Evergreen trees or shrubs. Stipules very small. Inflorescences axillary. Petals shortly connate at the base, imbricate. Stamens as many as the petals. Style absent. Ovules 1 in each loculus. Fruit of 4–5(9) single-seeded pyrenes.
Derivation of name: from the Latin name for the Holm oak, Quercus ilex, which has holly-like leaves,
Worldwide: c. 400 species, cosmopolitan, but mainly tropical and temperate Asia and America.
Flora of Burundi: Ilex Flora of the DRC: Ilex Flora of Malawi: Ilex Flora of Rwanda: Ilex Flora of Zambia: Ilex Flora of Zimbabwe: Ilex Flora of Zimbabwe: cultivated Ilex
External websites:
African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Ilex BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Ilex EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Ilex GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Ilex Google: Web - Images - Scholar iNaturalist: Ilex IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Ilex JSTOR Plant Science: Ilex Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Ilex Plants of the World Online: Ilex Tropicos: Ilex Wikipedia: Ilex