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Ilex mitis
Also called Water tree, African holly, Cape holly, Waterboom
Ilex mitis is a tall, dense, evergreen tree native to sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar, grown as a fast-growing hedge or shade tree. It thrives in moist soil, such as beside rivers or lakes, and needs protection from drying out and direct sun while young.
Ilex mitis (commonly called Cape holly, African holly, waterboom or umDuma) is a tall, dense, evergreen tree that is indigenous to Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. It makes an excellent fast-growing hedge for gardens - growing tall, straight and dense.
This is a fast-growing tree, growing nearly a meter a year in ideal conditions. It grows especially well in wet areas like beside lakes or rivers and it tolerates frost, making it suitable for colder climates.
Fresh seed will usually germinate, but should first be dried out a bit. If kept moist after planting, the young plants usually sprout several weeks later. It transplants well, but needs to be protected from drying out and direct sun whilst young.
This is the only holly (Ilex) species native to sub-Saharan Africa. It has a wide but discontinuous distribution in west, central, east, and southern Africa.
English holly · Dahoon · Ilex chapaensis · Ilex chinensis · Large gallberry · Japanese holly · Marsh Holly · Possumhaw · Inkberry · Guayusa · Elegance female holly · Ilex kaushue
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ilex mitis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
