48 



FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



linden leaf, it will be found that in many cases tliis 

 irregularity is very pronounced ; in the last-mentioned 

 species it is particularly so. 



American Holly. We have our own American holly, 

 ilex opaca. which is indeed a line tree well wor- 

 thy of cultivation, although, through the frequent ab- 

 sence of the scarlet berries, it has not the brilliancy 



of its English relative, 

 is not quite hardy a 

 little north of 42° lati- 

 tude. This holly grows 

 from 15 to 50 feet 

 high, has light brown- 

 gray, smooth bark, 

 and white flowers 

 which appear in 

 May. 



The evergreen 

 leaf is rather thick 

 and flat, has a wavy 

 margin with scat- 

 tered spiny teeth, 

 and lacks the luster of that of the English holly. 

 The tree will be found in moist woodlands near the 

 coast from Quincy, Mass., to New Jersey, and south- 

 ward to Florida ; from southern Indiana it extends 

 southward to the Gulf. The wood is very white, 



American Holly. 



