The difference between holly and mahonia

1. Leaf Difference

The leaves of holly are leathery, quadrangular-oblong or ovate, 4 to 9 cm long and 2 to 4 cm wide. There are three hard thorns at the tip of the leaf, the central thorn is often recurved, the base is rounded or nearly truncated, with 1 to 2 thorns on each side, and sometimes the leaves are entire. The upper side of the leaves is dark green and shiny, the back is light green, and both sides are hairless.

The leaves of Mahonia are obovate or obovate-lanceolate, 10 to 28 cm long and 8 to 18 cm wide, with 2 to 5 pairs of leaflets. The upper side of the leaves is dark green or dark green, the back side is light yellow, and occasionally some are pale.

2. Flower Differences

The holly inflorescence grows in clusters in the leaf axils of two-year-old branches. The flowers are light yellow and the petals are oblong-ovate.

The Mahonia racemes are clustered in 4 to 10 inflorescences, 3 to 7 cm long, with pedicels 2 to 2.5 cm long. The flowers are yellow and the petals are oblong.