Holly
Ilex aquilifolium
Holly
Holly leaves and berries
Richard Paul
Holly flowers
Creative Commons - credit Meneerke Bloem
Holly is found as an occasional tree in the Caledonian Pine Forest, for example in the Black Wood of Rannoch and the Rothiemurchus forest in the Cairngorms. There are couple of hollies out in the open on the lower slopes of Schiehallion where, presumably, they were seeded by birds. Holly is amongst the native trees being planted at Dùn Coillich.
Holly is found in gardens in Kinloch Rannoch.
Holly’s glossy and waxy leaves retain water and allow it to be evergreen. The prickles deter herbivores but nevertheless the young leaves are a favourite with deer. In places holly was used as a winter fodder for stock and trees were pollarded to provide the branches. The trees grew again and it did them no harm. Groves of holly called ‘Hollins’ provided shelter for farm animals.
The holly is dioecious which means that each individual is either male or female. Holly is largely pollinated by bees. The seeds are to be found in fleshy red berries and are attractive to birds which are the dispersal agents.
Birds that eat holly berries include - Blackbirds, Fieldfares, Redwings, Robins, Waxwings
Holly has smooth thin bark and relatively few lichens growing on it but those that do can be rare varieties.
Holly blue butterfly.
Creative Commons - credit Charles J Sharp
The larvae feed on Holly and the spring generation prefer female generation. The larvae are often attended by ants. From the genera Myrmica and a Lasius.
Holly blue butterflies are found in Scotland but not as far north as Rannoch.
Holly leaf miner damage on a holly leaf.
Creative Commons - credit Andy Mabbett
The leaf miner is the larva of an Agromyzid fly.
A holly in the Weller-Poley park in Kinloch Rannoch with Craig Varr in the background.
Holly is the sacred tree of Druids.
Holly wood is very pale and makes good walking sticks and was once used to make bobbins for the cotton industry. It also burns well when used as firewood.