''Ilex perado'', the Macaronesian holly, is a species of

holly ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

endemic to

Macaronesia Macaronesia (Portuguese: ''Macaronésia,'' Spanish: ''Macaronesia'') is a collection of four volcanic archipelagos in the North Atlantic, off the coasts of Africa and Europe. Each archipelago is made up of a number of List of islands in the At ...

, distributed throughout the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

and

Canary Canary originally referred to the island of Gran Canaria on the west coast of Africa, and the group of surrounding islands (the Canary Islands). It may also refer to: Animals Birds * Canaries, birds in the genera ''Serinus'' and ''Crithagra'' i ...

islands. It is an important component of the natural high-altitude Macaronesian rainforest, known as '

laurisilva Laurel forest, also called laurisilva or laurissilva, is a type of Subtropics, subtropical forest found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable, mild temperatures. The forest is characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glo ...

', found mostly at altitude but it also appears in forest formations at lower elevation. Many of the subspecies have been classified as threatened, probably because of very small population sizes, and are protected by local, national and regional legislation.

Description

''Ilex perado'' is a small

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

tree growing up to in height, occasionally up to , it is

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

and has white to pink flowers and red

toxic Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subst ...

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...

, slightly bigger than those of a

common holly Brigitte Naggar, better known by her stage name Common Holly, is a Canadian musician from Montreal, Quebec. As Common Holly, Naggar has released two full-length albums. History Naggar's first album, ''Playing House'', was released in 2017. The a ...

Its leaves are oblong, leathery dark green on top and a lighter color on the bottom and it as a smooth, grey trunk.

Distribution and habitat

''Ilex perado'' is native to the Azores, where it is found in all of the islands, the island of

(mostly in the central and northern parts) and the Canary Islands in northern

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

La Gomera La Gomera () is one of Spain's Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. With an area of , it is the third smallest of the eight main islands of this archipelago. It belongs to the province of Santa Cruz de Tene ...

and

La Palma La Palma (, ), also known as ''La isla bonita'' () and officially San Miguel de La Palma, is the most north-westerly island of the Canary Islands, Spain. La Palma has an area of making it the fifth largest of the eight main Canary Islands. The ...

. It grows on steep slopes and in the bottom of ravines, in areas with moist soils. It is a common tree of

and high-altitude forests and can reach non-laurisilva stands in Madeira into the

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...

. There are 4 known subspecies: *''I. perado'' subsp. ''perado'': Endemic to the Madeira archipelago. The population is stable and is thought to be much less than 10,000 adult individuals. *''I. perado'' subsp. ''azorica'' ( Loes.)

Tutin Tutin may refer to: Places *Tutin, Serbia, town in Serbia Surname *Arthur Tutin (1907–1961), English footballer *Dorothy Tutin (1930–2001), English actress *Mary Tutin, maiden name of Mary Gillick (1881–1965), English sculptor *Tom Tutin (1 ...

: Native to all of the Azorean islands. *''I. perado'' subsp. ''lopezlilloi'' (G. Kunkel) A. Hansen & Sunding: Endemic to

. Extremely threatened subspecies with only two known specimens found in the wild. Assessed as ' critically endangered' by the IUCN. *''I. perado'' subsp. ''platyphylla'' (Webb & Berthel.) Tutin: Native to

and

in the Canary Islands. Assessed as ' vulnerable' by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

. Records of the species from the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

(as ''Ilex perado'' subsp. ''iberica'') are thought to be misidentified and refer to ''I. aquifolium''. This species has numerous subspecies that are thought to potentially be separate species, but more research is needed to determine if this is in fact true. Research has been carried out for ''Ilex perado'' subsp. ''azorica'', indicating that it differs genetically from the subpopulations on the Canary Islands. The species has been cultivated in Britain since 1760 (thriving well in the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

), and is also grown in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, the Iberian Peninsula, and South America.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10301054 perado Endemic flora of Macaronesia Flora of the Azores Flora of Madeira Flora of the Canary Islands