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Ilex canariensis, the small-leaved holly, is an Endemism species of holly native to Macaronesian islands. It is a species of plant in the family Aquifoliaceae. It is found in the Macaronesian islands of Madeira (Portugal) and Canary Islands (Spain).
The are small, clustered in axillary inflorescences. The flowers are having four to six white , the flowers are located in subterminal leaf axils. It blooms from May to June. The fruits are globular and red holly. spherical, about 1 cm wide, fleshy, red and located on Plant stem of 3–8 mm long. There are two subspecies. In the ssp. azevinho (Daniel Solander ex Lowe, Kunkel) the pedicels may reach 2 cm.
It is threatened by habitat loss. The species is found mainly at lower altitudes in scrub and laurisilva where moisture in the air condenses or at the bottom of the ravines or near wet areas. Laurisilva may be increasing in Madeira, but throughout much of the range there are pressures, particularly from sheep and goats grazing and fires. This endemism has lost almost all the spines present on the edge of the leaves of the European holly, certainly due to the lack of pressure from herbivores that did not exist in these islands until the introduction of cattle by humans.
The Laurel forest of Laurisilva is a subtropical forest, found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable and mild temperatures. The macaronesian laurissilva is an endemic ecoregion from Macaronesia with many endemic laurifolia trees of what Ilex canariensis is one of them, endemic to the island of Madeira and the Canary Islands.
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