Tough Buckthorn 



781 



straight or curved, reddish spines. The winter buds are about 3 mm. long, 

 woolly, oblanceolate to elliptic, 5 to 10 cm. 

 long. The leaves are mostly rounded or 

 notched at the apex, gradually tapering to the 

 base, brownish and woolly when unfolding, 

 becoming smooth, dull dark green above, re- 

 maining more or less woolly beneath. The 

 flowers are produced during the summer, in 

 fascicles of 13 to 18 on densely hairy club- 

 shaped pedicels 5 to 12 mm. long; the calyx 

 is also densely hair}^, its lobes suborbicular 

 to broadly ovate, about 3 mm. long, blunt; 

 corolla-lobes broadly ovate, 2 mm. long, the 

 appendages ovate-lanceolate, sharp-pointed 

 and shorter; staminodes ovate, sharp-pointed, 

 usually toothed, about as long as the corolla- 

 lobes ; stamens shorter than the corolla. The 

 fruit is oval to obo void-oblong, 10 to 15 mm. 

 long and black, its flesh thick. 



The wood is weak, close-grained, brown or yellowish; its specific gravity is 

 about 0.65. It is used to a slight extent in Texas for cabinet work. The 

 coagulated juice from wounds of the freshly cut stem is used locally under the 

 name of Gum elastic. 



Fig. 712. Woolly Buckthorn. 



7. TOUGH BUCKTHORN Bumelia tenax (LinnjEus) Willdenow 



Sideroxylon tenax Linnaeus 



Also called Tough bumeHa, Black haw, and Ironwood, this small tree or shrub, 

 attains a maximum height of 9 meters, with a trunk diameter of 1.5 dm. It 

 inhabits sandy soils near the coast from North Carolina to half-way down the 

 Florida peninsula. 



The branches are straight, tough and spreading, with or without stout, straight, 

 stiff spines, often 12 mm. long. The bark is thick, fissured into narrow scaly 

 ridges of a reddish brown color. The twigs are covered with silky, often red- 

 dish hairs, which soon disappear, leaving them nearly smooth and dark red. 

 The winter buds are very small, subglobose and covered with brown hairs. The 

 numerous leaves are thin and firm, oblanceolate to spatulate or obovatc, 2 to 7 

 cm. long, blunt or notched at the apex, wedge-shaped or tapering at the base, 

 slightly revolute on the margin, thickly browTiish hairy when unfolding, becom- 

 ing smooth, dull green, with impressed midrib above, shining-silky with prominent 

 midrib beneath; the leaf-stalk is 3 to 12 mm. long. The flowers appear in 

 spring or early summer in dense axillary fascicles, on pedicels about 2 cm. 

 long. The calyx is hairy, its lobes suborbicular, i to 1.5 mm. long, concave, 



