fHE HOLLY, EVONYMUS, AND BUCKTHORN FAMILIES. 25 



Of the section of the genus with deciduous leaves (Prinos), represented in eastern North 

 America by the familiar Black Alder (Ilex verticillata) of our northern swamps and by the 

 arborescent Ilex Monticola of the Alleghany Mountains, there are several species in Japan. 

 The largest of these, Ilex macropoda, is a widely distributed, but not a common plant. I saw 

 it on the cliffs at Mororan on the shores of Volcano Bay, on the hills above Nikko, and on 

 the flanks of Mount Koma-ga-take in central Japan, although only a single plant in each of 

 these widely separated localities. Ilex macropoda is a round-headed tree, twenty to thirty feet 

 in height, with a trunk sometimes a foot in diameter. It is a well-shaped handsome tree, with 

 stout branchlets furnished with short lateral spurs and ample, membranaceous, ovate-acute, 

 long-petioled' leaves conspicuously reticulate-veined, which turn bright clear yellow in the 

 autumn, when they make a beautiful contrast with the bright red long-stalked fruit, which, 

 although not very large, is exceedingly abundant. Ilex macropoda grows not only far north, 

 as Professor Miyabe has recently written me of its discovery in the neighborhood of Sapporo, 

 but in the most exposed situations and at high elevations ; and there is no reason, therefore, 

 why it should not thrive in our northern states, where it may be expected to add considerably 

 to the beauty of shrubberies in the autumn and early winter. 



A much more common plant than Ilex macropoda is Ilex Sieboldii, although this species 

 does not reach Hokkaido or ascend to high elevations on the mountains of Hondo. It much 

 resembles our North American Ilex verticillata and Ilex laevigata, although much less beautiful 

 than either of these species, the fruit being smaller and less highly colored. Ilex Sieboldii is 

 a tall spreading shrub, very common in low grounds and near the borders of streams, with 

 slender stems often twelve or fifteen feet tall, small ovate-acute sharply serrate conspicuously 

 veined leaves, and small scarlet fruit clustered on the short lateral spur-like branchlets. In 

 the autumn the leafless branches of this shrub covered with fruit are sold in immense quan- 

 tities in the streets of Tokyo for the decoration of dwelling-houses, for which purpose they 

 are admirably suited, as the berries remain on the branches and retain their color for a long 

 time. Ilex Sieboldii was introduced many years ago into American gardens by the late 

 Thomas Hogg ; it is an old inhabitant of the Arnold Arboretum, where it now flowers and 

 produces its fruit every year. As an ornamental plant, however, it is less desirable than the 

 related American species, and it will probably only be cultivated in this country and in 

 Europe as a curiosity, or in botanic gardens. 



The other Japanese Hollies with deciduous leaves, Ilex serrata, which is closely related to 

 and resembles Ilex Sieboldii, and Ilex geniculata, a rare shrub of the high mountains, with 

 black fruit, I was not fortunate enough to find. 



The flora of Japan is rich in Evonymus, there being no less than nine species found within 

 the limits of the empire. Of these the best known in our gardens is the evergreen Evonymus 

 Japonicus, now cultivated in all temperate countries, and its climbing variety usually known 

 as Evonymus radicans. Evonymus Japonicus is a small tree generally distributed at low 

 elevations, and more common in the south than at the north, although it grows naturally in 

 the cold climate of southern Yezo, where, however, it does not attain a large size, and where 

 its presence may be accounted for by the thick covering of snow which protects it in winter. 

 The scandent variety is a hardier plant found carpeting the ground under the forests of 



