TREES GROWING IN MOIST SOIL. 



117 





far west, especially throughout the Rocky Mountains, this poplar 

 is the common species. Its wood is light, soft and very weak. 



AMERICAN HOLLY. {Plate LIV.) 

 Ilex opaca. 



FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT 



Holly. Ifenii, compact; lo-^o/eet. 

 branches, spreading. 



RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 



Southern Maine along the April-June, 



coast to Fla. and westward. Fruit: Sept. 



Bark: light grey; smooth. Branchlets : slightly pubescent. Lta^'es : sim- 

 ple; alternate; elliiHical or oval, with pointed apex and pointed base; the 

 teeth, sharp and spine-like; far apart. Siim.u-s: rounded. P'eather-veined, 

 the veins indistinct on the lower surface. I'lvcrgreen; dark green and glossy 

 above; lighter and tinged with yellow below ; thick; stiff ; glabrous. Flowers: 

 white; both staminate and pistillate; axillary, and having tJieir parts in fours. 

 Fruit : a bright red drujje which frequently remains on the tree well into the 

 winter. 



The associations of the holly are all with the season of 

 merry-making and the blazing log of the yule-tide. When in a 

 wild state it needs, to bring out the beauty of its bright, red 

 berries and thick, shining leaves, the glistening white of a 

 snow-covered earth and the bare, gaunt 

 branches of other trees. By contrast then 

 its freshness is very attractive. During the 

 dusty, heated summer it might readily be 

 passed by unseen. The American holly is 

 not thought to be as beautiful as the English 

 one. There are fewer berries to be found, 

 on it ; and its leaves have not nearly so 

 high and clear a lustre. But it is still a 

 crisp and cheery appearing tree and worthy 

 of a more extended cultivation than it 

 receives. 



The wood of the holly is almost white. It is hard and fine 

 of grain. When made into work tables, boxes and similar arti- 

 cles it is very pretty. 



/. inonticola^ large-leaved holly, bears a leaf which is very 

 distinctive from that of I. opaca. It is ovate-lanceolate, with a 

 taper-pointed apex and a finely serrated edge. In texture it is 



Ilex opaca. 



