Dear Steve,
Please find attached some photos of the plant.
Please let me know if you can help me to identify it and find out some more information about it.
The plant is located in north of Iran nearby Caspian sea – nearby Babol city.
Thank you very much in advance and looking forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
Farhad
Farhad,your plant is Ilex cornuta. It is commonly cultivated in the Southeastern USA. Judging by your picture, it is cultivated there as well.
It is native to China.See: http://www.duke.edu/~cwcook/trees/ilco.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilex_cornuta
http://www.hsu.edu/interior2.aspx?id=8587
There are several cultivated varieties of this one grown.
I hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Steve Hill – South Carolina Native Plant Society [SCNPS]Dr. Steven R. Hill
Botanist
University of Illinois
Champaign, Illinois