f them is still standing and of
substantially the dimensions given above. It must have reached the limit
of growth a hundred years ago and now shows very evident signs of
decrepitude. This may be due, however, to the loss of a square foot or
more of bark from the trunk.

[Illustration: PLATE LXX.--Ilex opaca.]

1. Branch with staminate flowers.
2. Staminate flower.
3. Pistillate flower.
4. Fruiting branch.

ACERACEAE. MAPLE FAMILY.

=Acer rubrum, L.=

RED MAPLE. SWAMP MAPLE. SOFT MAPLE. WHITE MAPLE.

=Habitat and Range.=--Borders of streams, low lands, wet forests,
swamps, rocky hillsides.

Nova Scotia to the Lake of the Woods.

Common throughout New England from the sea to an altitude of 3000 feet
on Katahdin.

South to southern Florida; west to Dakota, Nebraska, and Texas.

=Habit.=--A medium-sized tree, 40-50 feet high, rising occasionally in
swamps to a height of 60-75 feet; trunk 2-4 feet in diameter, throwing
out limbs at varying angles a few feet from the ground; branches and
branchlets slender, forming a bushy spray, the tips having a slightly
upward tendency; head compact, in young trees usually rounded and
symmetrical, widest just above the point of furcation. In the first warm
days of spring there shimmers amid the naked branches a faint glow of
red, which at length becomes embodied in the abundant scarlet, crimson,
or yellow of the long flowering stems; succeeded later by the brilliant
fruit, which is outlined against the sober green of the foliage till it
pales and falls in June. The colors of the autumn leaves vie in
splendor with those of the sugar maple.

=Bark.=--In young trees smooth and light gray, becoming very dark and
ridgy in large trunks, the surface separating into scales, and in very
old trees hanging in long flakes; young shoots often bright red in
autumn, conspicuously marked with oblong white spots.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds aggregated at or near the ends of the
preceding year's shoots, about 1/8 inch long; protected by dark reddish
scales; inner scales lengthening with the growth of the shoot. Leaves
simple, opposite, 3-4 inches long, green and smooth above, lighter and
more or less pubescent beneath, especially along the veins; turning
crimson or scarlet in early autumn; ovate, 3-5-lobed, the middle lobe
generally the longest, the lower pair (when 5 lobes are present) the
smallest; unequally sharp-toothed, with broad, acute sinuses; apex
a