HOLLY FAMILY 149 



4. R. Toxicodendron L. Poison Vine, Poison Ivy, Mercury, 

 Black Mercury. Stem a woody vine climbing high by aerial root- 

 lets, or sometimes short and erect. Leaves petioled, of 3 leaflets, 

 downy ; leaflets ovate or oval, taper-pointed, entire or somewhat 

 dentate, often angled or lobed. Flowers dioecious, in loose axillary 

 panicles. Fruit nearly white, smooth. Common in open woods and 

 along fences. Plant poisonous to the touch.* 



56. AQUIFOLIACE.S;. Holly Family 



Trees or shrubs. Leaves simple, alternate, petioled; stip- 

 ules small or wantiDg. Flowers small, greenish, clustered or 

 solitary in the axils, usually dioecious. Calyx 4-9-parted. 

 Petals 4-9, somewhat united at the base. Stamens inserted 

 in the tube of the corolla and alternate with its lobes. Ovary 

 free, 4-9-celled, with a single ovule in each cell. Fruit a 

 berry-like drupe, 4-9-seeded.* 



ILEX L. 



Small trees or shrubs. Leaves usually leathery, often per- 

 sistent and evergreen ; stipules minute. Flowers axillary, 

 4-9-parted, the fertile often solitary and the staminate clus- 

 tered. Fruit a drupe with 4-9 nutlets.* 



1. I. opaca Ait. Holly. Trees with smooth, light-colored bark, 

 and hard, very white wood ; young twigs downy. Leaves leath- 

 ery, oval or ovate, margin prickly-toothed, dark green and shining 

 above, paler and sometimes slightly downy beneath. Peduncles short, 

 bracted. Flowers 4-parted; staminate flowers in small cymes, the 

 pistillate ones usually solitary. Fruit bright red. Damp, sandy soil 

 £. and S.* 



2. I. decidua Walt. Deciduous Holly. Small trees; twigs smooth. 

 Leaves thin, obovate, obtuse or sometimes acute at the apex, scal- 

 loped, smooth, deciduous. Flowers in sessile clusters, 4-6-parted. 

 Fruits very numerous, bright red. On low ground S.* 



3. I. verticillata Gray. Black Alder, Winterberry. A much- 

 branched shrub 6-8 ft. high. Leaves thin, oval or obovate, taper- 

 pointed, serrate, 1^-2 in. long. Flowers greenish-white, on very 

 short peduncles. Fruit bright red, 1, 2, or 3 in a leaf axil, remain- 

 ing long after the leaves have fallen. Swampy ground and damp 

 woods and thickets. 



