Osmanthus heterophyllus
Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- oz-MAN-thus het-er-oh-FIL-us
- Description
-
False Holly is a large, dense, upright, oval-rounded evergreen shrub that grows 15' tall. This plant blooms in the late fall and has inconspicuous flowers that are highly aromatic and pungently sweet. Fruit ripens the year after it is produced, but it rarely seen in cultivation and is not showy. Leaves in the upper part of the plant (adult morphology leaves) are entire, while those in the lower part tend to be toothed (juvenile morphology). O.X fortunei has broader and larger leaves with more numerous and evenly spaced spines. Leaves on False Holly look like Ilex aquipernyi, but False Holly is alternate-leaves. This plant is used in hedges, screens, foundations, barriers, or as a specimen plant. This plant prefers partial shade to full sun. It likes moist, well-drained, acidic soils and it tolerant of alkaline soils, pollution, drought, heat, and urban areas. It has a slow growth rate and withstands heavy pruning. It is easily transplanted and has no serious pest or disease problems.
Wildlife Value: Particularly resistant to damage by deer.
Form: Dense, upright, oval to rounded shrub
Quick ID Hints:
- Leaves are opposite, decussate, narrow, elliptic, and evergreen
- Both entire leaves and leaves with 1-4 spiny teeth
- Very fragrant, white, inconspicuous axillary fall flowers
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'Goshiki' - green and gold variegated
- 'Illicifolius'
juvenile form with prominent lobed spines - 'Myrtifolius'
adult form, all leaves elliptic, entire, and only a terminal spine - 'Rotundifolius'
slow growing dwarf form with remnants of lobed spines, less cold hardy, margins have blunt bumps - 'Variegatus'
leaves are green with creamy white margins
- 'Goshiki' - green and gold variegated
- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'Goshiki' - green and gold variegated
- 'Illicifolius'
juvenile form with prominent lobed spines - 'Myrtifolius'
adult form, all leaves elliptic, entire, and only a terminal spine - 'Rotundifolius'
slow growing dwarf form with remnants of lobed spines, less cold hardy, margins have blunt bumps - 'Variegatus'
leaves are green with creamy white margins
- 'Goshiki' - green and gold variegated
- Tags:
-
-
Attributes:
- Genus:
- Osmanthus
- Species:
- heterophyllus
- Family:
- Oleaceae
- Dimensions:
- Height: 6 ft. 0 in. - 21 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 5 ft. 0 in. - 10 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Shrub
- Habit/Form:
- Dense
- Growth Rate:
- Slow
- Texture:
- Medium
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Alkaline (>8.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Usda Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Black
- Blue
- Purple/Lavender
- Fruit Type:
- Drupe
- Fruit Length:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Width:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Description:
- This plant produces fruit that is an ovoid, bluish purple-black to black drupe less than an inch in size that is seldom seen in cultivation.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- White
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Cyme
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Fragrant
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Fall
- Flower Description:
- Flowers are white, fragrant, and are less than an inch in diameter. They have a 4-toothed calyx. Corolla's are campanulate and 4-lobed (lobes are reflexed). There are 2 yellow stamens per flower. Flowers bloom in the fall. Inflorescence is a short, axillary cyme.
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Leaves:
- Leaf Color:
- Gold/Yellow
- Green
- Leaf Feel:
- Leathery
- Leaf Type:
- Simple
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Opposite
- Leaf Shape:
- Elliptical
- Oblong
- Leaf Margin:
- Entire
- Lobed
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Length:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Width:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Description:
- Leaves are opposite, decussate, simple, coriaceous, elliptic to elliptic-oblong, acuminate-spinose, cuneate to broadly cuneate, entire or with 1-4 pairs of prominent triangular lobes bearing a spine. They are lustrous dark green above, yellow-green and reticulate beneath. Leaves are glabrous, to 1-2" long and 1-2" wide.
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Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Cream/Tan
- Gray/Silver
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Lenticels:
- Conspicuous
- Stem Description:
- Twigs are light gray to tan with numerous, extremely small raised lenticels.
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Landscape:
- Design Feature:
- Barrier
- Foundation Planting
- Hedge
- Screen/Privacy
- Specimen
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Deer
- Drought
- Heat
- Pollution
- Urban Conditions
