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PLANTS AND MAN 



One important tree member, holly, is typically a south- 

 eastern species, ranging from extreme southern Illinois and 

 Indiana southwestward to southern Texas, and northeastward 

 to Massachusetts, its southern limits being south central Florida. 

 It is usually a small tree about forty feet in height, attaining 

 maximum dimensions of one hundred by four feet, with a short, 

 straight trunk. It is a slow-growing tree, reaching maturity at 

 about one hundred fifty years of age, with light, close-grained, 

 weak wood. Its ornamental value far outranks that of its timbers, 

 and great quantities of the evergreen leaves and berries are used 

 annually as holiday decorations. 



The Basswoods 



The BASSWOODS or lindens (Tilia) are common trees of the 

 eastern United States, there being almost twenty species. Their 



Fig. 218. — Basswood leaves are often almost circular in outline. 



leaves, borne alternately on the twigs, vary in shape from almost 

 circular to egg shaped (fig. 218). The twigs are sometimes zigzag, 

 lack terminal buds and have divergent lateral buds. Pale yellow 

 flowers are borne in clusters, attached to a narrow bract which 

 aids in the dispersal of the woody, globular fruits. One important 

 species, the common basswood, ranges from New Brunswick to 

 Delaware in the east, and westward to Manitoba, the Dakotas, 

 and Kansas. Basswood is a large tree, sometimes reaching a 

 size of one hundred twenty by four feet, and is best developed in 

 the southern part of its range, where it occurs in mixture with 



