232 FOREST TREES. 
on all winter. If other means are used, care must 
be taken not to cover so close as to smother the 
plants. 
ILEx—HOL.ty. 
Natural Order, Aguifoliaceae. 
Flowers, more or less diceciously polygamous, but 
many of them perfect; calyx, four to six-toothed; 
petals, four to six, separate or united only at the 
base; stamens, four to six; berry, four to eight 
seeded; leaves, alternate. 
Llex opaca—American Holly. 
Leaves, oval, flat, spiny, the margins wavy; flow- 
ers in clusters at the base of the young branches and 
in the axils; calyx teeth acute. 
The American Holly is found near the Atlantic 
coast from Maine to Florida. On the Mississippi 
and its tributaries it grows as far north as West Ten- 
nessee. It is found in Arkansas and the Indian 
territory. In these countries it attains its fullest 
development in rich bottom lands. I have seen it i 
Northern Mississippi from forty to sixty feet in 
height. On the coast of New England it is a shrub 
or small tree. It thrives best in deep rich loam; it 
will grow in dry sandy soil, but not in cold, wet 
lands or stiff clays. 
The wood of the Holly is white, heavy, hard, and 
fine grained. It is esteemed for turning, and is 
applied to many uses for which the Box is valued. 
The tree is nowhere abundant, and is of slow growth. 
