Holly — (Ilex Opaca)
Shape with narrowly pyramidal top, 40-50 ft. tall. Trunk short. Bark smooth, gray mottled with whitish. Leaves evergreen, thick, paler beneath, occasionally without the usual spiny teeth. Berries red or rarely yellow. Range: Gulf States n. to Mo. and s. Ind. and up the coast plain to s. Mass; reaches the Blue Ridge in the Carolinas and Ga. This lovely little tree is in great danger of extermination owing to the demands of a relentless Christmas trade. It is now rare in a wide radius of all cities and large towns. YAUPON (Ilex vomitoria) is a pretty little evergreen tree, very like holly, the leaf margins toothed but never spiny. Related to the Paraguay tea, Yerba Maté, its leaves when boiled yield a tea more valuable medicinally than pleasant to drink, though Indians used to travel far to obtain it. Gulf States n. to Ark. and along the coast to s. Va.
Shape with a round topped head: up to 115 ft. tall. Bark dark brown or black or gray, covered with warty, corky, rectangular plates. Leaves rather thick, shiny above, pale and often downy beneath, turning deep claret in fall. Flowers thick petaled with an odor like Gardenia, the sexes on separate trees. Fruit at first green, hard, and astringent, becoming amber or ruddy about the time of the first frosts, soft and edible. Range: s. Conn. to Fla. and e. Tex., Ozarks and Ia. Scarcely n. of the Ohio. The heartwood is nearly black, much valued for tools on account of its hardness. Only when thoroughly soft, if at all, are the fruits edible. The opossum is notoriously fond of them. BLACK PERSIMMON (Diospyros texana) differs in having leaves broadest near the end. The fruit, called Chapote, which has a black skin and thin insipid flesh, yields a black dye. w. Tex. and Mex.
Shape broadly round topped. Trunk massive. Bark light gray, deeply and regularly furrowed, with narrow braiding ridges. Branches ascending, the lower often long and finally drooping. Twigs stout, smooth, brittle, greenish gray. Buds rusty. Leaves of 5-9 stalked leaflets, silvery below, turning yellow or purple in autumn. Range: N. S. to w. Ont., and Minn., e. Neb., Kan., Okla. and Tex., s. to n. Fla. A superb shade tree, it is also one of the most valuable of our timber trees. Its wood is heavy, strong, and white, in demand for tools. BLUE ASH (Fraxinus quadrangulata) is a slender tree with 4-angled twigs, slender leaflets with coarse teeth, and flowers containing both sexes. A slender tree, to 120 ft. tall, it is a good timber species and the bark yields a blue dye. Mich. to Ark. and Ala. OREGON ASH (Fraxinus oregona). Leaflets not stalked. A lofty tree with valuable wood. Mts. Wash. to s. Calif.
Shape round topped, up to 50 ft. tall. Bark silvery gray, only slightly furrowed, finally with ribbon-like scales. Branches few. Twigs stout. Leaves 6-7 in. broad, downy beneath, very late in appearing and early turning dull brown and dropping. Flowers in beautiful upright clusters, the petals marked with gold and purple spots, exhaling a heavy fragrance. Pods persistent almost through the winter on the leafless twigs. Range: near the coast through the Gulf States. Widely planted and naturalized elsewhere. This tropical looking tree is lovely at flowering time. Honey from its flowers is reputed to be poisonous. CIGAR TREE (Catalpa speciosa) is much taller (up to 100 ft.) with thicker trunk and thick, strongly furrowed bark; flowers larger, but pure white. Mississippi valley from s. Ill. to Ark. and Tenn.