Ilex sinica (Loes.) S. Y. Hu

Trees evergreen, 5-13(-20) m tall, or shrubs, ca. 2 m tall; bark gray. Branchlets gray-green, terete; current year’s branchlets longitudinally angular and sulcate, densely downy-pilose; second and third year’s branchlets with circular lenticels, leaf scars semicircular, small; terminal buds conical, apically acute, scales sparse, downy-pilose. Stipules drill-like, deltoid, 1-1.5 mm, puberulent, apex acuminate; petiole 5-9 mm, puberulent, longitudinally sulcate; leaf blade oblong or oblong-elliptic, 5-11(-13) × 2.3-4 cm, leathery, abaxially sparsely puberulent or glabrescent, adaxially glabrous except on midvein, midvein raised and downy-pilose abaxially, deeply narrowly sulcate adaxially, lateral veins 10-14 pairs, obscure on both surfaces, rarely abaxially evident, reticulate veins obscure on both surfaces, base obtuse, margin entire, apex acuminate, acumen 5-20 mm. Inflorescences: cymes, fasciculate, axillary on first to second year’s branchlets; bracts lanceolate, 1-2 mm, puberulent. Male inflorescences: cymes of order 2, 3-flowered; peduncles nearly as long as pedicels, 3-4 mm; bracteoles 2, basal, puberulent; flowers white, 4- or 5-merous; calyx cyathiform, 2-2.5 mm in diam., puberulent, 4-6-lobed, lobes deltoid, apex acute, rarely sparsely ciliate; corolla rotate, ca. 6 mm in diam., petals oblong, basally slightly connate; stamens ca. as long as or longer than petals; rudimentary ovary ovoid, ca. 1 mm in diam., rostellate. Female inflorescences: 1-flowered cymes; pedicels 4-6 mm, puberulent; bracteoles 2, basal, scalelike; flowers 6(-9)-merous; calyx 3-4 mm in diam., lobes deltoid, puberulent, ciliate; corolla rotate, ca. 6 mm in diam., petals 6(-9); staminodes slightly shorter than petals, sterile anthers cordate, slightly puberulent; ovary globose, ca. 2 mm in diam., style evident, ca. 0.5 mm, stigma capitate. Fruit red, globose, 4-5 mm in diam.; fruiting pedicel 5-8 mm, glabrescent; persistent calyx explanate, ca. 3 mm in diam.; persistent style evident, stigma capitate; pyrenes 6, oblong, ca. 3 mm, 1-1.5 mm in diam., both ends obtuse, abaxially reticulately striate, endocarp leathery, smooth. Fl. Apr-May, fr. Jul-Oct.

Guangxi, S and SE Yunnan.

● Sparse forests, dense forests; 500-1700 m.

Ilex malabarica Beddome var. sinica Loesener, Nova Acta Acad. Caes. Leop.-Carol. German. Nat. Cur. 89: 281. 1908.

Ilex sinica is a species of flowering plant in the holly family Aquifoliaceae, native to Yunnan and Guangxi provinces of China. A morphological and genetic study showed that it is basal in its genus.