Ilex latifolia (tarajo holly or tarajo; Japanese: 多羅葉 (たらよう, tarayō), Chinese: 大叶冬青 dà yè dōngqīng) is a species of holly, native to southern Japan (Shizuoka Prefecture south to Kyūshū) and eastern and southern China (Jiangsu south to Fujian and west to Yunnan), growing in broadleaf forests at altitudes of 200–1,500 m.[1][2][3][4]
| Ilex latifolia | |
|---|---|
| |
| Tree in Osaka-fu, Japan | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Aquifoliales |
| Family: | Aquifoliaceae |
| Genus: | Ilex |
| Species: | I. latifolia
|
| Binomial name | |
| Ilex latifolia | |
It is a small to medium-sized evergreen tree growing to 10–20 m tall with a trunk up to 60 cm diameter. The bark is dark brown, with a rough surface. The leaves are alternate, broad lanceolate to ovate-oblong, 8–24 cm long and 4–8 cm broad (among the largest of any species of holly), glossy dark green above, paler below, with a thick, leathery texture and serrated (but not spiny) margins. The flowers are yellowish-green, with a four-lobed corolla, produced in late spring; it is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate trees. The fruit is a drupe 7 mm diameter, ripening orange-red to dark red in winter, and containing four seeds; they are often produced in dense clusters on the stems.[2][3][5][6][7]
Cultivation and uses
editIt is cultivated as an ornamental tree in parks and temple gardens.[3] The leaves may be infused to make tea ("bitter nail tea" kǔ dīng chá).[8]
References
edit
- ^ "Ilex latifolia". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
- ^ a b Yuanlin Flora: Ilex latifolia (in Chinese); google translation
- ^ a b c Japan Plants: Ilex latifolia (in Japanese); google translation
- ^ Plants for a Future: Ilex latifolia
- ^ Japanese Treeflowers: Ilex latifolia
- ^ Botanic Japan: Ilex latifolia (in Japanese); google translation
- ^ Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan ISBN 0-333-47494-5.
- ^ Hu, Ting; He, Xiao-Wei; Jiang, Jian-Guo; Xu, Xi-Lin (2014). "Efficacy evaluation of a Chinese bitter tea (Ilex latifolia Thunb.) via analyses of its main components". Food & Function. 5 (5): 876–881. doi:10.1039/c3fo60603a. ISSN 2042-6496. PMID 24638847.