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- No. Chinese, American, and English hollies often have spiny pointed leaves. Other varieties have rounded leaves, and a few are deciduous, such as the winterberries and longstalk hollies.
- Yes, and it takes many different forms.
- Holly is believed to come from the word holy, as many ancient cultures used the evergreen leaves and red berries in religious ceremonies for their symbolic value. Ilex is the Latin word for the holm oak, a tree native to the Mediterranean area with prickly evergreen leaves.
- Happy...uh...winter solstice. The Druids believed that the sun never deserted the holly (Ilex aquifolium) in winter. It kept its leaves and therefore was a sacred plant. They decorated the insides of their homes in winter with holly branches so that the woodland spirits would come inside and dwell there.