Tree Identification 3: European Holly

European Holly: Ilex aquilfolium

One of the classes I have mentioned teaching  previously is an exploratory AA that I created after my exposure to Steve and Pat's teaching on tree identification. On one of our recent walks I photographed this tree that I generically identified as a holly. Upon researching holly trees, I found there are over 600 varieties (many ornamental). The species identified here is European Holly. In addition to the leaves and trunk, flowers are also present. These are both male and female flowers visible in the photo.