xxi. 



/ % LEX. 



157 



A. Leaves spiny-toothed. 



1. 1. ^QUIFO^LIUM L. 



The prickly-leaved, or common^ Holly. 



Dec. Prod., 2. p. 14. ; Don's Miti., . y. io. 



holly,' being a native of most parts of Europe, and being every where much ad- 

 al names in most living European languages : Hulver, Hulfere, and Holme, Eng. ; 



Identification. 

 Synonymes. The 



mired, has several name^ ,.. >*~~ D 1 - 



Le Houx, Fr. ; Stechpalme, Stechlaub, Hulse, Christdorn, Mausdorn, Kleezebusch, Ger. ; 



Schubbig hardkelk, Dutch ; Stikpalme, Danish ; Jernek, Christtorn, Swedish ; Waefoseneld, 



Ostrokof, Padub, Russ. ; Agrifolio, Ital. ; Acebo, Span. ; Azevinho, Port. 

 Engravings. Smith Eng. Bot., t. 496. ; the plate of the species m Arb. Brit, 1st edit., vol. v. ; and 



ourjffg. 215. 



Spec. Char., $c. Leaves oblong, shining, wavy, spiny-toothed. Peduncles 

 axillary. Flowers nearly umbellate. A handsome, conical, evergreen 

 tree. Europe and Britain. Height 20ft. to 30 ft. in a wild state; and 



215. riei ^quifolium. 



twice that height, or upwards, in a state of cultivation. Flowers white; 

 May. Fruit red ; ripe in September, and remaining on the tree all the 

 winter. The lower leaves are very spinous ; while the upper ones, espe- 

 cially on old trees, are entire. Decaying leaves yellow, dropping in June 

 or July. 



Varieties. In general the variegation of plants, more especially of trees and 

 shrubs, is accompanied by a ragged, or otherwise unhealthy, appearance in 

 the leaves ; but the holly is one of the very few exceptions to this rule. 

 The variegations of the holly are chiefly confined to the modification of 

 white and yellow in the leaves : but there are some sorts in which the 

 variation results from the state of the leaves with reference to prickles, to 

 magnitude, and to form ; and others consist of differences in the colour 

 of the fruit, which is red, yellow, or white, and black. These varieties are, 

 for the most part, without names, and those in the following groups ap- 

 pear to us to be all that are truly distinct ; but the shades of difference under 

 each name in these groups are almost innumerable. 



