Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Wildlife Value
Fruits are attractive to birds. Flowers attract bees. Members of the genus Ilex support the following specialized bee: Colletes banksi.
Plant Profile: Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda'
Names
Dwarf Chinese Holly, Rotunda Holly
Phonetic Spelling:EYE-leks kor-NOO-tuh
Genus:Ilex
Species:cornuta
Family:Aquifoliaceae
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda' is a compact, rounded shrub that typically reaches heights of 1.5 to 4 feet. It demands minimal maintenance and features notably spiny leaves. This variety exhibits moderate tolerance to salt and drought, is easily relocated, and thrives in clay and alkaline soil conditions. However, it is susceptible to certain pests.
**Quick Identification Tips:**
For further details on Ilex cornuta, please refer to additional resources.
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda' Feature Summary
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda' Image Gallery
Tags
#evergreen
#yellow
#green
#shrub
#wildlife plant
#nectar plant
#salt tolerant
#hedges
#specialized bees
#glossy leaves
#rounded
#glossy
#pollinator plant
#fantz
#garden
#bird friendly
#bee friendly
Similar Plants
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda' is often confused with:
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda' Feature Summary
Attributes
Fruits are attractive to birds. Flowers attract bees. Members of the genus Ilex support the following specialized bee: Colletes banksi.
Woody
Stem Cutting
Wildlife Food Source
Fruit
Typically lacking in fruit, but occasionally red berries are present.
Berry
Drupe
Red/Burgundy
Fall
Winter
< 1 inch
< 1 inch
Flowers
Leaves
Leaves are glossy dark-green in color, rectangular shaped, and have five sharp spines per leaf. The leaf apex is bent downward and spinose. The apex terminates in a spine. There is typically spine at each corner of the rectangle, plus one or two on the middle of the leaf that curves downward. The leaf arrangement is alternate, and the leaves are simple, evergreen, stipule, and minute.
Broadleaf Evergreen
Green
Simple
Alternate
Oblong
1-3 inches
Prickly
Glossy
< 1 inch
Stem
Whole Plant Traits
Shrub
Broadleaf Evergreen
Rounded
Mounding
Dense
Spreading
Medium
Coarse
Spines
Cultural Conditions
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Alkaline (>8.0)
Good Drainage
3 feet-6 feet
Coastal
Mountains
Piedmont
7a
7b
8b
8a
9a
9b
High Organic Matter
Loam (Silt)
Sand
Landscape
Pollinator Garden
Border
Foundation Planting
Mass Planting
Accent
Small groups
Barrier
Deer
Salt
Lawn
Slope/Bank
Coastal
Pollinators
Songbirds
Bees
Specialized Bees
Spines/Thorns
Bark
Light Gray
Smooth
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda' Image Gallery
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda' Attributes
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Life Cycle
Annual
Biennial
Bulb
Perennial
Woody
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Recommended Propagation Strategy
Division
Grafting
Layering
Leaf Cutting
Root Cutting
Seed
Stem Cutting
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Play Value
Attractive Flowers
Attracts Pollinators
Buffer
Colorful
Defines Paths
Easy to Grow
Edible fruit
Fragrance
Pieces Used in Games
Screening
Shade
Sound
Textural
Wildlife Cover/Habitat
Wildlife Food Source
Wildlife Larval Host
Wildlife Nesting
Wind Break
Wind Shimmer
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda' Fruit
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Fruit Description
Typically lacking in fruit, but occasionally red berries are present.
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Fruit Type
Achene
Aggregate
Berry
Capsule
Caryopsis
Drupe
Follicle
Legume
Nut
Pome
Samara
Schizocarp
Siliqua
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Fruit Color
Red/Burgundy
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Display/Harvest Time
Fall
Spring
Summer
Winter
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Fruit Length
< 1 inch
1-3 inches
> 3 inches
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Fruit Width
< 1 inch
1-3 inches
> 3 inches
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda' Flowers
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Flower Description
Inconspicuous
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Flower Color
White
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Flower Bloom Time
Winter
Spring
Summer
Fall
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Flower Size
1-3 inches
3-6 inches
< 1 inch
> 6 inches
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda' Leaves
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Leaf Description
Leaves are glossy dark-green in color, rectangular shaped, and have five sharp spines per leaf. The leaf apex is bent downward and spinose. The apex terminates in a spine. There is typically spine at each corner of the rectangle, plus one or two on the middle of the leaf that curves downward. The leaf arrangement is alternate, and the leaves are simple, evergreen, stipule, and minute.
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics
Broadleaf Evergreen
Deciduous
Needled Evergreen
Semi-evergreen
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Leaf Color
Green
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Leaf Type
Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Fronds
Needles
Sheath
Simple
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Leaf Arrangement
Alternate
Opposite
Other/more complex
Rosulate
Whorled
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Leaf Shape
Acicular
Auriculate
Cordate
Cuneate
Deltoid
Elliptical
Filiform
Lanceolate
Linear
Oblanceolate
Oblong
Obovate
Obtuse
Orbicular
Ovate
Palmasect
Palmatifid
Peltate
Pinnatifid
Pinnatisect
Reniform
Rhomboidal
Spatulate
Subcordate
Subulate
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Hairs Present
No
Yes
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Leaf Length
< 1 inch
1-3 inches
3-6 inches
> 6 inches
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Leaf Feel
Fleshy
Glossy
Leathery
Papery
Prickly
Rough
Rubbery
Slippery
Smooth
Soft
Velvety
Waxy
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Leaf Width
< 1 inch
1-3 inches
3-6 inches
> 6 inches
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda' Stem
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Stem Description
Stems are greenish/yellow in color.
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Stem Color
Green
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Stem Is Aromatic
No
Yes
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda' Whole Plant Traits
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Plant Type
Annual
Bulb
Carnivorous
Edible
Epiphyte
Fern
Ground Cover
Herb
Herbaceous Perennial
Houseplant
Mushroom
Native Plant
Ornamental Grasses and Sedges
Perennial
Poisonous
Rose
Shrub
Succulent
Tree
Turfgrass
Vegetable
Vine
Water Plant
Weed
Wildflower
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics
Broadleaf Evergreen
Deciduous
Needled Evergreen
Semi-evergreen
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Habit/Form
Arching
Ascending
Broad
Cascading
Climbing
Clumping
Columnar
Conical
Creeping
Dense
Erect
Horizontal
Irregular
Mounding
Multi-stemmed
Multi-trunked
Open
Oval
Prostrate
Pyramidal
Rounded
Spreading
Vase
Weeping
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Maintenance
Low
Medium
High
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Texture
Fine
Medium
Coarse
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Appendage
Prickles
Spines
Tendrils
Thorns
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda' Cultural Conditions
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Light
Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day)
Deep shade (Less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight)
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Soil pH
Acid (<6.0)
Alkaline (>8.0)
Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Soil Drainage
Frequent Standing Water
Good Drainage
Moist
Occasional Flooding
Occasionally Dry
Occasionally Wet
Very Dry
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Available Space To Plant
12 inches-3 feet
12-24 feet
24-60 feet
3 feet-6 feet
6-feet-12 feet
Less than 12 inches
more than 60 feet
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': NC Region
Coastal
Mountains
Piedmont
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': USDA Plant Hardiness Zone
7a
7b
8a
8b
9a
9b
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Soil Texture
Clay
High Organic Matter
Loam (Silt)
Sand
Shallow Rocky
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda' Landscape
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Landscape Theme
Asian Garden
Butterfly Garden
Children's Garden
Cottage Garden
Cutting Garden
Drought Tolerant Garden
Edible Garden
English Garden
Fairy Garden
Garden for the Blind
Native Garden
Nighttime Garden
Pollinator Garden
Rain Garden
Rock Garden
Shade Garden
Water Garden
Winter Garden
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Design Feature
Accent
Barrier
Border
Flowering Tree
Foundation Planting
Hedge
Mass Planting
Screen/Privacy
Security
Shade Tree
Small groups
Small Tree
Specimen
Street Tree
Understory Tree
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Resistance To Challenges
Black Walnut
Compaction
Deer
Diseases
Drought
Dry Soil
Erosion
Fire
Foot Traffic
Heat
Heavy Shade
Humidity
Insect Pests
Pollution
Poor Soil
Rabbits
Salt
Slugs
Squirrels
Storm damage
Urban Conditions
Voles
Wet Soil
Wind
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Landscape Location
Coastal
Container
Hanging Baskets
Houseplants
Lawn
Meadow
Naturalized Area
Near Septic
Patio
Pond
Pool/Hardscape
Recreational Play Area
Riparian
Rock Wall
Slope/Bank
Small Space
Vertical Spaces
Walkways
Woodland
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Attracts
Bats
Bees
Butterflies
Frogs
Hummingbirds
Moths
Pollinators
Predatory Insects
Reptiles
Small Mammals
Songbirds
Specialized Bees
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Problems
Allelopathic
Contact Dermatitis
Frequent Disease Problems
Frequent Insect Problems
Invasive Species
Malodorous
Messy
Poisonous to Humans
Problem for Cats
Problem for Children
Problem for Dogs
Problem for Horses
Short-lived
Spines/Thorns
Weak Wood
Weedy
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda' Bark
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Bark Color
Light Gray
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda': Surface/Attachment
Bumpy
Exfoliating
Fissured
Furrowed
Lenticels
Papery
Patchy
Peeling
Ridges
Scaly
Shaggy
Shiny
Shredding
Smooth
Spongy
