THE HOLLY TREE. 



67 



THE FLOWER 

 AND SEED. 



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With the new leaves come the flower buds. These cluster round 

 the stems at the axils ot the leaf petioles. When the outer covering 

 of the bud expands, the four petals, folded together at the tips, appear 

 like a tiny yellowish-white ball. These soon open out, and show 

 the four stamens and the tour pistils which they enclose, and which 

 make up the perfect flower. It is creamy-white in colour, and of 

 a pleasant scent. The flowers, however, vary both in sex and for- 

 mation : they are ot three kinds, male, female, 

 and mixed. These different types are found both 

 on separate trees and in separate blossoms on the 

 same tree. In the female flower the ovary is 

 conspicuous for its size in comparison with the 

 petals. Flowers are often found in which the 

 number of petals and of stamens exceed that 

 of the typical form. Diagrams ot some of 

 the more ordinary forms are here given. 



The unripe berries are green ; during the 

 summer they change to red, and become a 

 brilliant scarlet by the end of the year. 

 In shape they are usually elliptical, sometimes round, and about 

 a quarter-of-an-inch in diameter. 



THE HOLLY (Ilex Aquifolium) is a hardy evergreen of slow 

 growth. It will attain to a height of 50 feet, and lives to a great 

 age. The various species are natives of Europe and Western Asia, 

 and the tree is indigenous throughout Great Britain. 



