390 ILICACEAE. (Von. IT.” 
Family 64. ILICACEAE Lowe, Fl. Mad. 2:11. 1868. 
HOLLy FAMILy. 
Shrubs or trees, with watery sap, and alternate petioled simple often coriaceous 
leaves. Flowers axillary, small, clustered or solitary, white, mainly polygamo- 
dioecious, regular. Stipules minute and deciduous, or none. Calyx 3-6-parted, 
generally persistent. Petals 4-6 (rarely more), separate, or slightly united at 
the base, hypogynous, deciduous, imbricated. Stamens hypogynous, as many 
as the petals, or sometimes more; anthers oblong, cordate. Disk none. Ovary 
I, superior, 3-several-celled; stigma discoid or capitate; style short or none; 
ovules 1 or 2 in each cavity of theovary. Fruit a small berry-like drupe, enclos- 
ing several nutlets. Seed pendulous; endosperm fleshy; embryo straight. 
Five genera and about 170 species, natives of temperate and tropical regions. 
Petals oblong or obovate, slightly united. Tees 
Petals linear, distinct. 2. Lliciotdes. 
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Shrubs or trees, with entire dentate or spiny-toothed, minutely stipulate leaves, and 
axillary cymose or solitary, perfect or polygamous flowers. Calyx small, 4-5-cleft or toothed. 
Petals 4-9, somewhat united at the base, oblong, obtuse. Stamens of the same number, ad- 
nate to the base of the corolla. Berry-like drupe globose, with 4-8 bony or crustaceous 
nutlets. [Ancient name of the Holly Oak. ] 
About 160 species, mostly natives of America, some in Asia, Africaand Australia. In addition 
to the following, some 5 others occur in the southeastern United States. 
Leaves, thick evergreen, persistent. 
Nutlets ribbed. 
Leaves spiny-toothed. 1. I. opaca, 
Leaves dentate or entire, not spiny. 
Leaves entire or few-toothed; calyx-lobes acute. 2. I. Cassine. 
Leaves coarsely crenate; calyx-lobes obtuse. 3. I. vomiloria, 
Nutlets not ribbed; leaves dotted beneath. 4. I. glabra, 
Leaves thin, deciduous. 
Nutlets ribbed; peduncles 1-flowered. 
Leaves small, obovate or spatulate, crenate. 5. I. decidua. 
Leaves large, ovate or lanceolate, sharply serrate. 6. LZ. monticola. 
Nutlets not ribbed. 
Flowers all short-pedicelled. 7. I. vertictllata, 
Staminate flowers on long and slender pedicels. 8. 7. laevigata. 
1. Ilex opaca Ait. American Holly. (Fig. 2356.) 
Ilex opaca Ait. Hort. Kew. 1: 169. 1789. 
A tree of slow growth, sometimes 50° 
high, and with a trunk diameter of 
3%°. Young twigs sparingly pubes- 
cent; leaves elliptical or obovate, 2/-4’ 
long, 1-114’ wide, evergreen, glabrous 
on both sides, obtuse or acutish at the 
apex, spiny-tipped, spinose-dentate, at 
least toward the apex, rarely nearly or 
quite entire; petioles 2’/-4’’ long,some- 
times puberulent; peduncles 2-bracted; 
staminate cymes 3-10-flowered, %4/- 
1’ long; fertile flowers mostly scat- 
tered and solitary; calyx-lobes acute, 
ciliate; stigma sessile; drupe globose 
or globose-oblong, red, rarely yellow, 
4’/-5’’ in diameter; nutlets ribbed. 
In moist woods, southern Maine to Flor- 
ida, west to Pennsylvania, Missouri and 
Texas. Most abundant near the coast. 
Wood hard, nearly white; weight per 
cubic foot 36 lbs. Ascends to 3000 ft. in 
North Carolina. April-June. 
