RHAMNACEAE 181 



middle, acute or acuminate at the apex, and rounded or slightly- 

 narrowed to the petiole. The margins are irregularly crenulate- 

 serrate, and at maturity the blades are smooth above and 

 generally more or less pubescent along the main veins beneath. 

 The lower leaves are usually definitely smaller than the upper 

 or outer ones and tend to be more rounded at the apex. The 

 petioles are about l4 to ^ inch long and at least pubescent 

 above. 



The greenish-yellow flowers, which appear in June after 

 the leaves are grown, stand in small umbels of about 12 flowers 

 in the leaf axils. Rarely the flowers may be solitary or in small 

 clusters of 2 or 3. The peduncle, the pedicel and the calyx 

 tube are pubescent. The fruit, which matures in late autumn, 

 is at first red and then black. It is globose, about one-third 

 inch in diameter, and contains 3 nutlets without grooves on 

 the back. 



Distribution. — The Carolina Buckthorn prefers the sides 

 of wooded hills. It ranges from Virginia to Nebraska and 

 south to Florida and Texas. In Illinois, its occurrence in the 

 southern part of the state is well established, although its 

 exact range is not well known. It was reported years ago from 

 the vicinity of Grand Tower and more recently from Shawnee- 

 town and Jackson County. The collection made at Grand 

 Tower has been distinguished as the variety mollis Fernald, 

 which is characterized by having leaves that are velvety be- 

 neath. 



The European Alder Buckthorn, R. Frangula Linnaeus, is 

 reported to have escaped from cultivation in northeastern Illi- 

 nois. This species may be distinguished from the Carolina Buck- 

 thorn by its panicled rather than umbeled inflorescence and its 

 entire-margined leaves, which have 8 to 10 instead of 7 to 15 

 pairs of veins. 



CEANOTHUS Linnaeus 



The Jersey-Teas 



This genus consists chiefly of deciduous or evergreen shrubs 

 which often are somewhat spiny. The leaves are alternate, 

 usually 3-ribbed from the base, and serrate or sometimes entire, 

 and the stipules are small and deciduous. The small, perfect 

 flowers, which have their parts arranged in fives, are borne in 



