5. Ilex Coriàcea (Pursh) Chapm. Shining Inkberry

Fig. 2790

Prinos coriacens Pursh, Fl. Am. Sept. 221. 1814.

Ilex coriacea Chapm. Fl. S. States, 270. 1860.

Ilex lucida T. & G.; S. Wats. Bibl. Index 1. 159. 1878. Not Prinos lucidus Ait.

A glabrous shrub, 15o high or less. Leaves thick, evergreen, oval to obovate or oblong, acute at both ends, entire, or with a few small sharp teeth, 1'-3' long, dark green and shining above, paler and dotted beneath,short-petioled, somewhat viscid when young; flowers clustered in the axils, or the staminate solitary, the cymes sessile; pedicels bractless, short; calyx-segments 6-9; drupe black, 3"-4" in diameter; nutlets flat, smooth.

Dismal Swamp, Virginia, to Florida and Louisiana. April-May.

6. Ilex Decidua Walt. Swamp, Meadow Or Deciduous Holly

Fig. 2791

Ilex decidua Walt. Fl. Car. 241. 1788.

A shrub, or small tree, with a maximum height of 30° and trunk diameter of 8' or 10'. Twigs light gray, glabrous; leaves obovate or spatulate-oblong, 1 1/2'-3' long, 4"-8" wide, crenate, deciduous, dark green, glabrous and with impressed veins on the upper surface, paler and pubescent beneath, especially on the midrib, acute or cuneate at the base, blunt at the apex or sometimes emarginate; pedicels slender, 1-flowered, several often appearing from near the same point, bractless; calyx-lobes ovate, obtuse; drupe red, depressed-globose, 2"-3" in diameter; nutlets ribbed.

In swamps and low grounds, District of Columbia to Florida, west to Illinois, Kansas and Texas. Wood hard, white; weight per cubic foot 46 lbs. Flowers unfolding with the leaves in May. Bearberry. Possum-haw.

7. Ilex Montàna (T. & G.) A. Gray. Large-Leaved Holly

Fig. 2702

I. montana T. & G.; A. Gray, Man. 276. 1848.

Ilex monticola A. Gray, Man. Ed. 2, 264. 1856.

Ilex mollis A. Gray, Man. Ed. 5, 306. 1867.

Ilex monticola mollis Britton, Mem. Torr. Club 5: 217. 1894.

A shrub, or occasionally forming a slender erect tree, with a maximum height of about 400. Leaves rather thin, deciduous, ovate or ovate-lanceolate, 2'-6' long, Y-2V wide, sharply serrate or serrulate, acuminate or acute, glabrous on both sides or pubescent beneath, especially along the veins; petioles 4"-8" long; pedicels I-flowered, bractless, the sterile clustered, the fertile mostly solitary; calyx-lobes acute or acutish, ciliate or pubescent; drupes red, globose-ovoid, 2"-3" in diameter; nutlets ribbed.

Mountain woods. New York and Pennsylvania, to Georgia and Alabama. Mountain holly. May.

8. Ilex Verticillàta (L.) A. Gray. Virginia Winterberry. Black Alder. Fever-Bush

Fig. 2793

Prinos verticillatus L. Sp. Pl. 330. 1753.

Prinos podifolius Willd. Enum. Hort. Berol. 394.

1809. Ilex verticillata A. Gray, Man. Ed. 2, 264. 1856.

A shrub, 6°-25° high. Twigs brown, glabrous or slightly pubescent; leaves oval, obovate or oblong-lanceolate, 2-3' long, about 1' wide, acute or acuminate at the apex, acute or obtusish at the base, rather thick and coriaceous, dark green and nearly glabrous above, pubescent, at least on the veins beneath, sharply serrate; staminate cymes clustered, 2-10-flowered, the fertile 1-3-flowered; pedicels 2-bracted; calyx-lobes obtuse, ciliate; drupes bright red (rarely yellow or white), clustered so as to appear verticillate, about 3" in diameter; nutlets smooth.

In swamps, Connecticut to Florida, west to Wisconsin and Missouri, perhaps extending further north. The leaves turn black in autumn. Striped, white or false alder. June-July.