Ilex latifolia C. P. Thunb. ex A. Murray

Trees evergreen, to 20 m tall, ca. 60 cm d.b.h., glabrous throughout; bark gray-black, smooth. Branches yellow-brown or brown, strong, longitudinally ridged and sulcate, smooth; leaf scars evidently raised, broadly discoid or semicircular. Leaves on first to third year’s branchlets; stipules broadly deltoid, very minute, apically acute; petiole subterete, 1.5-2.5 cm, ca. 3 mm in diam., abaxially rugose, adaxially slightly impressed; leaf blade abaxially greenish, adaxially deep green, shiny, oblong or ovate-oblong, 8-19(-28) × 4.5-7.5(-9) cm, thickly leathery, midvein impressed adaxially, lateral veins 12-17 pairs, obscure abaxially, obvious adaxially, base rounded or broadly cuneate, margin sparsely serrate, teeth black at tips, apex obtuse or shortly acuminate. Inflorescences: cymes, pseudopaniculate or pseudoracemose, axillary on second year’s branchlets; rachis 1-2 cm; bud scales persistent, rounded, imbricate; flowers yellowish green, 4-merous. Male inflorescences: cymes of order 2-4, 3-9-flowered, pseudopaniculate; peduncles ca. 2 mm; bracts ovate or lanceolate, 5-7 × 3-5 mm; pedicels 6-8 mm; bracteoles 1 or 2, deltoid; calyx subcupuliform, ca. 3.5 mm in diam., 4-lobed, lobes orbicular; corolla rotate, ca. 9 mm in diam., petals ovate-oblong, ca. 3.5 × 2.5 mm, basally connate; stamens ca. as long as petals, anthers ovoid-oblong; rudimentary ovary subglobose, apex 4-lobed. Female inflorescences: cymes of order 1 or 2, 1-3-flowered, pseudopaniculate or pseudoracemose; peduncles ca. 2 mm; 1-flowered pedicels 5-8 mm; bracteoles 1 or 2; calyx patelliform, ca. 3 mm in diam.; corolla erect, ca. 5 mm in diam., petals 4, ovate, ca. 3 × 2 mm; staminodes ca. 1/3 as long as petals, sterile anthers ovoid, minute; ovary ovoid, ca. 2 mm in diam., stigma discoid, 4-lobed. Fruit red, globose, ca. 7 mm in diam.; persistent stigma thinly discoid; persistent calyx explanate, discoid; exocarp thick, smooth; pyrenes 4, oblong-ellipsoidal, ca. 5 mm, ca. 2.5 mm in diam., abaxially irregularly rugose and pitted, with distinct longitudinal ridges, endocarp stony. Fl. Apr-May, fr. Sep-Oct.

Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Yunnan, Zhejiang [Japan].

Evergreen broad-leaved forests, shrub forests, bamboo forests; 200-1500 m.

Ilex latifolia var. tarajo (Göppert) Lavallée; Ilex tarajo Göppert.

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.

Foliage, showing pale underside of leaves, one leaf showing the dark upper side

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.