4 NATL. ARBORETUM CONTRIB. NO. 3, U.S. DEPT. AGR. 



in their plant lore. The use of this plant was noted by the early Spanish 

 explorers of the North American coasts. 2 



This slow-growing, dioecious tree, attaining 50 feet or more in height, is 

 generally pyramidal and has oval to elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate leaves 3 

 to 5 inches long, with large, remote marginal spines. The leaves are gener- 

 ally dark green above, somewhat lighter below, coriaceous, and evergreen. 

 Spineless-leaved types are well known and when discovered in the wild, 

 may be referred to f. subintegra Weatherby. The fruit of /. opaca is 

 globose to oval to occasionally rotund and varies in color from several hues 

 of red to yellow and orange-yellow. The forms with yellow and orange- 

 yellow fruit may be botanically referred to as f . xanthocarpa Render. Al- 

 though reasonably rare in the wild, approximately 40 different plants with 

 yellow or orange-yellow fruits have been selected and named as cultivars. 

 Male and female flowers are produced on the current season's growth and 

 are for the most part solitary. 



The natural range of /. opaca is the Eastern United States from Massa- 

 chusetts south to Florida and west to Pennsylvania and Texas. It is a com- 

 mon, conspicuous tree (or low shrub) in its eastern range and occurs as 

 an understory plant in numerous ecological sites — ranging from dry up- 

 land forest to marshy bottom lands. It also occurs as a coastal beach plant 

 and apparently has a significantly high soil and atmospheric salt tolerance. 

 Although tolerant to a wide variety of soil types, it is known to succeed 

 best in moist, well-drained, acid soils. 



This species has been used extensively as an ornamental throughout all 

 areas of its native range. Landscape usage has been extensive during the 

 past 40 years, and over 1,000 selections have been given cultivar names, al- 

 though not all of these names have been registered with the International 

 Registration Authority. 



Because of its good turning qualities, the hard, close-grained wood of /. 

 opaca was in former years used extensively in the southern Appalachians 

 for parts of wooden tools. More recently the wood has been used for pro- 

 ducing decorative wooden figurines, which are currently in great demand. 

 Cut branches of /. opaca were used extensively in former years for Christ- 

 mas decorations, particularly for constructing highly revered and popular 

 wreaths. However, this industry, so important at one time from Massachu- 

 setts to Georgia, has greatly declined because of the destruction of the 

 large, pure stands of this species. 



Format 



Previous published checklists of woody cultivated plants, notably Fagus, 

 Chaenomeles, Ulmus, Lantana, and Weigela from the Arnold Arboretum, 

 in "Arnoldia," indicate that every genus has its own nomenclatural and 



2 Sargent, C. S. silva north America. 1 : 107. 1891. 



