Ilex latifolia 'Alva'

Ilex latifolia is the holly that stops people in their tracks, an evergreen tree carrying the largest leaves of any holly, glossy, leathery, and up to eight inches long, more like a magnolia or a loquat than the little prickly leaves most gardeners expect. The edges are finely serrated rather than spined, the surface a deep polished green, and on female trees such as 'Alva' tight clusters of small red berries stud the branches through fall and winter.

The Latin latifolia says it plainly, broad-leaved, and the common names follow suit: lusterleaf holly for the shine, tarajo holly for the Japanese name of the tree. Native to China and Japan, the species has long been prized in Asian and Southern gardens alike for that bold, glossy foliage, and the horticulturist Michael Dirr, no easy grader, wrote that although not common in the South, lusterleaf holly certainly ranks among the best of the broadleaf evergreens.

'Alva' is a fine female clone of the species, selected by Ted Stephens of Nurseries Caroliniana and named for his brother. As a female, the plant sets the red berry clusters that make lusterleaf holly a winter feature, and carries the same vigorous, pyramidal habit and huge lacquered leaves that recommend the species. A named clone such as this one takes the guesswork out of a plant grown from variable seed.

Give lusterleaf 'Alva' room, because the tree builds into a stately pyramid of twenty-five feet and more. The plant wants sandy, well-drained, acidic loam in full sun to a little shade, and earns a place as a specimen, a tall evergreen screen, or an architectural anchor near a large building, where the outsized leaves read from a distance. Cut branches of berried, glossy foliage make a dramatic holiday green. Set a male holly within range for the fullest fruit.