98 THE TREES OF NORTH CAROLINA. 



etc. The black lines inlaid in mahogany furniture 

 are often the dyed wood of this tree, intended to 

 simulate ebony. The berries are purgative, and 15 

 or 20 of them will produce vomiting. The fine form 

 of this tree, with its evergreen leaves and scarlet ber- 

 ries, gives it much beauty, especially in Winter ; but 

 it is said to be less attractive than the European 

 Holly. For avenues and hedgerows we have few 

 trees superior to it. 



2. Dahoon Holly. (I. Dahoon, Walt.") — A shrub 

 or small tree from 6 to 25 feet high, growing on the 

 borders of the Pine-barren ponds and sAvamps of our 

 Low Country, from Virginia to Florida. The leaves 

 are 1 to 2 inches long, ^ to i inch wide, entire, or 

 with a few sharp teeth near the upper end, evergreen. 

 The berries are red, as in the Holly and Yopon, and 

 the plant is well worthy of cultivation. 



3. Yopon. (I. Cassine, Linn.) — An elegant shrub, 

 10 to 15 feet high, but sometimes rising into a small 

 tree of 20 to 25 feet. Its native place is near salt 

 water, and it is found from Virginia southward, but 

 never far in the interior. Its dark evergreen leaves 

 and bright red berries make it very ornamental in 

 yards and shrubberies. The leaves are small, i to 1 

 inch long, very smooth, and evenly scalloped on the 

 edges Avith small rounded teeth. In some sections 

 of the Lower District, especially in the region of the 

 Dismal Swamp, these are annually dried and used 

 for tea, which is, however, oppressively sudorific, — 

 at least to one not accustomed to it. The Mate, or 



