106 ILICfNE^E 



from the Latin impatiens, referring to the sudden movement of 

 the valves of the capsule.) 



i. I. Noli-tdngere (Touch-me-not), an elegant plant i — 2 feet 

 high ; stem swollen at the nodes j leaves ovate, coarsely serrate, 

 obtuse ; peduncles 1 — 3-flowered ; flowers large, yellow spotted 

 with orange ; spur slender, loosely recurved. — Moist shady woods 

 and river banks in mountainous districts in the north ; rare. — 

 Fl. June — September. Annual. 



2.* I. biflbra, a North American species, 2 — 3 feet high, with 

 acute, ovate, serrate leaves, orange flowers, turquoise-blue seeds, 

 and a. spur closely recurved and emarginate, is, since 1822, natur- 

 alised by the Tillingbourne, the Wey, and the Thames in Surrey, 

 the Colne in Middlesex and Bucks, and elsewhere. — Fl. June — 

 August. Annual. 



3.* I. parviflbra, a Russian plant, 6 — 18 in. high, with 3 — 12- 

 flowered peduncles, and small yellowish flotvers with a short straight 

 spur, is naturalised in many places. — Fl. July — September. 

 Annual. 



Ord. XXI. IucfNE^E. — The Holly Tribe 

 This Order, which is also known as Aquifolidcece, consists of 

 trees and shrubs with scattered, simple, and generally evergreen 

 and leathery leaves, and axillary cymes of small, white, or greenish 

 flowers ; sepals 3 — 6, united, imbricate, persistent ; petals 4 — 6, 

 deciduous, imbricate ; stamens equalling the petals in number, 

 and alternate with them ; filaments awl-shaped ; anthers 2- 

 chambered, opening lengthwise ; ovary superior; 2— 6-chambered ; 

 style short or absent ; stigma nearly sessile, lobed ; fruit 

 drupaceous, fleshy, indehiscent, containing 2 — 6 bony, one-seeded 

 " stones." They occur in various parts of the world, the common 

 Holly being the only European species. Nearly all the members 

 of the Order possess astringent, tonic properties, the leaves of the 

 Holly, for instance, being used as a substitute for quinine in 

 cases of intermittent fever. The leaves of Ilex paraguayensis, a 

 South American species, furnish Paraguay or Mate Tea, which is 

 extensively used throughout South America. The tea itself is 

 properly known as yerba de mate, mate being the name for the 

 gourd which is used as a teapot. The leaves of the common 

 Holly are used as tea by the peasantry in the Black Forest. 



1. Ilex (Holly). — Trees and shrubs ; sepals 4 or 5 ; petals 4 or 

 5, generally united as a rotate corolla ; stamens 4 or 5, adherent 

 to the corolla-tube ; stigmas 4 or 5; berry round, containing 4 or 

 5 stones. (Name applied by the Latins to some tree, probably 

 Quercus Ilex, the Holm Oak, but not to our Holly.) 



