Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Sea holly \Sea" hol"ly\ (Bot.)
   An evergeen seashore plant ({Eryngium maritimum}). See
   {Eryngium}.

Holly \Hol"ly\, n. [OE holi, holin, AS. holen, holegn; akin to
   D. & G. hulst, OHG. huls hulis, W. celyn, Armor. kelen, Gael.
   cuilionn, Ir. cuileann. Cf. 1st {Holm}, {Hulver}.]
   1. (Bot.) A tree or shrub of the genus {Ilex}. The European
      species ({Ilex Aguifolium}) is best known, having glossy
      green leaves, with a spiny, waved edge, and bearing
      berries that turn red or yellow about Michaelmas.

   Note: The holly is much used to adorn churches and houses, at
         Christmas time, and hence is associated with scenes of
         good will and rejoicing. It is an evergreen tree, and
         has a finegrained, heavy, white wood. Its bark is used
         as a febrifuge, and the berries are violently purgative
         and emetic. The American holly is the {Ilex opaca}, and
         is found along the coast of the United States, from
         Maine southward. --Gray.

   2. (Bot.) The holm oak. See 1st {Holm}.

   {Holly-leaved oak} (Bot.), the black scrub oak. See {Scrub
      oak}.

   {Holly rose} (Bot.), a West Indian shrub, with showy, yellow
      flowers ({Turnera ulmifolia}).

   {Sea holly} (Bot.), a species of Eryngium. See {Eryngium}.

Source : WordNet®

sea holly
     n 1: European evergreen eryngo with twisted spiny leaves
          naturalized on United States east coast; roots formerly
          used as an aphrodisiac [syn: {sea holm}, {sea eryngium},
           {Eryngium maritimum}]
     2: widely cultivated southern European acanthus with whitish
        purple-veined flowers [syn: {bear's breech}, {bear's
        breeches}, {Acanthus mollis}]