68 RHAMNACE^. [BercJiemia. 



a few clusters at the ends of the branches above the leaves. Calyx-lobes 

 about li lines long, narrow-lanceolate or linear. Ben-y ovoid, succulent, about 

 3 lines long. 



Hongkong, Wright. Cornraon in S. China, extending northwards to Amoy and Loochoo, 

 and apparently the same species in Sikkim. 



3. B.? sessiliflora, Benth., n. sp. Leaves shortly stalked, oblong, ob- 

 tuse, about 2 in. long, with fewer and less prominent veins than in most 

 Berchemias, whitish underneath. Flowers (of which I have only seen the re- 

 mains round the base of the fmit) in axillary clusters, but closely sessile as 

 in Sageretia. Berries nearly globular, 3 to 4 lines long, 2-celled as in other 

 Berchemias. 



Hongkong, Wright. I have only seen a single small specimen in fruit, and until the 

 flowers shall have been verified, the genus cannot be determined with certainty. 



4. SAGERETIA, Brongn. 



Petals and stamens 5. Ovary surrounded by the disk, 3-celled, with 1 

 erect ovule in each cell. Style short, with a slightly 3-lobed stigma. Pruit 

 a berry or drupe, with 3 cells. — Shrabs sometimes half-climbing and often 

 thorny. Leaves alternate or nearly opposite, coriaceous, usually serrulate, 

 with pinnate veins prominent underneath. Flowers minute, sessile in clusters 

 along the branches of small axillary or terminal panicles. 



A small genus, distributed over tropical and subtropical Asia and America. 



1. S. theesans, Brongn. in Ann. Be. Nat. Par. ser. i. x. 360. A 

 shrub ?, the side-shoots occasionally converted into or ending in a thorn ; the 

 branches slender, angular, and slightly tomentose. Lower leaves opposite, the 

 upper ones alternate, ovate, seiTulate, seldom 1 in. long, shining above and 

 green and glabrous on both sides, with fine and distant pinnate veins. Lower 

 racemes simple, 1 to 1^ in. long, the upper ones branching into panicles twice 

 that length. 



Hongkong, Champion, Wright, Wilford. Also on the adjoining continent, in Penang, 

 and in the Philippines. 



5. RHAMNUS, Linn. 



Petals and stamens 4 or 5 (the former sometimes wanting), inserted at the 

 top of the cup-shaped or hemispherical tube of the calyx. Ovaiy free, usually 

 shorter than the calyx-tube, 2- to 4-celled, with 1 erect ovule in each cell, the 

 style 2- to 4-cleft. Fruit a drupe, with 2 to 4 1-seeded kernels. Albumen 

 fleshy. — Trees or shrubs. Leaves usually alternate, with pinnate veins. 

 Flowers small, greenish, pedicellate, in axillary clusters or umbels. 



A considerable genus, spread over the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, with 

 a very few tropical species from hilly districts. 



1. R. virgatus, Roxb. Fl. hid. i. 604. An erect shrub, more or less 

 thorny, glabrous, or the young shoots and leaves pubescent. Leaves alternate 

 or nearly opposite, ovate or oblong, acuminate, 1 to l-|in. long, seiTulate, 

 contracted into a petiole at the base, of a thin consistence. Flowers on pedi- 

 cels of 1 to 2 lines, clustered at the base of leafy buds. Petals 4, minute. 

 Stamens as many. Ovary 2- or 3-celled, the style divided about halfway. 



