AQUIFOLIACEAE

the holly family, in the order Celastrales, found worldwide, comprising two genera and about 400 species of shrubs and trees, best known for the genus Ilex (see holly). Four species of Byronia are in the Polynesian and Australian area, and only one species of mountain holly (Nemopanthus mucronatus) is native to northeastern North America. The Aquifoliaceae differ from other members of the order Celastrales in lacking a nectar-secreting disk in the flowers.