MAHONIA AQUIFOLIUM. 
(Holly-leaved Mahonia.) 
Class. 
HEXANDRIA. 
Order. 
MONQGYNIA. 
Natural Order. 
BERBERACEiE. 
Gen ebic Character.— Sepals six, guarded on the 
outside by three scales. Petals six, without glands on 
the inside. Stamens furnished with a tooth on each 
side at the top of the filament. Berries three to nine- 
seeded. — Bon's Qarcl. and Botany. 
Spkcific Character. — Plant shrubby, evergreen, 
growing four or five feet in height. Leaves furnished 
with two or three pairs of leaflets, and an odd one; 
leaflets ovate, cordate at the base, with spiny teeth on 
the edges, shining above. Racemes nearly erect, much 
crowded. Flowers yellow. Berries dark blue. 
Of the noble evergreen figured in the opposite page, it may be truly said that 
a more handsome or ornamental shrub does not exist in British gardens. And we 
have given this drawing to excite greater attention to its extraordinary merits, as 
well as to show the extreme beauty of the berries it so liberally produces. 
Being an evergreen, and copiously furnished with deep green and glossy 
leaves, it is adapted for any situation in the most highly-cultured shrubbery. It 
has even more liveliness in its aspect than the common holly, which it so much 
resembles in foliage, without any of its rankness and coarseness, and with a 
decidedly shrubby habit. Added to this, it is perfectly hardy, bears immense 
quantities of pretty yellow flowers in the earliest part of the spring, and during 
autumn is covered with fruit which, from its being disposed in clusters, and 
having the same colour and bloom, looks like miniature bunches of grapes. 
But while it is so singularly appropriate for placing in borders in a con- 
spicuous position, it is also equally well suited for making an undergrowth to 
plantations, as it spreads freely over the ground, does not grow higher than four 
or five feet, and, as we are assured, is not eaten by hares and rabbits, unless they 
are literally famishing, when it is well known they will destroy any vegetable 
production. 
It is further one of the best plants with which we are acquainted for planting 
as specimens on lawns, or in turfed recesses by the side of retired walks. Neither 
exposure nor shade seems to injure it, and its branches or suckers issue from the 
very base, composing a close pyramid of interesting foliage. Specimens of this 
