AQUIFOLIACEX. (HOLLY FAMILY.) 269 
parted, imbricated in the bud. Stamens 4—9, alternate with the lobes of 
the corolla, and inserted on its base: anthers opening lengthwise. Ovary 
free from the calyx, 4—9-celled. Stigma lobed, nearly sessile. Drupe 
berry-like, composed of 4—9 one-seeded nutlets. Seeds anatropous, sus- 
pended. Embryo minute, in fleshy albumen. 
1 ILEX, L. Hor. 
Flowers perfect or diceciously polygamous, of 4-9 parts. Drupe containing 
4-9 nutlets. — Leaves evergreen or deciduous, Fertile flowers commonly soli- 
, tary on the young branches, the sterile ones mostly in sessile or peduncled clus- 
ters or cymes. 
$1. AqurrorruM. — Parts of the flower 4: drupe red: nutlets ribbed or veiny on 
the back: leaves evergreen. 
_1. I, opaca, Ait. (Horrx. Smooth; leaves oval, concave, wavy and 
spiny on the margins ; sterile flowers cymose, on slender peduncles; calyx-lobes 
acute. — Sandy soil, Florida to Mississippi, and northward. April and May.— 
A small tree. 
2. I. Dahoon, Walt. Young branches, lower surface of the leaves, and 
clusters more or less pubescent; leaves varying from obovate to oblong-linear, 
acute or obtuse, mucronate, entire, or sharply serrate above the middle, on short 
petioles; sterile peduncles many-flowered, the fertile ones shorter, and mostly 
Lflowered ; calyx-teeth acute; nutlets 3-ribbed on the back. (IL laurifolia, Nutt. 
L ligustrina, Ell.) — Var. MYRTIFOLIA. Leaves small (j'—1/), linear-oblong, 
entire, or, on the young branches, sharply 2—4-toothed toward the apex. (I. 
myrtifolia, Walt.) — Margins of swamps and pine-barren ponds, South Florida. 
to North Carolina, and westward. April and May. — A handsome shrub or 
 Smalltree. Leaves 2'—3' long. 
3. I. Cassine, L. (Yavrox.)— Leaves small (}/-1/ long), oval or ob- 
long, obtuse, crenate ; clusters very numerous, nearly sessile ; calyx-lobes minute, 
obtuse, — Light sandy soil along the coast, Florida to North Carolina. April. 
— Shrub 8° - 12° high, slender, the short spreading branches often spine-like. 
Fruit clustered, abundant. 
$2. Pnixorpzs.— Parts of the flower 4 —6 : drupe red or purple: nutlets 4 — 6, 
ribbed on the back: shrubs: leaves deciduous. 
4. I. decidua, Walt. Leaves lanceolate or oblong, obtusely serrate, pu- 
t on the veins beneath, tapering into a short petiole; flowers on short 
-Pedicels, in sessile clusters; calyx-teeth smooth, acute. (I. prinoides, Ait.) — 
Varies with the leaves smooth on both sides, and the flowers on longer pedicels. 
— River-swamps, Florida to Mississippi, and northward. April and May. — A 
