Quercus ilex - holly oak

	DISSEMINATION

Kingdom	Plantae
Sub Kingdom	Tracheobionta (vascular plant)
Superdivision	Spermatophyta (seed plant)
Division	Magnoliophyta (flowering plant)
Class	Magnoliopsida (dicotyledon)
Order	Fagales
Family	Fagaceae
Genus	*Quercus*
Species	*ilex*
Classification	L.
Common Name	holly oak

Geographic Range	mediterranean region.
Physical Characteristics	evergreen oak, it can grows up to 30 meters. Foliage is thick, the thin gray branches are directed upwards. Male flowers are long yellow catkins, the female ones are grey-green and pink on the tip. Bark is dark with with shallow fissures . The fruit is pale green and becomes brown when it ripens in autumn. Leaves are oval, narrow and elongated. The upper surface is dark green, the lower one is greyish. In the young trees leaves are indented, while in the older ones the edge is smooth.
Notes	it is one of the main component of the Mediterranean scrub.
Habitat	it adapts to all kinds of soil, it lives form the sea up to 1000 meters in the foothills of the Alps or up to 1550 meters in the Apennines. It stands dry and calcareous environments.

Sources
References	Rete Civica dei Comuni e della Provincia di Ravenna Dipartimento di Biologia dell'Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata
Web References	http://www.racine.ra.it/ http://www.uniroma2.it/biologia/
Source of the photo	http://www.plantesdusud.com/