Ilex monticola, Gray.

Form.—Height 15-25 feet, diameter 2-8 inches; a shrub or small tree with short trunk and slender ascending branches.

Leaves.—Alternate, simple, deciduous, 4-5 inches long, ovate or lance-oblong, taper-pointed, thin-membranaceous, smooth, sharply serrate.

Flowers.—May-June; polygamo-dioecious; staminate and pistillate flowers on very short pedicels, white, clustered, about one-third of an inch across.

Fruit.—Ripens in early autumn; globose, about two-fifths of an inch in diameter, bright scarlet, containing 4-6 striate nutlets ridged on the back.

Bark.—Thin, somewhat rough and warty on old trees, light brownish-gray.

Wood.—Hard, close-grained, nearly white.

Range.—New York, southward along the Alleghanies.

Distribution in West Virginia.—Not common except locally. Found principally at high altitudes. Common near Davis, Tucker County, and in various parts of Randolph and Pocahontas counties.

Habitat.—Upland sandy flats, cool mountainsides, and swamp borders.

Notes.—This small tree is not important except for ornamental use. Its bright foliage and fruits recommend it for this purpose. The species may easily be confused with Winterberry (Ilex verticillata, (L.) Gray) which often grows with it. The nutlets of the latter, however, are smooth and smaller, its flowers are shorter-stalked and its leaves somewhat downy beneath.