RH A 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



R M A 



457 



neighbouring rises of Mongolia, and in the open Pine woods, 

 in warm situations. The berries afford a deep yellow dye ; 

 and the Mongols use the wood to make their images, on ac- 

 count if its colour and hardness. 



5. Rhamnus Oleoides ; Olive-leaved Buckthorn. Spines 

 terminating; leaves oblong, quite entire. This is an upright 

 shrub, with branches becoming thorny at the end. There 

 are two varieties: one with smaller leaves, ovate, or ovate-ob-- 

 long, like those of the Box ; the other with linear lanceolate 

 leaves. Fruit solitary, resembling that of the first species. 

 Native of Spain and Barbary. 



6. Rhamnus Crenulatus ; Teneriffe Buckthorn. Branch- 

 lets spinescent; flowers quadrifid or trifid, dioecous ; leaves 

 oblong, bluntly serrate, evergreen. A stout, erect, branchy 

 shrub, the leaves finely reticulated beneath, Native of the 

 island of Teneriffe. 



7. Rhamnus Saxatilis; Rock Buckthorn. Spines termi- 

 nating; flowers quadrifid, hermaphrodite; leaves ovate-acute, 

 serrated, deciduous. It is a very low shrub, much branched, 

 forming an impregnable bush by presenting its thorns every 

 way. It very much resembles the first species, and is cul- 

 tivated in the same manner. Native of Germany. France, 

 and Italy. 



8. Rhamnus Theezans; Tea Buckthorn. Spines termi- 

 nating; leaves ovate, serrulate; branches divaricating. Na- 

 tive df China. Osbeck say%, this shrub grows a fathom in 

 height, with leaves like those of the Common Tea; as a sub- 

 stitute for which, the poor use the leaves of this plant. 



'* Unarmed. 



9 Rhamnus Sarcomphalus ; Bastard Lignum Vitee. 

 Leaves oval, coriaceous, quite entire, emarginate ; flowers in 

 denss, corymbose, silky tufts. This tree rises generally to a 

 very considerable height : the trunk is often above two feet 

 aid a half in diameter, and covered with a thick scaly bark. 

 The wood is hard, of a dark colour, and close grain ; and is 

 reckoned one of the best sorts of timber in the island. 

 Native of Jamaica. 



10. Rhamnus Ferreus. Floweis hermaphrodite, iimbelled, 

 axillary ; leaves oblong-ovate, emarginate, quite entire, 

 smooth, membranaceous. The branches are round and 

 scattered. Native of the island of Santa Cruz. 



11. Rhamnus Lsevigatus. Flowers hermaphrodite, axil- 

 lary, subgeminate; leaves oblong, quite entire, coriaceous, 

 smooth. Native of Santa Cruz. 



12. Rhamnus Tetragonus; Square-branched Buckthorn. 

 Leaves ovate, entire, smooth, sessile; branches four-cornered. 

 Native of the Cape. 



13. Rhamnus Polifolius. Flowers hermaphrodite, axillary, 

 subsessile ; leaves lanceolate, quite entire, white, tomentose 

 underneath ; branches slender, tomentose above, hoary. 

 Native of New Zealand. 



14. Rhamnus Valentinus; Valentia Bucktnorn. Flowers 

 hermaphrodite, quadrifid, three-styled; capsules three-celled; 

 leaves roundish-ovate, subcrena'te. Stems short and de- 

 pressed. Native of Valencia in Spain. 



15. Rhamnus Cubensis ; Cuba Buckthorn. Flowers her- 

 maphrodite; capsules three-celled; leaves wrinkled, quite 

 entire, tomentose. This has the same kind of flower and 

 fruit as the next species. Native of Cuba. 



16. Rhamnus Colubrinus ; Pubescent Rhamnus, or Buck- 

 thorn Redwood. Flowers hermaphrodite, one-styled, erect ; 

 capsules tricoccpus; leaves ovate, entire; petioles ferruginous- 

 tomentosc. This is an upright tree, with most of the branches 

 spreading out horizontally. In high mountain-woods i.t attains 

 the height of twenty feet, while in coppices on the coast it is 

 rarely seven feet high, with leaves four inches long; whereas 



in the former they are half a foot in length. The nap in Cuba 

 is silvery, in the other islands always ferruginous. In the 

 island of Martinico, the French know it by the name of Bois 

 Couleuvre, or Snakewood. Native of several islands of the 

 West Indies, where it flowers in January, June, and Novem- 

 ber. Sow the seeds upon a hot-bed in the spring; and when 

 the plants are fit to remove, put them separately in small 

 pots filled with light sandy earth : plunge them into the tan- 

 pit, and shade them till they have taken root ; then treat 

 them in the same manner as other tender exotic plants. In 

 the autumn, place them in the bark-stove, and water them 

 sparingly in winter. 



17. Rhamnus Volubilis; Twining Buckthorn. Flowers 

 hermaphrodite, one-celled ; leaves oblong-ovate, nerved, 

 somewhat waved ; stem twining. It flowers here in June 

 and July. Native of Carolina. 



18. Rhamnus Dauvicus ; Daurian Buckthorn. Flowers 

 dioecous. quadrifid; leaves oblong, ovate, serrate, veined. 

 This small tree very much resembles the first species; but is 

 taller, bushy, with thicker branches, less spreading, and 

 never having any thorns. The wood is red, and called 

 sandal-wood by the Russians, Native of the Banna, by the 

 river Argun us. 



19. Rhamnus Alpinus; Afpine Buckthorn. Flowers dioe- 

 cous ; leaves oval-lanceolate, glandular, crenulate ; veins 

 hairv at the back ; stem erect. Native of the mountains of 

 Germany, Switzerland, the south of France, and Italy. 



20. Rhamnus Pumilus ; Dwarf Buckthorn. Creeping ; 

 flowers hermaphrodite; leaves petioled, ovate, crenate. This 

 differs from the next species by its stems adhering to the 

 rocks, covering them like Ivy.- Native of Germany, Carniola, 

 Dauphiny, Monte Baldo and Spain. 



21. Rhamnus Frangula ; Alder Buckthorn, Black Alder, 

 or Berry-bearing Alder. Flowers hermaphrodite, one-styled ; 

 leaves obovate, entire, smooth; berry two-seeded. This rises 

 with a woody stem to the height of four or five feet, sending 

 out many irregular branches, covered with a dark bark. 

 The leaves are two or three inches long and one broad, some- 

 what pointed; and the flowers whitish,,with very minute petals 

 and stamens. The flowers appear in June, and the berries 

 ripen in September. There are two varieties found on the 

 mountains of Europe. The berries of the Berry-bearing Alder, 

 and also of the Cornel, are said to be brought to market for 

 those of the true Buckthorn : they are, however, easily dis- 

 tinguished, the latter having four seeds, this species only two, 

 and the Cornus one nut enclosing two kernels. Half an ounce 

 of the inner yellow bark boiled in beer, is an effectual purge, 

 and often proves serviceable in the dropsy, and constipations 

 in the bowels of cattle, &e. but in the latter case a larger 

 quantity will be necessary. Country people frequently make 

 use of the bark boiled in ale as a purgative in the jaundice, 

 dropsy, and other similar complaints ; but it commonly ope- 

 rates with violence, and, unless corrected by the addition of 

 some warm aromatic substance, frequently occasions severe 

 gripings, sickness, and sometimes vomiting. The unripe 

 berries dye wool green, and the bark affords a yellow dye. 

 Native of the north of Europe, in bushy places. Sow the 

 seeds of this plant as soon as they are ripe. Keep the plants 

 clean till autumn, and then plant them in a nursery, in rows 

 two feet asunder, and at one foot distance in the rows. Here 

 let them remain two years, and then plant them where they 

 are to remain. This shrub may also be increased by layers 

 or cuttings; but the seedling plants are the best. 



22. Rhamnus Latifolius ; Azorian Buckthorn. Flowers 

 hermaphrodite, one-styled ; calices vi'llose ; leaves elliptic, 

 quite entire. A tall upright shrub. Native of the Canaries. 



