Prinos. LXXIX. AaUIFOLIACEiE. 381 



Order LXXIX. AQUIFOLIACEiE.— Hollyworts. 



Shrubs or trees, with evergreen, alternate or opposite, simple, coriaceous, exstipulate leaves. 



FIs. small, white or greenish, axillary, sohtary orclustered, sometimes dicecious. 



CaZ.— Sepals 4— 6, imbricate in aestivation. 



Cor. regular, 4— 6-cleft or parted, hypogynous, imbricate in (estivation. 



Sta. mserted into the tube of the coroUa and alternate with its segments. Anth. adnata. 



Ova. free from the calyx, 2— 6-celled, with a solitary, suspended ovule in each cell. 



Ft. drupaceous, willi 2 — 6 stones or nucules. Albiiinen large, fleshy. 



Genera 11, species 110, natives of America and S. Africa, only one, Ilex (the Holly), being found in 

 Europe. 



Priyperties.—The bark and leaves of Prinos verticillatus (black alder) are eminently astringent and 

 tonic, as well as those of the holly. The berries are emetic and purgative. The leaves of Prinos glaber, 

 and Ilex Paraguensis are used for tea. 



Conspectus of the Genera, 



< Petals united, mostly hexaraerous Prinos. 3 



< unarmed, i! Petals distinct, mostly pentamerous. Nemopanthus.2 



Leaves ispinose, evergreen, coriaceous. Sex. 1 



1. ILEX. 



The ancient Lat. name of the Holm Oak, the derivation uncertain. 



Calyx 4 — 5-toothed, persistent ; corolla subrotate, 4 — 5-parted ; 

 stamens 4 — 5 ; stigmas 4 — 5, subsessile, united or distinct ; berry 

 4 — 5-seeded. — Shrubs and trees. Lvs. alternate and spinose-dentate. 

 FIs. often d^ 9 ^y abortion. 



I. OPACA. 



Lvs. ever;2:reen, oval, acute at end, with strong, .spinous teeth, coriaceous, 

 smooth and shining; fascicles of fls. lax, peduncles compound; cal. teeth acute; 

 fr. ovate ; fl.s. small, greenish-white. — A tree of middle size, quite generally dif- 

 fused throughout the U. S. from Mass. ! to La. It is chiefly interesting for its 

 foliage, which is of an exceedingly rich, shining, perennial green. The flowers 

 appear in June, in scattered clusters at the liase of the older branches, and the 

 fertile ones are succeeded by red berries which remain until late in autumn. 

 The wood is fine grained and compact, useful in turnery, tfcc. 



2. NEMOPANTHUS. Raf. 



Gr. vrifia, thread, n-oDf, footstalk, ac^of ; that is, a flower on a filitbrra peduncle. 



Calyx minute ; petals 5, distinct, linear, oblong ; stamens 5 ; ovary 

 hemispherical ; stigmas 3 — 4, sessile ; fruit a 3 — 4-celled, subglobose 

 berry. — Shrub, with alternate, entire, deciduous leaves. Fls. mostly 

 dioecio- polygamous by abortion. 



N. Canadensis. Raf (Ilex. Michx.) Canadian Holly. 



Lvs. deciduous, oval, very entire, smooth, mucronate-pointed ; ped. nearly 

 solitary, very long; //•. somewhat 4-sided.— A shrub, 4 — 6f high, with smooth 

 branches, growing in damp or rocky woods. Can., N. Eng. ! to'Mich. Leaves 

 oval or ovate-oblong, about 2' long, on petioles a as long. The flowers, grow- 

 ing on long, slender, axillary peduncles which are seldom divided, are small, 

 greenish-white. Segments of the corolla acute, long as the stamens. Ovary 

 of the barren flowers pointed, of the fertile with a 4-lobed stigma. Berries dry, 

 red. May, June. 



3. PRINOS. 



Gr. Trptu), to saw; alluding to the serrated leaves. 



Flowers often c? 9 or c?* $ 9 ; calyx mostly 6-cleft ; cor. 6-parted ; 

 sta. 4 — 6 ; berry roundish, much longer than the calyx ; seeds bony, 

 convex on one side, angular on the other. — Shrubs. Lvs. alternate. 

 Pedicels axillary, \ -flowered. 



1. P. verticillatus. (P. Gronovii. Michx.) Winter Berry. Black Alder. 



Lvs. deciduous, oval, serrate, acuminate, pubescent beneath; fls. axillary, 

 the fertile ones aggregate, the barren subumbellate. — This shrub is found in 

 moist woods or swamps, Can. and most of the States, usually growing about 



