Ilex. 



AQUIFOLIACE^E. 



3 



branch ; the pedicels only one or two lines long. Calyx-segments short, acute, finely ciliate. 

 Corolla white, 4-parted nearly to the base, rotate : segments oblong. Stamens 4 : filaments 

 short and broad ; cells of the anther distinct, adnate to the sides of the filament. Ovary 

 ovate-conical : stigmas 4, obtuse, distinct, erect. Fruit globular, red, the size of a small pea, 

 smooth : nucules bony, strongly costate-veiny. Embryo very minute, spherical, at the 

 extremity of fleshy albumen. 



On the Catskill mountains (Mr. Carey). This species is probably not rare, and yet if it 

 be not the Prinos ambiguus of Michaux, it must be undescribed. I have received it from Mr. 

 Wolle of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, who found it on the mountains in the neighborhood of 

 that town. Dr. Gray and Mr. J. Carey, in their recent botanical journey to the mountains of 

 North-Carolina, found a plant nearly allied to this, and perhaps not differing essentially. 

 The pedicels, however ( I have only seen the fruit), arise from lateral buds, and not from the 

 extremity of the branches, and the persistent calyx is 5 - 6-parted. Neither the New-York 

 nor the Southern plant can be the Prinos ambiguus of Elliott ; and P. ambiguus of Nuttall 

 seems to be distinct from both. I have referred this species to Ilex on account of the sulcate 

 nucules, but perhaps the two genera ought to be united. 



2. PRINOS. Linn. ; Endl. gen. 5706. WINTER-BERRY. 



[Prinos is the Greek name of the Qucrcus Ilex, and is said to be derived from prio, to saw; the leaves being serrated.] 



Flowers mostly dioecious or polygamous. Calyx 4 - 6-toothed, persistent. Corolla mostly 

 6-cleft (sometimes 4- or 5-cleft), rotate. Stamens usually 6. Ovary 4 - 6-celled : stigmas 

 4 — 6, sessile, distinct or united. Fruit with 4-6 bony smooth nucules. Embryo very 

 minute. — Shrubs, often with evergreen leaves. Peduncles axillary, solitary or aggregated. 



This genus is too nearly related to Ilex. 



1. Prinos verticillatus, Linn. Black Alder. Common Winter -terry. 



Leaves deciduous, oval or obovate, serrate, acuminate, pubescent and prominently veined 

 underneath ; flowers mostly 6-parted, the staminiferous somewhat umbellate, the pistilliferous 

 aggregated or solitary ; calyx-segments ciliate. — Linn. sp. 1. p. 130 ; Pursh, fl. 1. p. 220; 

 Bigel. Jl. Bost. p. 129, and med. bot. 3. p. 141. t. 55 ; Bart. veg. mat. med. t. 17 ; Torr. 

 fl. 1. p. 337 ; DC. prodr. 2. p. 17 ; Hook. Jl. Bor.-Am. I. p. 121 ; Beck, bot. p. 230 ; 

 Darlingt. fl. Cest. p. 214. P. Gronovii, Michx. fl. 2. p. 236. 



A shrub 6-8 feet high, much branched. Leaves 2-3 inches long, uncinately serrate, 

 with prominent veins underneath : petioles about half an inch long. Flowers numerous, white, 

 dioecious. Staminiferous fl. in small axillary umbels ; the common peduncle rather longer 

 than the pedicels, which are about one-fourth of an inch in length. Stamens usually as many 

 as 6, and sometimes 7 : ovary abortive. Fertile fl. mostly perfect, on shorter pedicels, 

 and with scarcely any common peduncle. Ovary conical, about 6-celled : stigmas 4 - 6-lobed. 

 Fruit globose, the size of a large pea, scarlet when ripe, crowded on the branches so as to 



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