RHAMNE^ (buckthorn FAMILY.) 201 



1, PALIURUS, Jussieu. Paliurus. Ssamur. 



Calyx S-jfid rotate. Petals 5, inserted "with the stamens on the 

 disk which lines the calyx-tube. Ovary half immersed in disk, free 

 from calyx, 3-celled. Styles 2-3. Capsule disk-like, red, surrounded by 

 a circular, leathery, wing ; stone woody, 3-celled, 3-seeded'. Seeds flat- 

 tened, erect, with little albumen — A straggling shrub with somewhat 

 2-ranked, alternate, leathery, shining leaves, and prickly stipules. 



P. acii!catii§, Lam. 5 Christ-Thorn. (Authorized version 

 hriers) Ssamiir. Farali-Jali (Turkish) 1 to 3, branches slender, zigzag, 

 alternate. Leaves petioled, obliquely ovate or round, 3-nerved, slight- 

 ly crenate, the stipular spines very unequal, one straight .01 long, 

 the other curved, much shorter. Fruit .03 broad, wdng half as broad 

 as capsule — Spring and summer — Hedges ; common, especially in 

 interior plains. 



2. ZIZYPHIJS, ^ftss. Jujube. 'Emuib. 



Calyx 5-fid, rotate. Petals 5, inserted with the 5 stamens on the 

 disk which lines the calyx-tube. Ovary partly immersed in the disk, 

 connate with it at base, 2-3-celled. Styles 2-3. Drupe fleshy, edible ; 

 stone bony, 1-3-celled, 1-3-seeded. Seeds plano-convex, erect, albumen 

 — Shrubs or trees, with nearly 2-rankecl, alternate, leathery leaves, and 

 usually thorny stipules, one shorter, recurved, and flowers in axillary 

 clusters. 



1. Z. Tulg'aris, Lam 5 Common Jujube. ''Ennab. 3 to 6 ; 

 branches zigzag, glabrous ; stipular spines stout, usually confined to 

 leaves subtending branches, (sometimes 0). Leaves .025 to ,05 long, 

 oblong, obtuse, denticulate, glabrous, 3-nerved. Brnxje of tlie ske and 

 shape of an olive, brown when ripe — Spring and summer — Common. 



Var. inerini§. Spines 0. Leaves large, crenulate- — Cultivated 

 and wild. 



2. Z, LiOtus, L. 5 1 to 1.5 ; branches zigzag, whitish, glabrous. 

 Stipular spines slender, leaves .015 long, ovate-oblong, obsoletely cre- 

 nate, 3-nerved. Drupe nearly globular, a little larger tlian a marrow- 

 fat pea — Sj^ring — Coast ; el-Ghor ; Banias. 



3. Z. Spina-€bri§ii, L. § Christ-Thorn. iVf%. Sidr. 3 to 5, 

 branches white, glabrous, stipules stout ; leaves .02 to .04 long, gla- 

 brous or puberulent at nerves of under surface, rounded or subcordate 

 at base, elliptical to ovate or oblong, obsoletely crenate, 3-nerved. 

 Pedicels woolly ; drupe ovate-globular, as large as a liazel nut, with a 

 rather dry, astringent fulp — Winter and early spring — La Jordan Val- 

 ley and oases of Et-Tih to Egypt. 



Var. iiiermis, Post. Destitute of spiny stipules. 



3. RHAI^NUS, L. Buckthorn. Nalq. 



Calyx 4-5-fid, with deciduous teeth. Disk thin, lining the calyx- 

 tube. Petals 4-5, inserted at margin of tube, or 0. Stamens 4-5. Style 

 2-4-fid or undivided. Ovary free, 3-4-celled. Drupe succulent or dry, 

 containing 2-4, cartilaginous pyrenes which split lengthwise — Shrubs 

 or small trees, with dioecious-polygamous, rarely hermaphrodite flowers. 



