Small-fruited Holly, Chinese Holly

Scientific Name : Ilex rotunda Thunb. var. microcarpa (Lindl. ex Paxton) S. Y. Hu
Common Name : Small-fruited Holly, Chinese Holly
Chinese Name : 小果鐵冬青
Family : AQUIFOLIACEAE
Local distribution status : Native species

Anecdotes on plants

Origins	South China. It is a native species in Hong Kong, growing on the mountain slopes and edges of forests.
History of Nomenclature	Small-fruited Holly is the plant named by an international renowned botanist Professor Shiu-Ying Hu, who published it in Journal of the Arnold Arboretum in 1949. The authorship in its scientific name “S. Y. Hu” is the abbreviation of Professor Hu’s name.
Variety	Small-fruited Holly is a variant of the Chinese Holly (Ilex rotunda Thunb.), but they differ in the size of their fruits. Owing to its relatively small fruit, this variant is named “Small-fruited Chinese Holly (小果鐵冬青)” and “Small-fruited Holly (微果冬青)” in Chinese. The variety epithet “microcarpa” also has the meaning of “small-fruited”. Additionally, its pyrenes are shorter and less sulcate on the dorsal surfaces; its peduncles and pedicels are puberulous, while the pedicels of the Chinese Holly are glabrous.
About Professor Shiu-Ying Hu	Professor Shiu-Ying Hu devoted a lifetime’s career researching on botany, having published over 160 academic treatises and collected 185,000 specimens. She played a significant role in the development of botanical research. She was an internationally-recognized authority on Aquifoliaceae (Holly family), Orchidaceae (Orchid family), Compositae (Asteraceae, Daisy family), Paulownia and Hemerocaulis (Daylilies genus). Among the 400 and more known species under the family Aquifoliaceae, over half were identified and published by Professor Hu. She received a PhD degree at Harvard University in 1949 and afterwards participated in research work in the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. In 1968, she joined the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) as a senior lecturer and established the CUHK herbarium (the current Shiu-Ying Hu Herbarium). In 1999, she was appointed as Honorary Professor of Chinese Medicine and participated in the “Trilex Herbal Tea (三冬茶)” research project. In 2002, she was conferred the honorary fellowship by CUHK. Professor Hu passed away at the age of 102 in 2012.

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Scientific name above is based on Hong Kong Herbarium website : https://www.herbarium.gov.hk/en/hk-plant-database/plant-detail/index.html?pType=species&oID=11442

Reference

• eFloras. (2008). Ilex rotunda Thunberg. Flora of China. [Online Edition]. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA. Retrieved 4^th June 2020, from: http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200012773
• Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries. (30^th May, 2012). Remembering Professor Shiu-Ying Hu. News. News & Events. Retrieved 22^nd July 2020, from: https://huh.harvard.edu/news/remembering-professor-shiu-ying-hu
• Hong Kong Herbarium, Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department & South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences. (2007-2011). Ilex rotunda var. microcarpa (Lindl. ex Paxton) S. Y. Hu 小果鐵冬青(微果冬青、救必應). Flora of Hong Kong. [Online Edition]. Retrieved 4^th June 2020, from: https://www.herbarium.gov.hk/FloraOfHK/Species/11442/11442_S_E.pdf
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