By BUCK KLINE

By BUCK KLINE

Rappahannock Ncwi Contributing Writer

Christmas traditionally means decorating our homes, businesses, and communities to celebrate a special time of year. Much of the time bur decoration centers around the hse of greenery. For example, Christmas trees, sprigs of mistletoe, and boughs of evergreens such as pine and holly are used. The dark green leaves and bright red berries thake the American holly ideal for Christmas decoration.^

Although there are 400 species in the holly family, American holly is the most commonly known in our county. Most of the other species are found, throughout the rest of the world. Holly species can be found growing in Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, as well as the Americas. : . American holly ia most easily identified by its smooth, shiny, dark green leaves. The leaves are also pricked with a sharp spine. Broadleaved evergreens are rarely found outside of the tropics. The red berries are a good feature for identification too. Holly is one of the few trees •which have both male and female plants. The red berries are found only on the female trees. To insure that the red berries develop, a male tree should be planted within 100 feet. Otherwise, the bees and insects may not fully pollinate it. These red berries, which are eaten by some songbirds, ripen in September or October and persist throughout the winter.

Holly is usually not a large tree. It is very slow growing, but it is long lived. This long life has enabled some trees to reach heights of more than 100 feet. The state champion in Virginia is located near Farmville and is 68 feet tall and 9 Va feet in circumference. Holly will reach its greatest size at low altitudes and in cool, moist sites.

Also known as Christmas holly, the tree boughs have been widely sought after to sell on the market. Some areas have experienced probIgms with . vandals. In urban areas, the holly-.tersee hav^,become scarce ^due to overharvesting.;