RHAMNACER. 3 515 
surrounded by a fleshy disk. Fruit 2- 3- or 4-celled, with one 
erect seed in each cell. Seed usually albuminous, without an aril. 
Distribution and Numbers.—Generally distributed over the 
globe except in the very coldest regions. Illustrative Genera :— 
Zizyphus, Towrn. ; Rhamnus, Juss. There are about 400 species. 
Properties and Uses.—Some of the plants have acrid and 
purgative properties; others are bitter, febrifugal, and tonic. 
A few are used in the preparation of dyeing materials, and some 
few others have edible fruits. 
‘Ceanothus americanus.—The young shoots are astringent; and in New 
Jersey the leaves are dried and used as a substitute for China tea; form- 
ing what is commonly known as New Jersey Tea. 
” Discaria febrifuga. —The root is used in Brazil as a febrifuge and tonic. 
Gouavia domingensis i is reputed to possess stomachic properties. 
Hovenia dulcis.—The peduncles of this plant become ultimately enlarged 
and succulent, and are much esteemed in China, where they are eaten as a 
fruit. 
Rhamws.—This genus is by far the most important in the order. Thus, 
R. catharticus, commonly called Buckthorn, produces a fruit the fresh j juice * 
of which has been used for ages as a hydragogue cathartic ; but it is rarely 
employed at the present day, on account of its violent and unpleasant opera- 
tion, except in veterinary practice. The pigment known as sap-green, the 
vert de vessie of the French, is prepared by evaporating to dryness the fresh 
juice of Buckthorn berries previously mixed with lime. The bark of R. 
‘Frangula, the Black Alder, has long been employed in Germany, Holland, 
and some other parts of Europe, as a laxative, and is now official in the 
British Pharmacopeia. The bark of the young trunks and larger branches 
is regarded as the most active, and more especially so after having been 
kept for a year or more. A greenish or yellowish-green dye is made from 
the leaves. The wood under the name of Dozwood’ is largely used in 
the manufacture of the finer kinds of g cunpowder. The bark of R. Pursh- 
ianus has also been much employed of late years in the United States 
of America, and in this country more recently, as a purgative in large 
doses, and as a tonic and stomachic in small doses, It is known under 
the name of Cascara Sagrada, and is obtained from California ; it is 
now official in the British Pharmacopeia. The unripe fruits of 2. infec- 
torius are known in commerce under the name of French berries (Graines 
d’ Avignon of the French); while those of R. amygdalinus constitute the 
berries called yellow berries or Persian berries. Some authors say that both 
the French and Persian berries are the produce of one species, the R. infec- 
torius, and that the only difference between them is in size—those called 
French or Avignon berries being smaller, and not of such good quality as 
the Persian berries, which are ‘obtained from Asiatic Turkey and Persia. 
These berries produce a beautiful yellow colour, which is used for dyeing 
morocco leather, and by calico printers. —R. saxatilis produces a fruit, w hich 
may be also employed for dyeing yellow. In Abyssinia, the leaves of R. 
pauciflorus, and the fruit of R. Staddo, both of which possess bitter proper- 
ties, are employed as a substitute for hops i in the preparation of beer. From 
R. alaternus a blue dye may be prepared. The Chinese green dye ( Lo-kao), 
known here as Chinese Green Indigo, and now much ‘used in Europe, is 
prepared from R. chlorophorus (globosus) and R. utilis. 
Sageretia theezans is a native of China, where its leaves are used as a 
substitute for tea by the poorer inhabitants. 
Ventilago Maderaspatana, Pupli—tThe bark of the root is used in India 
in the production of orange and other dyes. 
Zizyphus.—Many species of this genus have edible fruits. Thus, the 
LL2 
