THE COMMON BUCKTHORN 



A LTHOUGH there are several native species of Buckthorn belonging to the genus 

 / \ Rhamnus, the one most likely to be known to the resident of the Eastern States 

 X _m. is the common European form which has been very generally planted for hedges, 

 and has so frequently developed as an escape from cultivation that it is fairly well natural- 

 ized in many localities. In Europe it has such other common names as Hart's-thorn, 

 Way thorn and Rhineberry, but these seem not to be yet used to any extent in America. 

 The important characteristics of the species may be seen in the plate : the leaves are finely 

 serrate on the margins and quite variable in form, though the normal type seems to be 

 oval or ovate ; the flowers are borne in short-stemmed clusters the pollen-bearing and the 

 seed-bearing generally being on separate plants, the parts of each blossom being arranged 

 in groups of four ; the blackish fruit contains three or four seeds, and the winter-buds are 

 acutely pointed and arranged in opposite pairs. When growing singly the plant takes on 

 the appearance of a shrub-like tree, which may reach a height of twelve to fifteen feet. 

 The species is very useful as a hedge-plant. 



In the Southern States the Carolina Buckthorn or Indian Cherry is frequently 

 found, especially in limestone regions. As a tree it may reach a height of forty feet and a 

 trunk diameter of eight inches, though commonly it is of much smaller size. The sweet, 

 round fruit is about one-third of an inch in diameter ; it is bright red as it ripens but finally 

 changes to black. 



The Bearberry or Coffee-tree is a variable Western species having several distinct 

 varieties which have sometimes been treated of as separate species. "The bark," writes 

 Professor Sargent, "possesses the drastic properties peculiar to that of other species of 

 the genus, and is a popular domestic remedy in Oregon and California, and under the name 

 of Cascara Sagrada has been admitted into the American Materia Medica." The plant has 

 been utilized in landscape planting, though much less generally than the European forms. 

 In addition to the Common Buckthorn, a species from Europe called Rhamnus Frangula 

 has been quite generally planted for ornament : it has attractive foliage and fruit, and in 

 some regions is to be found naturalized in fields and woods, the plants probably having 

 come up from seed scattered by birds. 



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