Ilex dabieshanensis K. Yao & M. B. Deng

Trees evergreen, small, ca. 5 m tall, glabrous; bark gray-white, smooth. Branches yellow-brown or castaneous-brown when dry, strong, terete, longitudinally fissured, with subcircular convex leaf scars; current year’s branchlets longitudinally ridged; terminal buds ovoid-conical, bud scales ovoid, midvein raised, margin entire or serrate, apex acuminate. Leaves on first to second year’s branchlets; stipules subdeltoid, minute; petiole yellow-brown or castaneous-brown when dry, strong, 5-8 mm, abaxially rugose, adaxially slightly sulcate or flat; leaf blade adaxially olivaceous or brown-olivaceous, shiny, ovate-oblong, ovate, or elliptic, 5.5-8 × 2-4 cm, thickly leathery, both surfaces glabrous, midvein slightly impressed adaxially, lateral veins 4-6 pairs, anastomosing near margin, reticulate veins obscure on both surfaces, base subrounded or obtuse, margin slightly revolute, with 4-8 pairs of spines, spines ca. 2 mm, apex triangular-acute, with a spine. Male inflorescences: 1-flowered cymes, glomerate, fasciculate, axillary on first to second year’s branchlets; pedicels 1-1.5 mm, glabrous; flowers 4-merous, yellow-green; calyx subpatelliform, lobes suborbicular, ciliate; petals obovate, ca. 2 mm, basally slightly connate; stamens ca. 2/3 as long as petals, anthers oblong; rudimentary ovary ovoid, ca. 0.75 mm in diam., apex obtuse. Female flowers not known. Infructescences: 1-fruited cymes, fasciculate, axillary; rachis strong, ca. 3 mm, glabrous; fruiting pedicels ca. 2 cm; bracts 2, basal, ovate-oblong, glabrous. Fruit dark brown when dry, subglobose or ellipsoidal, 5-7 mm, 4-5 mm in diam.; persistent calyx 4-lobed, lobes ovate-deltoid; persistent stigma thickly discoid; pyrenes 3, ovoid-ellipsoidal, ca. 5 mm, ca. 3 mm in diam., abaxially palmately or longitudinally striate and sulcate, endocarp leathery. Fl. Mar-Apr, fr. Oct.

W Anhui (Huoshan).

● Slopes, roadsides, streamsides; 100-500 m.