Berchemia 



! H AMN ACLAE Rha.wmls 



Lf. blades pubescent beneath, usually obtuse 2. B. huana 



Infl. a narrow panicle, 3-10 cm. long, often lfy. at the base: lvs. 2-7 cm. 



long; petioles 7-15 mm. long 3. B. kulingensis 



1. Berchemia floribunda (Wall.) Brongn. (H.F. 1:637). Scandent shrub; fls. greenish 



white, VI-VII; fr. black, IX-X. Eastern Asia; locally in An., Che., Ki., Hun., 

 Hup. Thickets. 



2. Berchemia huana Rehd. (AAJ. 8:166). Woody vine; fls. yellowish green, VII- 

 VIII; fr. purple, X. East-central China; locally in An., Che. Forest. 



3. Berchemia kulingensis Schneid. 'V'xM (Niu Erh T'eng; Cow Vine) (Pl.W. 2:216). 

 Woody vine; fls. greenish, VI-VIII; fr. X-XII. East-central China; locally in Ki. 

 Brushland, forest. 



2. Rhamnella Miq. £:«^M (Ch'ang Yeh Lu Ch'ai Shu) 

 Deciduous trees or shrubs with alternate obovate serrulate lvs.: infl. of axillary 

 cymes: fls. perfect, 5-merous; stamens perigynous; ovary partly inferior: fr. oblong, 

 drupaceous, with a single stone. 6 species, in eastern Asia, all occurring in China. 

 (Diminutive of Rhamnus.) 



1. Rhamnella obovalis Schneid.* &MB%: (Ch'ang Yeh Lu Ch'ai; Long-leaved Reed) 

 (Pl.W. 2:223). Shrub or tree, to 6m.; fls. IV-V; fr. IX-X, with a single stone. 

 Central China; locally in An., Che., Ki., Ku. Woodland. 



* Sterile brs. of Rhamnella obovalis are very difficult to distinguish from those of some 

 foims of the variable Rhamnus crenata. The following characters will be useful in identifying 

 fig. material of Rhamnella obovalis: umbels of the infl. subsessile; bracts and bracteoles 

 whitish, ovate, glabrous; ovary partly buiied in the thick disk, 2-celled, 2-ovuled; petals 

 cucullate, entire. 



3. Sageretia Brongn. %MfM (Ch'iao Mei T'eng Shu) 

 Shrubs, often climbing, usually spiny, with mostly opposite penninerved lvs. : fls. 

 sessile or nearly so, perfect, 5-merous; petals hood-like, arched over the stamens; 

 ovary 2-3-celled: fr. a subglobose leathery drupe with 2-3 nutlets. 15 species, in 

 eastern Asia and North America; 10 in China. (After Auguste Sageret, French 

 botanist, 1763-1851.) 



1. Sageretia theezans (L.) Brongn. UUB (Ch'iao Mei T'eng; Bird-plum Vine) (R.M. 

 597). Spiny climbing shrub; fls. IX-X; fr. with 2-3 nutlets, IV-V. Central and 

 eastern China; locally in An., Che,, Ku. Thickets. 



4. Rhamnus Linn. Buckthorn M&M (Shu Li Shu) 

 Trees or shrubs, often spiny: lvs. alternate or opposite, penninerved: infl. axillary: 

 fls. pedicelled, perfect, polygamous or unisexual, 4-5-merous; petals sometimes want- 

 ing; ovary 2-4-celled: fr. a subglobose drupe with 2-4 nutlets. About 1,000 species, 

 in north temperate regions; 30 in China. (An old Greek name.) 



Key to the Sfecies 



a. Lvs. and brs. alternate : stems not spiny *• R - crenata 



aa. Lvs. and brs. opposite or at least some of them subopposite: spiny, 

 at least occasionally so. 



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