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Olearia ilicifolia is an endemic species in New Zealand, also know as hakeke in Maori and mountain holly in English. It is mostly found in Stewart Island and Herangi range (Waikato) south in New Zealand. It flowering seasons are from December to February, flowers have white and yellowish colors. Seeds are wind dispersed and the fruiting seasons are from April to June.

Description
Olearia ilicifolia is a small shrub tree, the maximum size of the trees is growing up to around 6 x 3 m. They have a dark-green and greyish-green leaves and it shapes are saw blade type such as jagged leaves, and it size is 5-12 x 1-2. The bark is generally an orange-greyish color, when it grow over it usually take off from top of bark. Olearia ilicifolia flower is a daisy like, it petals have a white color and disc is a yellow or pinkish color. Branches grow like high density, and canopies formed like an umbrella. In addition, their trunk will be 2 m high, however, each branch can grow up to between 4 to 6 m long.

Distribution
Olearia ilicifolia is mainly grow in subalpine area and many of mountain holly species spread in South Island area. In addition, they often grow in around river side, valley, watery forest and in goblin forest like Kamahi and Taranaki. This plant is live together with small height of trees at river side area such as with leave falling trees like Hoheria glabrata. Olearia ilicifolia is also found in Banks Peninsula in South Island, Bank Peninsula has the largest number of native plant species and also Hakeke among the endemic plants.

Phenology of Olearia ilicifolia
Olearia ilicifolia flowers in the summer, from December. Flowers become to complete formed in middle of January, it is become white flower with density flowering formed and it will be maintained to mid-February. The achenes of Olearia ilicifolia spread by wind. Growing shoots has a two types, orthotropic and monopodial type and after end of cool period, shoot grow again as an apical grow. Moreover, mature trees are able to make one or three lateral shoots, that lateral shoots are exist in the axillary buds which from the last seasons of foliage leaves and it possibly replace small number of corymbs. The mountain holly prefers to grow on not hardly drought land, moist, well absorption soil and well drained soils are favorable soils for mountain holly. The fruiting season is from April to June; they make fruit during the cold months.

Interaction
Olearia ilicifolia is an entomophilous flower and they uses insects for their pollination, and the flower visitor species of Olearia ilicifolia are diverse, such as Dascillidae, small beetles as known as Cyphon, and weevils. In addition, there are some species that can damage the mountain holly plant, including many moth larvae that eat their leaves. For example, larvae of the moth Selidosema rudiata (family Notodontidae) is known to feed on Olearia ilicifolia plant (Haase, 1986). The other species they fed on their leaves, they eat young leaves in summer seasons between October and November and the other species eat mature leaves. Some weevil larvae damage their achenes, as they also do for Olearia colensoi.