likely by abortion) 1 cell and 1 seed. Shrubs with branchlets square; leaves opposite, subcoriaceous, and flowers upon trifidly or trichotomously branched peduncles. (Dec. Prod. and Don's Mill.) ILEX L. Sexes hermaphrodite, very rarely, by defect, dioecious or polygamous. Calyx 4-5-toothed. Corolla 4-5-cleft. Stamens 4-5, inserted into the tube of the corolla. Fruit including 4 or 5 nuts. Evergreen shrubs, with, mostly, coriaceous leaves. Flowers many on a peduncle. (Dec. Prod. and Don's Mill.) PRINOS L. Sexes mostly, by defect, dioecious or polygamous. Calyx 6-cleft. Corolla 6-cleft. Stamens 6, inserted into the tube of the corolla. Fruit including 6 nuts. Shrubs, with leaves deciduous or persistent, and flowers 1 upon a peduncle. (Dec. Prod. and Don's Mill.) GENUS I. MYGI'NDA Jacq. THE MYGINDA. Lin. Syst. Tetrándria Monogýnia. Identification. Jacq. Amer., p. 24.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 12.; Don's Mill., 2. p. 15. Synonyme. I'lex Pursh. Derivation. So named by Jacquin in honour of Francis von Mygind, a German botanist. 1. M. MYRTIFOLIA Nutt. The Myrtle-leaved Myginda. Identification. Nutt. Gen., 1. p. 109.; Don's Mill., 2. p. 15.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 13. Synonyme. Ilex Myrsinites Pursh Fl. Sept. Amer., Hook. Fl. Bor. Amer., i. p. 119, 120. Engravings. Hook. Fl. Bor. Amer., t. 41.; and our fig. 175. Spec. Char., &c. Leaves oblong, blunt, serrated, smooth, with revolute edges. Peduncles very short, usually solitary, 1-flowered. Style short, club-shaped. 4-lobed at the apex. (Don's Mill., ii. p. 15.) An evergreen shrub, a native of the western coast of North America, on subalpine hills, where it grows to the height of 4 ft. Introduced in 1818. The flowers are small and white, and they appear from May to August. The drupe, when mature, is about the size of a pea: it is of a dark purple colour, and contains only 1 elliptical seed. Small plants of this species are in the arboretum of Messrs. Loddiges, where it is increased by cuttings. GENUS II. ILEX L. THE HOLLY. Lin. Syst. Tetrándria Tetragýnia. Identification. Lin. Gen., No. 172.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 13.; Don's Mill., 2. p. 16. Synonymes. Aquifolium Tourn. Inst., t. $71., Gært. Fruct., 2. t. 92.; Houx, Fr.; Stechpalme, or Heilse, Ger. Derivation. Theophrastus, and other Greek authors, named the holly Agria; that is, wild, or of the fields; and the Romans formed from this the word Agrifolium; and called it, also, Aquifolium, from acutum, sharp, and folium, a leaf. C. Bauhin and Loureiro first named it I'lex, on account of the resemblance of its leaves to those of the Quércus I'lex, the true Ilex of Virgil. Linnæus adopted the name of Ilex for the genus, and preserved the name of Aquifolium for the most anciently known species. The name of holly is, probably, a corruption of the word holy, as Turner in his Herbal calls it Holy, and Holy Tree, probably from its being used to commemorate the holy time of Christmas, not only in houses, but in churches. The German name Christdorn, the Danish name Christorn, and the Swedish name Christtorn, seem to justify this conjecture. 1. I. AQUIFOLIUM L. The prickly-leaved, or common, Holly. Identification. Lin. Sp., 181.; Fl. Dan., 508.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 14.; Don's Mill., 2. p. 16. Synonymes. The holly, being a native of most parts of Europe, and being every where much admired, has several names in most living European languages. We shall give the chief of these from Nieuman's Dictionary. English. Hulver, Hulfere, and Holme. German. Stechpalme, Stecheiche, Stechbaum, Stechlaub, Hulse, Hulsenbaum, Hulsenstrauch, Hulzt, Hulchs, Holst, Habze, Hullgenolz, Myrtendom, Christdorn, Mausdorn, Zwieseldorn, Kleezebusch, Stechapsel, Stechwinde, Waldistel. Danish. Stikpalme, Maretorn, Christorn, Skoutisdel. Swedish. Jernek, Chirsttorn. French. Le Houx, le grand Housson, l'Agron grand Pardon, and Bois Franc. Italian. Agrifolio, Alloro spinoso. Spanish. Acebo, Agrifolio. Portuguese. Azevinho, Agrifolio, Acrifolio, Aginfolio. Russian. Waefoscheld, Ostrokof, Padub. Dutch. Schubbig hardkelk. Engravings. Smith, Eng. Bot., t. 496.; Mill. Icon. 46.; Blackw. Icon., t. 205.; and the plate of the species in our Second Volume. Spec. Char., &c. Leaves oblong, shining, wavy, spiny-toothed. Peduncles axillary. Flowers nearly umbellate. A handsome, conical, evergreen tree, a native of Europe, growing to the height of 30 ft. in a wild state, and to twice that height or upwards in a state of cultivation. The flowers are white, and appear in May; and the fruit is red, ripening in September, and remaining on the tree all the winter. The lower leaves are very spinous; while the upper ones, especially on old trees, are entire. Varieties. In general the variegation of plants, more especially of trees and shrubs, is accompanied by a ragged, or otherwise unhealthy, appearance in the leaves; but the holly is one of the very few exceptions to this rule. The variegations of the holly are chiefly confined to the modification of white and yellow in the leaves; but there are some sorts in which the variation results from the state of the leaves with reference to prickles, to magnitude, and to form; and others consist of differences in the colour of the fruit, which is red, yellow, or white, and, according to some, black. All the varieties have been selected by gardeners from sports, or accidental deviations, from the central form and colour, detected in wild plants, or in plants in a state of cultivation. One of the most assiduous gardeners in collecting these varieties, according to Collinson, was Wrench of Fulham, who lived in the latter part of the reign of Charles II., and who planted the elin trees in St. James's Park. The collections of hollies in the time of Miller appear, from his lists, to have been more extensive, and to have been attended to with much more care, than they are at present; the wish being now more for species than varieties. The best garden collection of hollies in the neighbourhood of London is that in the arboretum of the Messrs. Loddiges; of which we shall give a classification below. The following sorts are purchasable in the London nurseries, exclusive of twenty or thirty subvarieties, differing in the degrees of variation of yellow or white blotches in the leaves. These subvarieties are, for the most part, without names, and are sold as yellow variegated or white variegated hollies of sorts. Of these subvarieties there are forty or fifty sorts from 6 ft. to 10 ft. high, all planted adjoining each other in the arboretum of the Messrs. Loddiges. Thirty-one varieties are described in the Nouveau Du Hamel, chiefly taken from Miller's Catalogue; but many of these varieties are no longer to be found in British nurseries. It is curious to look over the lists of the names of variegated hollies, which have been given in nurserymen's catalogues and garden books, from the time of London and Wise to the present day. In former times, as at present, the name given to any new variety was either that of the person who originated it, or that of the place where it was first raised; so that these lists present a sort of chronological history of nurserymen and nurseries, commencing with Wrench's Phyllis and Bridgman's yellow, named after persons, and terminating with the recent Irish varieties, Ballybeg and Ballyarthur hollies, lately sent to the London Horticultural Society, and named after places. The varieties in the following groups appear to us to be all that are truly distinct; but the shades of difference under each name in these groups are almost innumerable. A. Varieties designated from the Form, Magnitude, Thickness, Surface, or Margin of the Leaf. ↑ I. A. 2 heterophyllum Hort. The various-leaved common Holly. 176 178 177 ↑ I. A. 3 angustifolium Hort. The narrow-leaved common Holly. + I. A. 4 latifolium Hort. The broad-leaved common Holly. ↑ I. A. 5 altaclerénse Hort. The High Clere common Holly.- Leaves broad, thin, and flat. ↑ I. A. 6 marginatum Hort. (fig. 176.) The thick margined-leaved common Holly. Leaves without prickles, coriaceous, nearly as broad as long, and with a thickened margin. ↑ I. A. 7 laurifolium Hort. (fig. 177.) The Laurel-leaved common Holly. Leaves small, oval-lanceolate, without prickles, about the size and shape of those of Laúrus nóbilis. ↑ I. A. 8 ciliàtum Hort. (fig. 179.) The ciliated-leaved common Holly. Leaves oval-acuminate, small, the prickles along the margins like hairs. 179 18) I. A. 9 ciliàtum mìnus Hort. The smaller ciliated-leaved common Holly. - Leaves thinner and smaller than in the preceding variety. ↑ I. A. 10 recúrvum Hort. (fig. 181.) The recurved-leaved common Holly. ↑ I. A. Il serratifòlium Hort. (fig. 182.) The serrated-leaved common Holly. ↑ I. A. 12 crispum Hort. The curled-leaved common Holly. ↑ I. A. 13 ferox Hort. The fierce, or ferociously-spined-leaved common Holly.; Houx-hérisson or Hedgehog Holly, Fr. (fig. 180.) — The disk of the leaf has its edges rolled back; and a somewhat cylindrical figure is hence given to it; and, as the surface abounds in prominences and prickles, it has a curious appearance, not unaptly compared to that of a hedgehog. This sort is said, by Bradley and Evelyn, to have been first planted in the Bishop of London's garden, at Fulham, about the end of the seventeenth century, by his gardener, Mr. George London, who is supposed to have introduced it from France. According to Miller, who thought it a distinct species, it reproduces itself from seed. I. A. 14 crassifolium Hort. (fig. 178.) The thick-leaved common Holly. I. A. 15 senéscens Sweet. The aged, or spineless, common Holly B. Varieties designated from the Colours of the Leaf. I. A. variegatum Hort. The variegated-leaved common Holly.-Under the general name of variegated hollies, twenty or thirty varieties, some of them with, and some of them without, popular names, are obtainable in the principal London nurseries. Having examined and compared the different shades of variegation in the plants in the very complete collection of Messrs. Loddiges, we think they may be all included in the following groups: I. A. 16 álbo-marginatum Hort. The white-edged-leaved common Holly. Of this variety the subvarieties in Loddiges's arboretum are marked 5, 15, 18, and 24, which have all long and narrow leaves, with edgings of white or pale yellow along their margins; and 4, 6, 7, 12, 17, 22, 23, and 28, which have larger leaves, and a greater breadth of margin variegated; the white or pale yellow forming in some cases one third, or even one half, of the surface of the leaf. I. A. 17 aureo-marginatum Hort. The gold-edged-leaved common Holly. The following subvarieties are in Messrs. Loddiges's arboretum. Nos. 19 and 20 with dark yellow margins; and Nos. 1, 2, 8, 9, 10, 13, and 29, with margins of dark and light yellow. Another subdivision of this group consists of plants with broad leaves, in what may be called a transition state from green to variegated, viz., with greenish yellow or very pale green blotches or margins. When such plants become old they are generally very distinctly variegated with yellow. Examples in the Hackney arboretum are Nos. 3, 20, and 21. I. A. 18 álbo-pictum. Hort. The white-spotted-leaved common Holly, or Milkmaid Holly. This variety has a considerable portion of the centre of the disk of the leaf white, and of a somewhat transparent appearance; the edges of the disk of the leaf being green. ↑ I. A. 19 aúreo-pictum Hort. The gold-spotted-leaved common I. A. 20 ferox argenteum Hort. The silver-blotched Hedgehog common I. A. 21 ferox aureum Hort. The gold-blotched Hedgehog common C. Varieties designated from the Colour of the Fruit. 1.1. A. 22 frúctu luteo Hort. The yellow-fruited common Holly. ↑ I. A. 23 frúctu álbo Hort. The white-fruited common Holly. Geography. The holly is indigenous in most parts of the middle and south of Europe, in woods and shady places, in free and rather sandy soil; it is also said to be found in Japan and China. The European species does not appear to be a native either of North America or India; but the Ilex opaca, which is very extensively distributed in North America, and the I. dipyrèna, which is common in the Himalaya, so closely resemble I. Aquifolium, that they are probably only varieties of it. According to Pallas, the common holly scarcely occurs within the ancient limits of the Russian empire; though frequent on the southern side of Caucasus, where it forms a low branching shrub, about 10 ft. high. In France it is abundant, more particularly in Britany. In Germany it abounds in many forests, particularly in the southern and middle states; where, when sheltered by lofty trees, it attains the height of 20 ft.; but, in exposed situations, it does not rise higher than 6 ft. or 8 ft. The tree appears to attain a larger size in England than in any other part of Europe. It is very generally distributed over the country, more especially in loamy soils. It abounds more or less in the remains of all aboriginal forests, and perhaps, at present, it prevails nowhere to a greater extent than in the remains of Needwood Forest, in Staffordshire; there are many fine holly trees, also, in the New Forest, in Hampshire. In Scotland it is common in most natural woods, as an undergrowth to the oak, the ash, and the pine. The greatest collection of hollies that we recollect to have seen or heard of, Sang observes, " grew in the pine forest of Blackhall, on the river Dee, about 20 miles above Aberdeen. Many of the trees were very large, and furnished a great quantity of timber, which was sent to London, where it fetched a high price." (Plant. Kal., p. 15.) The holly, Sir T. D. Lauder states, is found in great abundance on the banks of the river Findhorn, in Aberdeenshire, and the trees grow to a very great size. So plentiful were they in the forest of Tarnawa, on its left bank, that for many years the castle of Tarnawa was supplied with no other fuel than billets of holly; and yet the trees are still so numerous, that, in going through the woods (in 1834), no one would suppose that any such destruction had been committed. (Lauder's Gilpin, i. p. 194.) In Ireland, the holly is not very common; but about the Lakes of Killarney it attains a large size. History. The tree has been much admired from the earliest periods; and formerly, when it was customary to enclose and subdivide gardens by hedges, the holly was employed by all those who could afford to procure the plants, and wait for their comparatively slow growth. Evelyn's holly hedge, at Say's Court, Deptford, which was 400 ft. in length, 9 ft. high, and 5 ft. in diameter, has been celebrated in the history of this tree ever since the time of Ray; and other holly hedges, famous in their day, were those of Lord Dacre, at his "I have seen park in Sussex, and of Sir Matthew Decker, at Richmond. hedges," Evelyn observes, or, if you will, stout walls of holly, 20 feet in height, kept upright; and the gilded sort budded low, and in two or three places one above another, shorn and fashioned into columns and pilasters, architecturally shaped, and at due distance; than which nothing can possibly be more pleasant, the berry adorning the intercolumniations with scarlet festoons, and encarpa." In Scotland, the most celebrated holly hedges were |