Genus ILEX, Linn. 
Aquifoliaceae. Tetrandria Tetragynia. 
Syst. Nat. Syst. Lin. 
Derivation, The name Ilex was given to this genus by Bauhin and Loureiro, on account of the resemblance of its leaves to 
lose of the Quercus ilex, or the true Ilex of Virgil. 
kncric Characters. Sexes hermaphrodite, very rarely, by defect, dioecious or polygamous. Calyx 4 5- 
toothed. Corolla 4 5-cleft. Stamens 4 5, inserted into the tube of the corolla. Fruit including 4 
or 5 nuts. Evergreen shrubs, with, mostly, coriaceous leaves. Flowers many on a peduncle. De 
Candolle, Prodromus. 
LEX is a genus very abundantly diffused in the warm and colder 
climates of both continents, and in many islands in the ocean. 
Besides the Ilex aquifolium, which constitutes so beautiful a fea- 
ture in the winter scenery of many parts of England, there are 
also worthy of note, the Ilex opaca of the United States, and the 
Ilex dipyrena of the Himalayas, which is nearly allied to it ; the 
lex balearica, or broad-leaved holly of Minorca; the Ilex canariensis, with 
lack berries ; the Ilex vomitoria or yaupon of the southern Indians ; the Ilex 
iaraguariensis, or Paraguay tea ; the Ilex dahoon of Florida, which may be con- 
idered as one of the most ornamental of the whole family ; and the Ilex cassine 
r broad-leaved dahoon holly of Carolina and the Floridas. 
