AQUIFOLIACEtE— HOLLY FAMILY 



HOLLY 



Ilex opaca. 



Theophrastus and other Greek authors named the Holly Agria ; 

 that is, wild or of the fields ; and the Romans formed from this the 

 word, Agrifoliitni ; and called it also Aqiiifoliiiui from acjiium, 

 sharp, and foliiun, a leaf. C. Bauhin and Loureiro first named it 

 Ilex on account of the resemblance of its leaves to those of the 

 Qtiercus Ilex, the true Ilex of Virgil. Linnaeus adopted the name 

 Ilex for the genus, and preserved the name of Aquifoliuui for the 

 most anciently known species. The name Holly is probal)ly a cor- 

 ruption of the word holy, as Turner in his " Herbal " calls it 

 Holy, and Holy Tree, probably from its being used to commem- 

 orate the holy time of Christmas, not only in houses but in 

 churches. The German name Christdorn, the Danish name Christ- 

 orn, and the Swedish name Christtorn, seem to justify this con- 

 jecture. ' — Loudon. 



Opaca, opaque, refers to the color of the leaves of the American 

 species, which is a duller green than that of the Tuiropean. 



An evergreen tree, from thirty to fifty feet in height, found sparing- 

 ly in New England and New York, where it is always small. Abun- 

 dant on the southern coast and in the Gulf States, reaches its 

 greatest size on the bottom lands of southern Arkansas and eastern 

 Texas. The branches are short and slender and the head pyrami- 

 dal. Roots thick and fleshy. Will grow in both dry and swampy 

 soil, but grows slowly. Juices watery, and contain a bitter principle 

 which possesses tonic properties. 



Bark. — Light gray, roughened by excrescences. Branchlets 

 stout, green at first and covered with rusty down, later smooth and 

 brown. 



