62 



CALYCIFLOR^ 



Only two plants of this tribe are indigenous to Britain, and 

 belong to the genus Rhamnus ; their berries are medicinal, but 



too violent in their effects to be used 

 with safety. 



i. Rhamnus (Buckthorn). Calyx 

 vase-like, 4 to 5-cleft ; petals 4-5 (some- 

 times wanting) ; stamens 4-5, inserted 

 with the petals into the throat of the 

 calyx ; berry 2 to 4-celled. (Name from 

 the Greek, rhamnos, a branch.) 



1. Rhamnus (Buckthorn) 



1. R. catharticus (Common Buck- 

 thorn). Branches terminating in thorns; 

 flowers 4-cleft, dioecious (stamens and 

 pistils on separate plants) ; leaves egg- 

 shaped, sharply serrated ; berry 4- 

 seeded. A spreading shrub with dense 

 clusters of small green flowers in the 

 axils of the leaves. Berries black. 

 These are powerfully cathartic. If 

 gathered before they are ripe they yield 

 a yellow dye ; when ripe they form, if 



mixed with gum arabic and lime-water, the 



green colour known under the name of 



Bladder-green. Woods and thickets, not 



uncommon. Fl. May. Shrub. 



2. R. Frangula (Alder Buckthorn). 

 Branches without thorns ; flowers 5-deft ; 

 stamens and pistils on the same flower ; 

 leaves entire, smooth ; berry 2-seeded. A 

 rather slender shrub, 6-10 feet high, with 

 smooth, blackish branches, deep green leaves, 

 and small greenish flowers, which are not 

 so densely tufted as in the last. Woods 

 and thickets, commoner than the last. Rhamnus Frangula (Aldei 

 Fl. May. Shrub. Buckthorn) 



Rhamnus Catharticus 

 (Common Buckthorn) 



Natural Order XXIII 



LEGUMINOS,. Pea and Bean Tribe 



Calyx 5-cleft, with the odd lobe in front ; petals 5, the upper one 

 called the standard enclosing the other four when in bud ; the two 

 side ones called the wings enclose the two lowest ones of all, which 

 are joined along their lower margin, and form what is called the 



