Ilex — Holly. 139 



dark green with the disk sHghtly mottled, and with an 

 irregular, narrow, silvery margin. /. a. argentea ele- 

 gantissima is much like it except that the central part of 

 the leaf is dark green with gray blotches, and has a 

 margin of creamy white. The foliage of /. a. argentea 

 medio-picta is dark green at the edges with a large central 

 blotch of creamy white. /. a. aurea latifolia is also a 

 broad-leaved variety with well-developed spines, the disk 

 marked with pale green, and having a narrow, irregular, 

 golden edge. /. a. aurea maculata has golden-spotted 

 foliage, and a leaf-blade with creamy-yellow centre sur- 

 rounded with a creamy-white border. It is a very distinct 

 variety and very showy. /. a. aurea picta latifolia, popu- 

 larly known as the " golden milk-maid," has long leaves 

 with spines variable in condition, and disk irregularly 

 marked by a long yellow blotch, with irregular, narrow, 

 glossy margin. This is one of the very best. /. a. aiirea 

 regina, known as the "golden queen," is a variety in 

 which the leaves are usually much mottled with gray and 

 green, with a broad, well-defined, continuous margin of 

 deep yellow. This is a handsome form and claimed to be 

 the finest of the golden-edged series. /. a. ferox ar- 

 gentea, known as the " silver-striped hedgehog " holly, 

 has deep green leaves bristling with stiff spines towards 

 the front and edges. The margins are creamy white. /. 

 a. handsworthensis shows much longer leaves than most 

 others, and they are bordered with very strong white 

 spines. The disk is mottled with green, and there is a 

 distinct margin of creamy white. / a. wateriana has 

 leaves oblong-ovate, and disk of dark green, mottled often 



