108 



SILVA OF NOB Til AMEBIC A. 



ILICIN'EiE. 



AUegkany-moiintain region and in the country immediately west of it, but reapi)ears in the valley of 

 the Mississippi Kiver, extending from southern Indiana to the Gulf of Jlexico, and through Missouri, 

 Arkansas, and Louisiana to eastern Texas. 



Bex opaca generally grows at the north in dry, rather gi-avelly soil, and often on the margins of 

 Oak woods ; at the south it is found on the borders of swampy rivei'-bottoms in rich, rather humid soil 

 often growing under the shade of Water Oaks, Gums, and Bay-trees. It reaches its greatest size on the 

 fertile bottom-lands of the streams of southern Arkansas and eastern Texas, where it is more abundant 

 than in other parts of the country. 



The wood of Bex opaca is light, tough, although not strong, and very close-grained. It contains 

 numerous thin and inconspicuous medullary rays, and is nearly white when first cutj turning brown with 

 age and exposure, the thick sapwood being rather lighter colored than the heartwood. It can be easily 

 worked, and will receive a beautiful polish, and is valued and now much employed iu cabinet-maldno-j iu 

 the interior finish of buildings, and in turnery. The specific gravity of the absolutely dry wood is 

 0.5818, a cubic foot weighing 36.26 pounds. Ilicine has been obtained from tlie fruit of Ilex opaca} 

 which furnishes the principal supply of the Ilolly branches. which are now used in this country iu large 

 quantities for decoration at Christmas festivals. 



The American Holly, owing to its resemblance to the familiar Holly of European gardens, naturally 

 attracted the attention of the early voyagers to America, and it was noticed as early as 156-1 by the 

 party of French Protestants who landed near the mouth of the St. Jolm's River in Florida under the 

 leadership of Laudonniere.^ It was first described by Clayton in the Flora Yvrifutka^ and, according 

 to Aiton, was first cultivated in Europe in 1744 by the Duke of Argyll.^ It may still be occasionally 

 seen in European gardens, and is sometimes cultivated in the United States.' The number of insects 

 known to injure the American Hollies is not large, and the damage they inflict is not serious.^ 



1 Am. J OUT. Pharm. xxviii. 314.— U. S. Dispens. ed. 14, 1670. 



^ "Frequeutes cedri, eupressi, lauri, palms, aquifolias & vites 

 sylvestri." (Le Moyne de Morgue, De Bry Voyages, Part II. 3.) 



^ Ilexfoliis ovatis acutis dentatis, 18. 



* Archibald Campbell, tbird Duke of Argyll (lGSO-1761) ; the 

 most assiduous collector and planter of exotic trees of his time in 

 England, and Horace Walpole's "Tree-Monger." Many of the 

 trees which were planted in the grounds of bis villa of Whitton, 

 near Hounslow, were after bis death removed to the Royal Gardens 

 at Kew, where they formed the basis of the present Arboretum. 



s The thick fleshy roots of this tree make It difficult to transplant 

 successfully. Tlie seeds, like those of many species of Ilolly, do 

 not germinate until the second year after planting. 



^ The Fall M'eb-worm (Hyphantria curiea, Drury) is sometimes 

 quite injurious to the foliage of species of Ilex (Bull. No. 10, Div. 

 Entomol. Dept. Agr. U. S. -lOJ. Larva; of a small moth, Cryptole- 

 chia cryplolecldella, Chamb., fasten leaves of Ilex o^aca together 

 and feed upon them {Bull. Hayden's U. S. Geohg. Surv. 1878, iv. 

 pp. 84, IIG). 



. EXPLANATION OF THE PLATE. 



Pi^TE XLV. Ilex ofaoa. 



1. A branch with staminate flowers, natural size. 



2. A branch with pistiUate flowers, natural size. 



3. Diagram of a flower, 



4. A staminate flower, enlarged. 



5. Vertical section of a staminate flower, enlarged. 



6. A pistillate flower, enlarged. 



7. Vertical section of a pistlUate flower, enlarged. 



8. Cross section o£ an ovary, enlarged. 



9. An ovule, much magnified. 



10. A fruiting branch, natural size. 



11. Vertical section of a fruit, enlarged. - 



12. Cross section of a fruit, enlarged. 



13. A nutlet, enlarged. 



14. An embryo, much magnified. 



15. Part of a leaf with a stipule, enlarged. 



\ 



