4S6 



ILICACEAE. 



Vol, II. 



Family 76. ILICACEAE Lowe, Fl. Mad. 2: 11. 1868. 

 Holly Family. 



Shrubs or trees, with watery sap, and alternate petioled simple often coriaceous 

 leaves. Flowers axillary, small, clustered or solitary, white, mainly polygamo- 

 dioecious, regular. Stipules minute and deciduous, or none. Calyx 3-6 parted, 

 generally persistent. Petals 4-6 (rarely more), separate, or slightly united at 

 the base, hypogynous, deciduous, imbricated. Stamens hypogynous, as many as 

 the petals, or sometimes more; anthers oblong, cordate. Disk none. Ovary i, 

 superior, 3-several-celled ; stigma discoid or capitate ; style short or none ; ovules 

 I or 2 in each cavity of the ovary. Fruit a small berry-like drupe, enclosing 

 several nutlets. Seed pendulous ; endosperm fleshy ; embryo straight. 



Three genera and about 300 species, natives of temperate and tropical regions. 



Petals oblong or obovate, slightly united. 

 Petals linear, distinct. 



1. Ilejc. 



2. Nemopanthiis. 



I. opaca. 



I. Cassine. 

 I. vomitoria. 



I. ILEX L. Sp. PI. 125. 1753. 



Shrubs or trees, with entire dentate or spiny-toothed, minutely stipulate leaves, and axil- ' 

 lary cymose or solitary, perfect or polygamous flowers. Calyx small, 4-5-cleft or toothed. 

 Petals 4-9, somewhat united at the base, oblong, obtuse. Stamens of the same number, adnata 

 to the base of the corolla. Berry-like drupe globose, with 4-8 bony or crustaceous nutlets. 

 [Ancient name of the Holly oak.] 



About 280 species, mostly American, some in Asia, Africa and Australia. Besides the following, 

 some s others occur in the southeastern United States. Type species : Ilex Aquifolium L. 



Leaves thick, evergreen, persistent. 

 Nutlets ribbed. 



Leaves spiny-toothed. 



Leaves dentate or entire, not spiny. 



Leaves entire or few-toothed ; calyx-lobes acute. 



Leaves coarsely crenate ; calyx-lobes obtuse. 3, 



Nutlets not ribbed ; leaves dotted beneath. 



Leaves oblanceolate, obtusish ; drupe 2"-3" in diameter. 4. I, glabra. 



Leaves obovate, acute ; drupe 3"-4" in diameter. 5. /. coriac'ea. 



Leaves thin, deciduous. 



Nutlets ribbed ; peduncles i-flowered. 



Leaves small, obovate or spatulate, crenate. 6. /. decidua. 



Leaves large, ovate or lanceolate, sharply serrate. y, I.montana. 



Nutlets not ribbed. 



Flowers all short-pedicelled. 



Twigs brown ; leaves oval to oblong, 8. /. verticillata. 



Twigs grey; leaves obovate to nearly orbicular. g. /. bronxensis. 



Starainate flowers on long and slender pedicels. 10! /. laevigata. 



I. Ilex opaca Ait. American or 

 White Holly. Fig. 2786. 



Ilex opaca Ait. Hort. Kew. i: 169. 1789. 



A tree of slow growth, sometimes 50° 

 high, and with a trunk diameter of 3^°. 

 Young twigs sparingly pubescent; leaves 

 elUptical or obovate, 2-4' long, I'-li' 

 wide, evergreen, glabrous on both sides, 

 obtuse or acutish at the apex, spiny-tipped, 

 spinose-dentate, at least toward the apex, 

 rarely nearly or quite entire ; petioles 2"-4" 

 long, sometimes puberulent ; peduncles 2- 

 bracted; staminate cymes 3-10-flowered, 

 ¥-1' long; fertile flowers mostly scattered 

 and solitary; calyx-lobes acute, ciliate; 

 stigma sessile ; drupe globose or globose- 

 oblong, red, rarely yellow, 4"-5" in diam- 

 eter; nutlets ribbed. 



In moist woods, Massachusetts to Florida, 

 Pennsylvania, Indiana, Missouri and Texas. 

 Most abundant near the coast. Wood hard, 

 nearly white ; weight per cubic foot 36 lbs. 

 Ascends to 3000 ft. in North Carolina. April- 

 June. 



