AQUIFOLIACE^ 



THE FLOWERS: small, both sterile and fertile borne in 

 short cymes from the axils of young leaves, or scattered 

 along the base of young branches; sterile clusters, three 

 to nine flowered; fertile clusters, one to three flowered. 



THE FRUIT: a berry-like drupe, one quarter inch across, 

 red, persisting all winter. 



This is the Christmas Holly, mentioned here because it 

 is an interesting fact that the tree is very rare on Nan- 

 tucket. There are many Holiday substitutes for it, among 

 which the chief is Black Alder (Ilex verticillata) with simi- 

 larly shaped, but scarlet, instead of red, berries, and at 

 Christmas time, bare branches. 



From this tree is distilled a drug,- valuable in the treat- 

 ment of eye conditions. 



AQUIFOLIACE^: HOLLY FAMILY 



Ilex verticillata, (L.) Gray. 



Greenish- white Black Alder, Fern Bush, 



False Alder, Virginia 



June-August Striped Alder, Winterberry, 



White Alder, Winter green. 



Ilex: for derivation see fastigiata. 



Verticillata: the diminutive form in Latin, meaning the 

 little whirl of a spindle. 



THE PREFERRED HABITAT: dampish ground of thickets. 



THE SHRUB: six feet high or less, branched; the twigs 

 without hairs or with few short ones. 



THE LEAVES : alternate ; oval, obovate or oblong-lanceolate ; 

 two to three inches long, about one inch wide; rather 

 thick and leathery; above nearly hairless; beneath, es- 

 pecially on the veins, with short, soft hairs; acute or 

 acuminate at the apex; acute or obtusish at the base; 

 sharply serrate; in the fall a maroon-red. 



200 



