XXXI. 1. THE COMMON BUCKTHORN. 473 



for tea. The lotus of the ancients, eating which, — as was 

 fabled by Homer, — men forgot home and friends, — was the 

 fruit of Zizyphus loins, and gave a name to the nation that 

 subsisted on it. The delicate jujube paste is prepared from 

 the fruit of another species of the same plant, common in the 

 markets of Constantinople. Christ'' s Thorn, a plant common 

 in sterile places in Palestine, has its name from a tradition 

 that it furnished the crown of thorns for the brow of the 

 Saviour. 



There are two genera in Massachusetts : 



1. Rhamnus, with flowers in small, axillary bunches ; and 



2. Ceanbthus, with flowers in large, showy, terminal bunches. 



XXXI. 1. THE BUCKTHORN. RHAMNUS. L. 



This is a genus of thirty or more species of shrubs or small 

 trees with alternate or rarely opposite leaves, on short petioles ; 

 and minute flowers usually growing in short, axillary clusters. 

 The calyx is 4- or 5-cleft, with its tube lined with a thin disk ; 

 the petals 4 or 5, emarginate or 2-lobed ; ovary 2- to 4-celled, not 

 immersed in the disk ; styles 2 to 4. The fruit is drupe-like, 

 and contains 2 to 4 cartilaginous nuts. 



Sp. 1. The Common Buckthorn. R. catharticus. L. 



The buckthorn is often found growing wild in the neighbor- 

 hood of Boston, and rarely in other parts of Massachusetts, but 

 it was probably introduced from Europe, where it is a native. 

 It is an upright, branching bush or low tree, growing to the 

 height of ten or fifteen feet, with a smooth stem of reddish 

 brown or grayish olive, and grayish limbs. The lower branches 

 are short and stiff, nearly horizontal, and end in a rigid, sharp 

 point. They thus act as thorns, though leafy. The leaves are 

 nearly opposite, broad-oval or ovate, irregularly toothed or 

 notched or waving on the border, of a soft texture, smooth 

 above, somewhat hairy on the prominent veins beneath. 



The flowers have 3 or 4 stamens. The berries turn to a 

 shining black in autumn. They are found in clusters, on short 

 61 



