Many people ask us about the meaning of our name, for some reason they seem to think that we are named after the course you take to become a solicitor!That's just silly! Ilex is short for the latin of Holly, here is some further reading:
Ilex aquifolium (Holly)
Ilex aquifolium is frequently identified by macrofossils of wood, charcoal, seed and leaves and high frequencies of its pollen have often been recorded from sediments containing the macroscopic remains (Godwin 1975). Ilex is insect pollinated and poorly dispersed and has low pollen production so it is poorly represented in pollen assemblages, even in samples taken from ground surfaces beneath a woodland canopy containing the tree. As Ilex is dioecious (individuals are either male or female) only half of the population will produce pollen, further limiting its pollen production. High Ilex percentages indicate that the tree was growing close by, or else that the pollen has been transported and concentrated as in the erosion and redeposition of woodland soils after clearance. Dimbleby (1985) has noted that Ilex frequencies are often very high in forest soils. Except for exceptional local deposition therefore, Ilex frequencies are generally low in pollen diagrams. Ilex aquifolium pollen is not common in interglacial periods prior to the Holocene, except for the Hoxnian (c.f. Oxygen Isotope Stage 7 or 9), presumably because of its low pollen production. Small numbers of Ilex grains and the occasional macrofossil have been recovered from sediments of almost all interglacial periods, however, and it was apparently a consistent member of the British temperate flora in the Quaternary (Godwin 1975, West 1980). For Ipswichian interglacial (Oxygen Isotope Stage 5) sites frequencies are very low, although much higher values at Trafalgar Square in association with Ilex macrofossils again shows the very local nature of Ilex pollen deposition. During the Hoxnian a continuous pollen curve for Ilex has been recorded (West 1980) suggesting a more oceanic nature for that interglacial. This is supported by higher Ilex frequencies being present in Irish sites of that age and a more easterly distribution in Europe for Ilex than at present. In every interglacial, including the Holocene, Ilex percentages are highest in the middle, mesocratic, phase probably because of its climatic requirements. For the same reason grains present in glacial cold period sediments are most likely to have been derived (Godwin 1975). During the Holocene Ilex frequencies have followed the same pattern with highest values recorded to the west, in Ireland and western Britain, and lower percentages in the east. Peak records also occur after 5,000BP in the east, rather than 7,000BP to 5,000BP in the west, again reflecting climatic changes. The climatic tolerances of Ilex aquifolium mean that it may also be used as a climatic indicator species in the pollen record. Iversen (1944) used Ilex, Hedera and Viscum in a study on climate, and discovered that these species correlate to changes in temperature. He found that the degree of winter cold determined the eastern limit of Ilex. The reliability of increased Ilex percentages as an indicator of milder climate has been lessened, however, by the recognition that Ilex responds positively in regeneration successions following forest clearance. From the mid-Holocene onwards there are site records of increased Ilex percentages associated with woodland clearance, as it took advantage of the diminishing competition from other forest trees. Although it can be heavily browsed it responds well compared with other shrubs and so increases its relative importance and pollen representation. It is therefore favoured by clearance, grazing and other human activities of forest management like pollarding. Human clearance of woodland has been so widespread and intense from the Neolithic onwards that any trends in Ilex distribution due to natural environmental factors have been confused or concealed.
This information was kindly provided by Popweb
