48 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



linden leaf, it will be found that in many cases this 

 irregularity is very pronounced ; in the last-mentioned 

 species it is particularly so. 

 American EoUy. We have our own American holly, 

 Ilex opaca. which is indeed a fine tree weU wor- 

 thy of cultivation, although, through the frequent ab- 

 sence of the scarlet berries, it has not the brilliancy 



of its English relative. 

 It is not quite hardy a 

 httle north of 42° lati- 

 tude. This holly grows 

 from 15 to 50 feet 

 high, has light brown- 

 gray, smooth bark, 



and white flowers 

 which appear in 

 May. 



The evergreen 



leaf is rather thick 



and flat, has a wavy 



margin with scat- 



American Holly. ^^^^^ gpj^^ ^g^^j^^ 



and lacks the luster of that of the English holly. 

 The tree will be found in moist woodlands near the 

 coast from Quincy, Mass., to New Jersey, and south- 

 ward to Florida; from southern Indiana it extends 

 southward to the Giilf. The wood is very white. 



