ID this tree?

Hi all.

I've acquired a small (approx 12" high) bonsai which I've currently got standing in my kitchen. It's doing well (i.e., I'm managing to keep it alive!), but I don't know what it is. At first I thought it was a Serissa but I have one of those whose foliage is much darker green and whose flowers have 5 petals rather than the unknown one's 4.

The tree survived very well near my kitchen window for a week, with all the flowers happily remaining on the tree. Then, presuming it was a tropical or sub-tropical, I fixed a broad-spectrum daylight lamp nearby and left that on for 12 hours a day. The tree itself seemed to like this, but the flowers didn't -- though it still has some left, about 75% have fallen off.

So, though it'd be nice to know what it is anyway, my main reason for asking for help is that I want to make sure I'm giving it the right conditions. It'd be a shame to lose it!



(Apologies for the less-than-crisp image: I'm not too hot when it comes to using macro on my camera!)

I've scoured my many bonsai books as well as the web, but so far without success. Any help would be very much appreciated

David

David, it looks like a holly (Ilex) to me. Doubtful that it's tropical, ditch the kitchen widow and lights, and put it outside. They flower once in the spring, female flowers make berries if pollinated, so falling off isn't an issue.

R

Russell

Wow, that was quick -- and very, very much appreciated! Looking at a couple of pictures I've no doubt you're right. I have to acknowledge that, when I was doing my searches through books and web, I didn't think to look at ilex -- I just presumed I knew what they looked like, and that this tree wasn't it. Just shows how much I've got to learn!

What a great site -- made so by the people, of course!

David

My first thought was also Ilex. But a variety common to the UK rather than Florida.

Check out Ilex crenata - Japanese holly.

JimLewis wrote:Check out Ilex crenata - Japanese holly.

Thanks, Jim. That was the one I picked as being 'most likely' when Russell mentioned Ilex. Certainlylooks like the one to me. Armed with this information I'll now be able to stop torturing it and site it properly!

David