CHAP. CV.

coryla'ce®. que'rcus.

1899

B. Leaves evergreen.

§ viii. Ylex. Holm, or Holly, Oaks.

A

a. Natives of Europe.

Sect. Char. Leaves ovate or oval, sometimes lanceolate, entire or serrated ;with or without prickly mucros; downy beneath. Bark smooth and black,or rough and corky. Fructification biennial. Cups imbricate. Nut ovate,acuminate ; sometimes very long in proportion to the cup. Low trees, orshrubs, of great commercial interest, from including the oaks which producecork, the kermes insect, and edible acorns.

I 29. Q. /'lex L. The common evergreen, or Holm, Oak.

Identification. Lin. Sp. PI., 1412.; Willd. Sp. PI., 4. p. 433. j Ait. Hort. Kew., 5. p. 289.; N. DuHam., 7. p. 156. ; Smith in Rees’s Cycl., No. 32.

Synonymes. i'lex arbbrea Bauh. Hist., I. p. 95.; l’Yeuse, or Chene vert., Fr. ; Stein Eiche, Ger. •Elice, ltal. ; Encina, Span. ’ *

Engravings. Blackw. Herb., t. 186.; N. Du Ham., t 43, 44. j Dend. Brit., t. 90. j our Jig. 1781.:and the plates of the tree in our last Volume.

Spec. Char., $c. Leaves ovate-oblong, acute, coriaceous, entire or serrated ;hoary beneath. Bark even. Nut ovate. {Willd. and Smith.) A large shrub,or low or middle-sized tree, according to soil and situation; a native ofthe south of Europe, the north of Africa, and of Cochin-China, and otherparts of Asia ; in cultivation in British gardens from a very remote period;flowering in May, and ripening its acorns the second year.

Varieties. These are very numerous, andfrequently very distinct; and, as in thecase of every species of oak, they mightbe greatly increased by selecting frombeds of seedling plants.

1 Q, I, 1 integrifblia Lodd. Cat., ed.

1836; Nmilax Dalech., Bauh.

Hist., i. p. 101.; Suber secun-dus Matth. Valgr., i. p. 188., asto the figure j has the leaveslanceolate, entire.

J Q. I. 2 serratifblia Lodd. Cat.,ed. 1836 ; /'lex Matth. Valgr.,i. p. 186., Du Ham. Arb., i. t.

123., and our/?g.l778.; has theleaves lanceolate, serrated.

I * Q. I. 3 f 'agifolia Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836; Phellodrys Matth. Valgr.,i. p. 189., as to the figure; /'lex, No. 3., Du Ham.,

Arb., i. t. 224., and our fig. 1779.; has broader andless rigid leaves, which are more or less undulated,and sometimes slightly serrated.

* * Q. I. 4 crispa Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836, has the leaveswrinkled at the edges.

1 ’si Q. I. 5 latifolia Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836 ; Q. /. oblongaHort.; and our fig. 1780.; has broad leaves, nearlyentire. There is a magnificent specimen of thisvariety at Purser’s Cross, some of the leaves ofwhich, on the lower part of the tree, are upwardsof 5 in. long, and nearly 3 in. broad. The leavesof Q. /./agifolia often attain nearly the same size;but they differ in being undulated, and sometimes slightly serrated atthe edges.