The Hollies 



berries. It grows from Virginia to Florida and west to Texas 

 and Arkansas. The Indians made their famous "Black Drink" 

 by boiling the leaves of this tree. This nauseating beverage was 

 persistently drunk for several days with the notion that the 

 system was thoroughly cleansed by the process. This purifica- 

 tion was a yearly ceremonial in which the whole tribe took a part. 



The Swamp, or Meadow Holly (Ilex decidua, Walt.) grows 

 in wet soil throughout the South, its northern limits being Virginia 

 and Kansas. Generally a shrub, it becomes a tree 30 feet high 

 in Texas, Arkansas and Missouri. The thin brown bark is cov- 

 ered with warty outgrowths. Its most striking characteristic 

 is the silvery grey bark of its twigs. The deciduous leaves are 

 tapering at the base and blunt, often notched, at the apex. The 

 red berries are flattened. 



The Mountain Holly (Ilex monticola, Gray.) has a thin, 

 serrated leaf that might be mistaken for a cherry or plum leaf, 

 except that it is usually larger. This is one of the handsomest 

 of the tree hollies. Its fruit is as large as a cherry. Unfortu- 

 nately, leaves and fruit fall early, so they cannot be used for deco- 

 ration. The tree is found in mountain woods from New York to 

 Alabama, following the Appalachian chain to its southern limits. 

 The species is shrubby except in the two Carolinas. 



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