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oblong and sharp-pointed at the tip. The margins are 

 finely toothed. There are two kinds of flowers, fertile and 

 sterile, and they are usually found on separate trees, but oc- 

 casional trees have both kinds on the same plant. Both 

 kinds of flowers grow in large clusters, and the fertile 

 flowers bloom about ten days later than the sterile. The 

 fruits are in dense clusters, and when ripe the fruit-cluster is 

 covered with a quantity of dark red hairs, thus giving the 

 plant a beautiful color scheme in the early fall and late 

 summer. 



This sumac is common throughout the eastern states. 

 The wood is of little value, but the bark and leaves are rich 

 in tannin. 



The scarlet sumac (Rhus glabra), a closely allied plant, is 

 smaller than the staghorn sumac and it may be distinguished 

 by its perfectly smooth leaves which are conspicuously whitish 

 on the under side. It, too, is very common, as a shrub, but 

 it rarely becomes a tree in the Hudson Valley. 



American Holly Ilex opaca 



It is only in the extreme southern part of the Hudson 

 Valley that we find the holly. On Staten Island and Sandy 

 Hook the tree was formerly abundant. In favorable situa- 

 tions it reaches a height of 50 feet and a trunk diameter of 

 2 feet. 



Its well-known, prickly-margined leaves are from 2 to 5 

 inches long, quite stiff and leathery. There are two kinds 

 of flowers on the holly, fertile and infertile and they are 

 almost never found on the same trees. Both kinds are white 

 and rather inconspicuous. It is mostly from the fertile 

 trees that the Christmas sprays are picked with their pro- 

 fusion of bright red berries. Inside the berries there is a 

 small prominently ribbed stone. 



The whiteness and compactness of its wood make the holly 

 desirable for turnery and it is also used in cabinet work and 

 interior finishing. The tree is a slow grower. 



