AMERICAN HOLLY 



Ilex opaca Alton 



The brilliant red berries and spiny evergreen leaves of American 

 holly carry with them all the Old World associations, even though 

 our species is different from that of Europe. The inconspicuous 

 flowers are of a greenish color, and the pistillate and staminate flow- 

 ers usually occur on separate trees. American holly is most abundant 

 in moist woods on rather acid soils. It sometimes reaches a height 

 of fifty feet, with a trunk three and a half feet in diameter, but is of 

 slow growth. The wood is white, close-grained, and hard ; the bark 

 greenish gray, with white markings. The great demand for holly at 

 Christmas stimulates cutting for commercial purposes, and is de- 

 nuding the forests of this beautiful evergreen. To save it from exter- 

 mination, substitutes must be used whenever possible. 



American holly is found from Florida to Texas and Missouri, and 

 northward to Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. 



The sketch was made from a specimen obtained near Washington, 

 District of Columbia. 



PLATE 2.66 



