CHAP. CV.
C'ORYLACEyE. QUe'rCUS.
1899
B. Leaves evergreen.
§ viii. I 'lex. Holm, or Holly, Oaks.
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.
1 29. Q. /'lex L. The common evergreen, or Holm, Oak .
Identification. Lin. Sp. PL, 1412.; Willd. Sp. Pl., 4. p. 433.; Ait. Hort. Kew., 5. p. 289.; N. DuHam., 7. p. 156. ; Smith in Rees’s CycL, No. 32.
Synonymes. I'lex arbbrea Bank. Hist., 1. p. 95.; l’Yeuse, or Chene vert., Fr. ; Stein Eiche , Ger.;Elice, ltal. j Encina , Span.
Engravings. Blackw, Herb., t. 186.; N. Du Ham., fc. 43, 44.; Dend. Brit., t. 90.; our fig. 1781.;and the plates of the tree in our last Volume.
Spec. Char., <fyc. 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.
I Q. I. 1 integrifolia Lodd. Cat. , ed.
1836; Mnilax Dctlech,, Bauh.
Hist., i. p. 101.; jSuber secun-dus Matth. Valgr., i. p. 188., asto the figure ; has the leaveslanceolate, entire.
f Q. I. 2 serratifolia Lodd. Cat. ,ed. 1836 ; /'lex Matth. Valgr.,i. p. 186., Du Ham. Arb., i. t.
123., and oury?g,1778.; has theleaves lanceolate, serrated.
* * Q. I. 3 fagifolia 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.
* 4 Q- L 4 crispa Lodd. Cat. , ed. 1836, has the leaves
wrinkled at the edges.
* si Q. I. 5 latifolia Lodd. Cat. , ed. 1836 ; Q. /. obldnga
Hort.; 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.
'fir A