spiny leaves. One of our first loves in 
this surprising group, and one of the 
choicest. 
HENDERSONII AUREA, see page 19. 
MADERENSIS VARIEGATA, see 
page 18. 
PAINTED LADY, F—(Brownell). For 
you who thought there just couldn’t or 
shouldn’t be any more sisters in this 
populous family, there had to be a 
naughty little girl who stole her mother’s 
lipstick and daubed her golden com- 
plexion with splotches of red and pur- 
ple. She performs this trick every fall, 
but when spring comes the discolora- 
tions just fade away and our Painted 
Lady becomes a true beauty queen 
reigning over all she surveys throughout 
the warm summer days. Crimson ber- 
ries in profusion aid this damsel in 
accomplishing her winter overtones of 
color. 
3. Variegated hollies sheathed with leaves of solid gold (see picture 
on back cover). FLAVESCENS: (Aurantiaca ; Lutescens). 
These ethereal hollies of near identical description and behavior 
appear to originate as seed sports. The coloration is imparted to the 
new and outer leaves by the golden rays of the sunlight. But the sun 
like the proverbial Indian giver merely lends her gold which must be 
repaid whenever the leaves fail to make obeisance to the sun god. 
Thus as the leaves become old and shaded within the body of the tree 
they first become mottled with green, then fade out to a pale green. 
If the tree is shaded all the gold will be lost. Even those leaves on the 
northern exposure must plead for their fair share of gold while the 
leaves on the side of the sun glow ever so brightly with their borrowed 
riches. 
On moonlight nights these hol- 
lies serve as phantasmal beacons 
illuminating the landscape with the 
pale yellow glow of reflected moon- 
beams. Tall, symmetrically conical 
and with vigorous growth habit 
these sensational gold-plated fan- 
tasies of nature seem to be designed 
to grace the Gardens of the Gods. 
BRONZE AND CLOUDED GOLD, 
F—Both imports of near identical leaf, 
bold, strongly spined and perfection 
personified. 
MOONLIGHT, F—A gentler holly of 
broader, softer leaf and enhanced by 
great clusters of crimson berries at the 
Christmas season. 
PHANTOM GOLD,M—(Brownell). 
The chosen mate for Moonlight, this 
magnificent holly is pictured in full 
color on the back cover. 
4. Varieties with Silver Variegated Margins (Argentea Marginata). 
First a note to clarify the use of the descriptive term of silver. The 
degree of silver coloration is affected by the age of the leaf, the exposure 
to sunlight, and by inheritance factors. The latin word albo meaning 
white is sometimes used in describing these silvery colorations. The 
deeper the shade in which the tree or branch is growing, the more 
white-like becomes the variegation. The same holly placed in full 
exposure to the sun will take on a deeper coloration which may be 
called creamy and may merge on the golden, especially at the outer and 
newer leaves. Silver is thus a compromise adjective to express an inter- 
23 
