CHAP. XXXIV. y/QUIFOLlAY'EiE. MYGi'nD^, /'LEX. 



>05 



likely by abortion) 1 cell and 1 seed. Shrubs with branchlets square ; 

 leaves opposite, subcoriaceous, and flowers upon trifidly or trichotoniously 

 branched peduncles. {Dec. Prod, and Don's Mill.) 



/'lex L. Sexes hermaphrodite, very rarely, by defect, dioecious or polyga- 

 mous. Calyx 4 — 5-toothed. Corolla 4— 3-cleft. Stamens 4 — 5, inserted 

 into the tube of the corolla. Fruit including 4 or 3 nuts. Evergreen shrubs, 

 with, mostly, coriaceous leaves. Flowers many on a peduncle. (^Dec. Prod. 

 and Don's Mill.) 



Pri'nos L. Sexes mostly, by defect, dioecious or polygamous. Calyx 6-cleft. 

 Corolla 6-cleft. Stamens 6, inserted into the tube of the corolla. Fruit 

 including G nuts. Shrubs, with leaves deciduous or persistent, and flow- 

 ers 1 upon a peduncle. {Dec. Prod, and Don's Mill.) 



Genus I. 



Lin. Syst. Tetrandria Monogynia. 



p. 15. 



MYOrNDJ Jacq. The Myginda. 



Identification. Jacq. Amer., p. 24. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 12. ; Don's Mill 



Si/noni/me. r\e\ Piirsh. 



Derivation. So named by Jacquin in honour of Francis van Mygind, a German botanist 



• 1. M. 3/yrtifo'lia Nutt. The Myrtle-leaved Myginda. 



Identification. Nutt. Gen., 1. p. 109. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 1.'5. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 13. 

 Si/nonyme. /Mex 3/yrsinites Puish Ft. Sept. Amer., Hook. Ft. Bor. Amer., 1. p. 119, 120. 

 Engravings. Hook. Fl. Bor. Amer., t. 41. ; and our fig. 175. 



Spec. Char., Sfc. Leaves oblong, blunt, serrated, smooth, 

 with revolute edges. Peduncles very short, usually soli- 

 tary, 1 -flowered. Style short, club-shaped. 4-lobed at the 

 apex. (Don's Mill., ii. p. 13.) An evergreen shrub, a 

 native of the western coast of North America, on sub- 

 alpine hills, where it grows to the height of 4 ft. Intro- 

 duced in 1818. The flowers are small and white, and 

 they appear from May to August. The drupe, when 

 mature, is about the size of a pea : it is of a dark purple 

 colour, and contains only 1 elliptical seed. Small plants 

 of this species are in the arboretum of Messrs. Loddiges, 

 where it is increased by cuttings. 



Genus II. 



/'LEX L. The Holly. Lin. Syst. Tetrandria Tetragynia. 



Identification. Lin. Gen., No. 172. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 13. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 16. 



Synonymes. .^quifblium Tourn. Inst.,t. Si\., GcBrt. Fruct, 2. t. 92.; Houx, Fr.; Stechpalme, or 

 Heilse, Gcr. 



Derivation. Theophrastus, and other Greek authors, named the holly Agria ; that is, wild, or of 

 the fielits; and the Romans formed from this the word Agrifolium ; and called it, also, Aqui- 

 folium, from acutum, sharp, and folium, a leaf. C. Bauhin and Loureiro first named it yiex, on 

 account of the resemblance of its leaves to those of the ftuercus /'lex, the true Ilex of VirgiL 

 Linnjeus adopted the name of i^lex for the genus, and preserved the name of y/quifblium for the 

 most anciently known species. The name of holly is, probably, a corruption of the word holy, 

 as Turner in his Herbal calls it Holy, and Holy Tree, probably from its being used to comme. 

 morate the holy time of Christmas, not only in houses, but in churches. The German name 

 Christdorn, the Danish name Christorn, and the Swedish name Christtorn, seem to justify this 

 conjecture. 



J 1. /. ./iQUiFo'LiuM L. The prickly-leaved, or common. Holly. 



Identification. Lin. Sp., 181. ; Fl. Dan., 508. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 14. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 16. 



Synonyines. The holly, being a native of most parts of Europe, and being every where much ad- 

 mired, has several names in most living European languages. We shall give the chief of these 

 from Nieuman's Dictionary. 

 English. Hulver, Hulfere, and Holme. 



