1	Deciduous trees or shrubs, often with spur branchlets, current year’s branchlets often with conspicuous lenticels; leaf blade membranous, papery, or thinly leathery, rarely subleathery (I. subg. Prinos).		Ilex subg. Prinos (Key 6)
+	Evergreen trees or shrubs, without spur branchlets, lenticels mostly absent on current year’s branchlets, and usually equally absent on second and third year’s branchlets, if present, usually on older branchlets; leaf blade leathery or thickly leathery, rarely papery		(2)
2 (1)	Infructescences: 6-fruited cymes; pyrenes 14 or 15; plant fruiting in July, endemic to Guangxi (I. subg. Byronia).		1 Ilex polypyrena
+	Plants without the above combination of characters (I. subg. Ilex)		(3)
3 (2)	Female inflorescences: cymes solitary, rarely fasciculate (I. triflora), axillary; pyrenes abaxially usually sulcate, smooth, or striate, sometimes concave, or flat, or sulcate, or 2- or 3-striate and 1- or 2-sulcate, rarely convex, never rugose or pitted, endocarp usually leathery, sometimes subwoody, woody, or stony, rarely bony, subbony, or subleathery		(4)
+	Male and female inflorescences: usually cymes fasciculate, axillary on current to third year’s branchlets, sometimes solitary, rarely pseudoracemose or pseudopaniculate; pyrenes abaxially usually striate and sulcate, or striate only, rarely smooth, sulcate or ridged only, sometimes rugose and/or pitted abaxially and/or laterally, endocarp usually leathery, woody, or stony, rarely subwoody or bony		(5)
4 (3)	Male inflorescences: cymes solitary, axillary on current year’s branchlets; pyrenes abaxially usually sulcate, sometimes concave, or flat, or 2- or 3-striate and 1- or 2-sulcate, rarely smooth, or 2- or 3-striate and not sulcate, endocarp usually leathery, sometimes subwoody, woody, or stony, rarely bony, subbony, or subleathery (I. sect. Lioprinus).		Ilex sect. Lioprinus (Key 1)
+	Male inflorescences: cymes fasciculate, axillary on current to third year’s branchlets, or solitary on current year’s branchlets; pyrenes abaxially smooth, or striate, rarely convex, 1-sulcate, or 3-striate and sulcate, endocarp leathery, rarely bony (I. sect. Paltoria).		Ilex sect. Paltoria (Key 2)
5 (3)	Female cymes 1(-3)-flowered; pyrenes usually 4, rarely 1-3 or 6, endocarp usually stony or woody, rarely leathery or bony (I. sect. Ilex).		Ilex sect. Ilex (Key 3)
+	Female cymes 1(-5)-flowered, rarely compound cymes; pyrenes usually 4-6, sometimes 7, rarely 2 or 8, endocarp usually leathery, rarely woody or subwoody		(6)
6 (5)	Male and female inflorescences: cymes fasciculate or pseudopaniculate, or compound cymes pseudopaniculate; leaf blade 7-20 × 3-7 cm (I. sect. Lauroilex).		Ilex sect. Lauroilex (Key 4)
+	Male and/or female inflorescences: cymes usually fasciculate, sometimes solitary, rarely pseudopaniculate or pseudoracemose; leaf blade (1-)4-9(-25) × (0.5-)1.5-3.5(-7) cm (I. sect. Pseudoaquifolium).		Ilex sect. Pseudoaquifolium (Key 5)