In the Bagno a Ripoli territory many holm oaks adorn the parks and gardens of the old manor houses; rarer is finding them in the woods. The holm oak (Quercus ilex) is an evergreen bearing tree and shrub sometimes. It grows slowly but up to 25 meters in height. It is also very durable and can live a thousand years. The trunk is gray in young plants and almost black in older ones. The leaves are dark green on the upper side while the lower leaves are silvery and tormenting; with numerous hairs they defend themselves against wind and drought. The margin of the leaves is thorny in young and shrub plants, and smooth in the tree forms. Flowers bloom in May, on the same plant are male ones (golden catkins) and female ones (small ears). The fruit is a dark ovoid acorn. Holm oak acorns, in years of poverty and misery such as those of World War II, were toasted and used to prepare a coffee substitute. It is a typical Mediterranean plant, tolerates drought well and is not very demanding with regard to light and temperature. They usually do not form pure woods, and are often associated with cork trees, strawberry trees, pines and oaks.
