Japanese Holly                I-leks kre-NAH-ta

• Broadleaf evergreen shrub, 5-8 ft (1.5-2.5 m); except for true species, usually seen as a much branched shrub with a dense, rigid compact form. Stem normally green on currents season's growth.  Leaves alternate, simple, crowded, short-stalked, elliptic to oblong-lanceolate, 13-32 mm long, 6-16 mm wide, crenate-serrulate or serrulate, dark green above, dotted beneath with blackish clear or translucent glands.  Dioecious - male and female plants; flowers small, 4-parted, white.   Fruit glossy black, globose, 6 mm diam.
• Sun to part shade.  Prefers light, moist, slightly acid soils.   Withstands severe pruning.
• Hardy to USDA Zone (5) 6      Native to Japan, Korea.
• crenata: with shallow, rounded teeth, the leaves
• There are many cultivars, including:
• ‘Convexa’
• ‘Dwarf Pagoda’
• ‘Green Island’
• ‘Helleri’
• ‘Northern Beauty’
• ‘Sky Pencil’
• Oregon State Univ. campus: southeast corner of East Greenhouse, next to Buxus sempervirens.