BUCKTHORN FAMILY RHAMNACEAE 
NEW JERSEY TEA 
Ceanothus americanus L. 
The Buckthorn family consists only of trees and 
shrubs and is not of great importance. Four species, in- 
cluding the New Jersey Tea, occur in Illinois and are used 
for ornamental planting. 
a HY BR This is one of our finest 
Fn Q BWASS plants to show the associa- 
Be ’ \ > tion or partnership called 
CYS Nip a mycorrhiza, between plant 
= cw roots and fungi. The root 
FP Sy 
oS tubercles resemble those in 
the Pulse family but are 
much larger and much more 
numerous. 
This species grows 1-3 feet 
high from a dark red root and 
makes a very good hedge plant. 
It grows in dry open woods 
and on dry or sandy prairies 
from Maine to Manitoba, south 
to Florida and Texas. Though 
- found throughout Illinois, it is 
probably less common in the 
south. 
The leaves are ovate or 
ovate-oblong, strongly 3-nerv- 
ed, toothed and finely hairy, especially beneath, 1-214 inches 
broad and often slightly heart shaped at the base. They were 
brewed for tea during the American Revolution. 
The flowers are produced in dense oblong clusters in June 
and July. The elongated peduncles are terminal or axillary and 
are often leafy. The calyx is top shaped and 5-lobed, with the 
tips of the lobes curving inward. Both the calyx and pedicel are 
white like the 5 petals. The latter are hooded and longer than the 
calyx. There are 5 stamens with long threadlike filaments. 
The pistil consists of a 3-lobed ovary and a short 3-cleft style. 
The nearly black fruit is dry, depressed, less than one-eighth 
inch high, and at maturity it separates into 3 nutlets, each 
containing I seed. 
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