Aquifoliaceae

Chinese holly

Ilex cornuta Lindl. & Paxton

Family: Aquifoliaceae
Genus: Ilex

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Chinese holly (Ilex cornuta) — FlowerPhoto: John P Friel, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist

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Common names

By language (8)

arz: اليكس كورنوتا
Chinese: 枸骨, 八角刺, 功劳叶, 功劳根, 构骨, 枸骨叶, 枸骨子, 枸骨树皮
English: Chinese holly, Horned holly
Esperanto: Ĉinuja ilekso
German: Chinesische Stechpalme
Hebrew: צינית מקרינה
Japanese: ヤバネヒイラギモチ, シナヒイラギ, チャイニーズホーリー, ヒイラギモチ, ヒイラギモドキ
Korean: 호랑가시나무

Synonyms

Ilex cornuta f. burfordii (De France) Rehder
Ilex cornuta f. gaetana Loes.
Ilex cornuta var. burfordii De France
Ilex cornuta var. fortunei (Lindl.) S.Y.Hu
Ilex fortunei Lindl.
Ilex furcata Lindl. ex Göpp.

Flowers

In flower: March to April (from 83 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)

Characteristics

Growth habit: Shrub, Tree
Lifespan: Perennial
In the US and Canada: Lower 48 states: introduced

Photos

FlowerPhoto: John P Friel, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: Emily Summerbell, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: Julia Beach, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Casliber, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: winston12345, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Daderot, CC0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: MacKenzie Crow, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Pl@ntNet via GBIF
Photo: winston12345, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Michael Wolf, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: pure cinnamon roll, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Pl@ntNet via GBIF
Photo: Dax Ledesma, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Photo by David J. Stang, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons

More in Ilex

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.