Quercus ilex L. subsp. ballota (Desf.) Samp.

Spice Leaves

Family: FAGACEAE

Genus: Quercus

Catalan common name: Alzina d'aglans dolços.

Spanish common name: Carrasca.

Province distribution: Alacant. Balearic Islands. Barcelona. Castelló. Girona. Lleida. Tarragona. València.

Distribution in the islands: Mallorca. Ibiza.

General distribution (Phytogeography): West Mediterranean

Flowering time: JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Life-forms: Macrophanerophyte.

Habitats: Oakforest. Cultivated species. Cultivated specie.

Characteristics: This ilex, also known as the holly oak has more rounded leaves, greyish green in colour on the obverse, grey with few nerves on the reverse. These characters allow it to be differentiated from the subsp. ilex, which has longer leaves that are dark green on the obverse, greatly enervated (more than 8 in parallel) on the reverse. In any case, the great variation in leaf morphology always makes identification difficult.