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.

Ilex sinica là một loài thực vật có hoa trong họ Aquifoliaceae. Loài này được (Loes.) S.Y. Hu mô tả khoa học đầu tiên năm 1950.

中华冬青（学名：Ilex sinica）为冬青科冬青属的植物，为中国的特有植物。分布于中国大陆的广西、云南等地，生长于海拔1,000米至1,700米的地区，多生于山地疏林以及密林中，目前已由人工引种栽培。