Holly
ornamental shrubs with evergreen or with falling leaves. There are not far from 175 species, represented in each of the grand divisions. The leaves of a South American species are used by the people of Paraguay for tea (mate). English holly makes a strong hedge and is the finest shrub in the world for decorative purposes. In his introduction to Canto Sixth of Marmion, Scott says:
The damsel donned her kirtle sheen,
The hall was dressed with holly green.
It has been suggested that holly is from holy, being dedicated to festivities. American holly is a southern tree, growing up to fifty feet in height. Its evergreen leaves are oval with waxy margins and spiny teeth. The scarlet berries are about the size of small peas. We have inherited the use of Christmas holly. Delaware and Maryland supply the eastern trade. Western holly, packed in crates, comes from Tennessee and Mississippi by the car load. See Christmas