | pasir-pasir eropa |
| Igbo | common holly |
| Igbo | english holly |
| Igbo | european holly |
| Igbo | holly |
| Icelandic | kristþyrnir |
| Italian | agrifogli |
| Italian | agrifoglio |
| Japanese | セイヨウヒイラギモチ |
| Japanese | 西洋ヒイラギ |
| Japanese | 西洋柊 |
| Japanese | セイヨウヒイラギ |
| Kabyle | iɣsel |
| lb | hu |
| lb | walddëchtel |
| lb | houx |
| li | huls (plant) |
| lmo | scanfòi |
| Lithuanian | dygialapis bugienis |
| Macedonian | божиковина |
| Macedonian | остролисна божиковина |
| Norwegian Bokmål | kristtorn |
| Dutch | hulst |
| Norwegian Nynorsk | beinved |
| Norwegian Nynorsk | kristtorn |
| nrm | housse |
| oc | grefol |
| os | Цыргъсыф цхъори |
| Polish | ostrokrzew kolczasty |
| Portuguese | azevinho |
| Quechua | acebo |
| Quechua | asiw |
| Quechua | asiwu |
| Russian | Падуб обыкновенный |
| Russian | Падуб остролистный |
| sc | olostriche |
| Slovak | cezmína ostrolistá |
| Slovenian | navadna bodika |
| Serbian | Зеленика (биљка) |
| stq | dulle-huunde |
| Swedish | kristtorn |
| Swedish | järnek |
| Ukrainian | Падуб гостролистовий |
| Walloon | hoûssea (bouxhon) |
| zea | ulst |
| zea | 'ulst |
| Chinese | 枸骨叶冬青 |
| Chinese | 欧洲冬青 |
| Chinese | 歐洲冬青 |
Germination/Propagation Top
Suggest a correction or add new data!
No germination or propagation data was added yet.
Distribution (via POWO/KEW) Top
Legend for the distribution data:
- Doubtful data
- Extinct
- Introduced
- Native
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Africa click to expand
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Northern Africa
- Algeria
- Morocco
- Tunisia
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Northern Africa
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Asia-temperate click to expand
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Western Asia
- Lebanon-Syria
- Turkey
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Western Asia
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Australasia click to expand
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Australia
- New South Wales
- South Australia
- Tasmania
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New Zealand
- New Zealand North
- New Zealand South
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Australia
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Europe click to expand
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Middle Europe
- Austria
- Belgium
- Germany
- Netherlands
- Switzerland
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Northern Europe
- Denmark
- Great Britain
- Ireland
- Norway
- Sweden
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Southeastern Europe
- Albania
- Bulgaria
- Greece
- Italy
- Romania
- Sicilia
- Yugoslavia
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Southwestern Europe
- Baleares
- Corse
- France
- Portugal
- Sardegna
- Spain
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Middle Europe
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Northern America click to expand
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Eastern Canada
- Ontario
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Northeastern U.S.A.
- New Jersey
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Northwestern U.S.A.
- Oregon
- Washington
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Southeastern U.S.A.
- Virginia
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Southwestern U.S.A.
- California
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Western Canada
- British Columbia
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Eastern Canada
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Pacific click to expand
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North-central Pacific
- Hawaii
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North-central Pacific
Links to other databases Top
Suggest others/fix!| Database | ID/link to page |
|---|---|
| World Flora Online | wfo-0000729203 |
| UNII | GUI17F6P9J |
| Canadensys | 2666 |
| USDA Plants | ILAQ80 |
| Tropicos | 2000383 |
| INPN | 103514 |
| Flora of Italy | 3052 |
| KEW | urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:83051-1 |
| The Plant List | kew-2860379 |
| Missouri Botanical Garden | 276162 |
| PFAF | Ilex aquifolium |
| PaleoBotany | 75107 |
| Open Tree Of Life | 670988 |
| Observations.org | 6894 |
| NCBI Taxonomy | 4298 |
| NBN Atlas | NBNSYS0000003194 |
| Nature Serve | 2.131239 |
| IUCN Red List | 202963 |
| IPNI | 83051-1 |
| iNaturalist | 53856 |
| GBIF | 5414222 |
| Freebase | /m/06zy8l |
| EPPO | ILEAQ |
| EOL | 486842 |
| Elurikkus | 5226 |
| Calflora (Californian flora) | 4317 |
| USDA GRIN | 19666 |
| Wikipedia | Ilex_aquifolium |
Genomes (via NCBI) Top
Below is displayed the reference genome only!
If you wish to browse all genomes for this plant click here.
If you wish to browse all genomes for this plant click here.
| Accession | Assembly | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Level | Submitter | Released | Coverage | Size | |
| GCA_951799425.1 | drIleAqui2.1 | Chromosome | WELLCOME SANGER INSTITUTE | 2023-05-27 | 36 | 762.91 Mb |
Scientific Literature Top
Below are displayed the latest 15 articles published in PMC (PubMed Central®) and other sources (DOI number only)!
If you wish to see all the related articles click here.
If you wish to see all the related articles click here.
| Title | Authors | Publication | Released | IDs | ||||||
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| Commodity risk assessment of Tilia cordata and Tilia platyphyllos plants from the UK | Bragard C, Baptista P, Chatzivassiliou E, Di Serio F, Jaques Miret JA, Justesen AF, MacLeod A, Magnusson CS, Milonas P, Navas‐Cortes JA, Parnell S, Potting R, Reignault PL, Stefani E, Thulke H, Van der Werf W, Vicent Civera A, Yuen J, Zappalà L, Battisti A, Mas H, Rigling D, Faccoli M, Mikulová A, Mosbach‐Schulz O, Stergulc F, Streissl F, Gonthier P | EFSA J | 03-May-2024 |
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| Relationships among Hydrogen Peroxide Concentration, Catalase, Glucose Oxidase, and Antimicrobial Activities of Honeys | Osés SM, Rodríguez C, Valencia O, Fernández-Muiño MA, Sancho MT | Foods | 26-Apr-2024 |
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| Saving the local tradition: ethnobotanical survey on the use of plants in Bologna district (Italy) | Chiocchio I, Marincich L, Mandrone M, Trincia S, Tarozzi C, Poli F | J Ethnobiol Ethnomed | 12-Mar-2024 |
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| Commodity risk assessment of Ligustrum ovalifolium and Ligustrum vulgare plants from the UK | Bragard C, Baptista P, Chatzivassiliou E, Di Serio F, Jaques Miret JA, Justesen AF, MacLeod A, Magnusson CS, Milonas P, Navas‐Cortes JA, Parnell S, Potting R, Reignault PL, Stefani E, Thulke H, Van der Werf W, Civera AV, Yuen J, Zappalà L, Battisti A, Mas H, Rigling D, Faccoli M, Mikulová A, Mosbach‐Schulz O, Stergulc F, Streissl F, Gonthier P | EFSA J | 07-Mar-2024 |
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| Chemical Characterization and Biological Properties Assessment of Euphorbia resinifera and Euphorbia officinarum Moroccan Propolis | Boutoub O, El-Guendouz S, Matos I, El Ghadraoui L, Costa MC, Carlier JD, Faleiro ML, Figueiredo AC, Estevinho LM, Miguel MG | Antibiotics (Basel) | 29-Feb-2024 |
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| The Orophilous Shrubby Vegetation of the Juniperetalia hemisphaericae Order in Sicily: A Refuge Habitat for Many Endemic Vascular Species | Sciandrello S, Giusso del Galdo G | Plants (Basel) | 31-Jan-2024 |
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| Fungal Endophytes: Discovering What Lies within Some of Canada’s Oldest and Most Resilient Grapevines | Ali S, Wright AH, Tanney JB, Renaud JB, Sumarah MW | J Fungi (Basel) | 26-Jan-2024 |
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| Contribution to the Study of Lichenicolous Fungi from Northwest Iberian Peninsula (León and Lugo Provinces) | Etayo J, López de Silanes ME | J Fungi (Basel) | 12-Jan-2024 |
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| Commodity risk assessment of Corylus avellana plants from the UK | Bragard C, Baptista P, Chatzivassiliou E, Di Serio F, Jaques Miret JA, Justesen AF, MacLeod A, Magnusson CS, Milonas P, Navas‐Cortes JA, Parnell S, Potting R, Reignault PL, Stefani E, Thulke H, Van der Werf W, Civera AV, Yuen J, Zappalà L, Battisti A, Mas H, Rigling D, Faccoli M, Mikulová A, Mosbach‐Schulz O, Stergulc F, Streissl F, Gonthier P | EFSA J | 12-Jan-2024 |
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| The genome sequence of the English holly, Ilex aquifolium L. (Aquifoliaceae). | Christenhusz MJM, Fay MF | Wellcome Open Res | 03-Jan-2024 |
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| Traditional Knowledge Evolution over Half of a Century: Local Herbal Resources and Their Changes in the Upper Susa Valley of Northwest Italy | Sulaiman N, Zocchi DM, Borrello MT, Mattalia G, Antoniazzi L, Berlinghof SE, Bewick A, Häfliger I, Schembs M, Torri L, Pieroni A | Plants (Basel) | 22-Dec-2023 |
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| Update of the Xylella spp. host plant database – systematic literature search up to 30 June 2023 | Gibin D, Gutierrez Linares A, Fasanelli E, Pasinato L, Delbianco A | EFSA J | 15-Dec-2023 |
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| The first complete chloroplast genome sequence of Pentaphragma spicatum Merr. (Pentaphragmataceae) and phylogenetic analysis | Cheng Z, Yu BN, Huang XY, Bin ZJ, Liu SZ, Chi ZJ | Mitochondrial DNA B Resour | 12-Dec-2023 |
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| Linking functional composition moments of the sub-Mediterranean ecotone with environmental drivers | de Tomás Marín S, Galán Díaz J, Rodríguez-Calcerrada J, Prieto I, de la Riva EG | Front Plant Sci | 08-Dec-2023 |
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| Temporal variation of allergenic potential in urban parks during the vegetation period: a case study from Bratislava, Slovakia | Zahradníková E, Rendeková A, Ščevková J | Environ Sci Pollut Res Int | 05-Dec-2023 |
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Phytochemical Profile Top
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Below are displayed the proven (via scientific papers) natural compounds!
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Collections Top
| In private collections | 0 |
| In public collections | 0 |