THE HOLLY TREE. 



6i 



and knots which mark the loss of boughs torn awav bv the weight 

 of the snow or perished through lack of light. The trunks are also 

 curiously marked with spots or excrescences ot a whitish hue, which 

 are arranged about them in circles, and serve to accentuate their 

 roundness. Occasionally woody knobs projects trom theni, similar to 

 those described upon the beech. 



THE LEAF. 



OPENING LEAF BUD. 



Li April, the Holly begins to show sig-ns ot lite ; the ground 

 beneath becomes strewn with tallen leaves and the buds are burstins:- 



o 



Early in Mav the new leaves appear ; they are sott to the touch 

 and ot a brilliant green. One bv one thev expand and spread away, 

 while the edges ot the leaf blade, which have hitherto been tblded 

 together, separate. At the apex of the shoot the youngest leaf is still 

 directed upwards, but its tip is bent back, so that the central rib and 

 the leat stalk taken together form a double cur\x between the extreme 

 point ot the leat and that ot i unction with the shoot. The new stem 

 in course ot tormation is a dull green in colour or sometimes dark 

 red. As the leaves mature thev stiffen and take on a darker tinge. 

 The spines which appear at the points where the curves of the leaf- 



