62 AQUIFOLIACEAE. 



Family 3. AQUIFOLIACEAE. Holly Family. 



Shrubs or trees. Leaves alternate : blades simple. Flowers perfect or 

 polygamous. Calyx of 4-6 persistent sepals. Corolla of 4^6 petals, often 

 united at the base. Androecium of 4-6 stamens. Gynoecium of 4-8 

 united carpels. Fruit dn;paceous. 



1. ILEX L. Shrubs or trees. Leaves mostly persistent: blades entire or 



toothed. Flowers sometimes nearly dioecious. Sepals persistent. Corolla 



deciduous. Drupe with 4-8 nutlets. 



Fruits with smooth nutlets. 



Berries bhicli : leaves persistent; blades leathery. 1. I. Kruglana. 



Berries red or scarlet : leaves deciduous ; blades herbaceous. 2. /. verticiUata. 



Fruits with ribbed nutlets. 



Leaves deciduous : blades herbaceous. 



Leaf-blades broadest above the middle, blunt-toothed : drupes 



nearly sessile. 3. /. decidua. 



Leaf-blades not broadest above the middle, sharp-toothed : 



drupes decidedly pedicelled. 4. /. amhigiia. 



Leaves persistent : blades leathery. 



Leaf-blades entire or with a few appressed teeth near the 

 apex. 

 Leaf-blades linear. 1-4 cm. long. 5. I. myrtifoUa. 



Leaf-blades oblong or oblanceolate. 4-10 cm. long. 6. /. Cassine. 



Leaf-blades toothed 



Teeth crenate. 7. /. vomitoria. 



Teeth spine-like and spreading, rarely only the terminal 



one present. 8. /. opaca. 



1. I. Krugiana Loesener. Tree 11 m. tall or shrub, with glabrous twigs: leaf- 

 blades oblong, elliptic, or ovate, 4-7.5 cm. long, acuminate, mostly entire, 

 deep-green and lustrous above, slender-petioled: staminate calyx about 3 mm. 

 wide: staminate corolla 5-5.5 mm. wide: drupes 5.5-6.5 mm. in diameter, about 

 as long as the stalk. — All year. 



Krug's-holly grows in hammocks, and as a shrub in pinelands on the Ever- 

 glade Keys. The wood has not yet been studied. (TF. /.) 



2. I. verticillata (L.) A. Gray. Small tree sometimes 7 m. tall or shrub, with 

 glabrous or slightly pubescent twigs: leaf-blades thickish, elliptic or oval, 

 varying to ovate or obovate, 2-8 em. long, acute or acuminate at both ends, 

 more or less pubescent beneath, often strongly reticulate, serrate: staminate 

 calyx about 2.5 mm. wide: staminate corolla 6-7 mm. vn.de: drupes 6-8 mm. in 

 diameter, red. — Spr. & sum. 



The Black-.\ldee grows in swamps or low woods in northern Florida. The 

 yellowish-white heart-wood is close-grained, rather heavy, and moderatelv hard. 

 (Cont.) 



3. I. decidua Walt. Small tree 10 m. tall or shrub, the twigs glabrous or 

 nearly so: leaf-blades thickish, mainly spatulate, oblanceolate, or elliptic, 2-6 

 cm. long, obtuse or retuse at the apex, crenate-serrate, dark-green and glabrous 

 above, paler and usually pubescent beneath: staminate calyx 2.5-3 mm. wide: 

 staminate corolla 4.5-6 mm. wide: drupes globose, 7-9 mm. in diameter, orange 

 or nearly scarlet. — Spr. 



The Deciduous-holly grows in swamps and along streams In northern Florida. 

 The yellowish-white heart-wood is close-grained, heavy, and hard. (Cont.) 



i. I. ambigua (Michx.) Chapm. Small tree rarely 6 m. tall, or shrub, with 

 glabrous or nearly glabrous twigs: leaf -blades thin, broadly oval varying to 

 ovate or obovate, 4-7 cm. long, acute or short-acuminate, serrate at least above 

 the middle with appressed bristle-tipped teeth, glabrous or nearly so: stami- 

 nate calyx 2-2.5 mm. wide: staminate corolla 4-5 mm. wide: drupes globose- 

 oblong, 6-7 mm. in diameter. — Spr. 



The Carolina-holly grows on the margins of swamps in northern Florida. 

 The wood has not yet been studied. (Cont.) 



5. I. myrtifolia Walt. Small tree or shrub, with very rigid branches: leaf- 

 blades leathery, narrowly oblong or linear, or broader on shoots 1-4 cm. long, 



