RHAMNACEAE. 



[VOL. II. 



3. Rhamnus alnifolia L'Her. Alder- 

 leaved Buckthorn. Dwarf Alder. 

 (Fig. 2393.) 



Rhamnus alnifolia L'Her. Sert. Angl. 5. 1788. 



A small shrub, with puberulent thornless 

 branches. Leaves oval to elliptic, 2 / -4 / long, 

 i / -2 / wide, obtuse to acuminate at the apex, 

 mainly acute at the base, irregularly crenate- 

 serrate; veins 6-7 pairs; petioles 3 // -6 // long; 

 flowers 5-merous, solitary or 2-3 together in the 

 axils, green, about i%" broad, mainly dioecious, 

 appearing with the leaves; petals none; fruiting 

 pedicels $"-\" long; drupe globose, or some- 

 what obovoid, about 3" in diameter; nutlets 3, 

 grooved. 



In swamps, New Brunswick to British Columbia, 

 south to New Jersey, Illinois, Nebraska, Montana 

 and California. May-June. 



4. Rhamnus Caroliniana Walt. Carolina Buckthorn. 



Rhamnus Caroliniana Walt. Fl. Car. 101. 1788. 

 Frangula Caroliniana A. Gray, Gen. a: 178. 1849. 



A tall thornless shrub, or small tree, with 

 puberulent twigs. Leaves elliptic, or broadly 

 oblong, glabrous, or somewhat hairy on the 

 veins beneath, a'-6' long, 1'-*%' wide, acute 

 or acuminate at the apex, obtuse or acute at the 

 base, obscurely serrulate or even entire; veins 

 6-10 pairs; petioles 6"-9" long; flowers 5-mer- 

 ous, perfect, greenish, about i" broad, in axil- 

 lary peduncled umbels, or some of them soli- 

 tary, unfolding after the leaves; calyx finely 

 puberulent, or glabrous, campanulate, its lobes 

 lanceolate, acuminate; petals present; drupe 

 globose, sweet, about 4" in diameter; nutlets 

 3, not grooved. 



In swamps and low grounds, Virginia and Ken- 

 tucky, west to Kansas, south to Florida and 

 Texas. May-June. 



(Fig. 2394.) 



5. Rhamnus Frangula L,. Alder Buck- 

 thorn. (Fig. 2395.) 



Rhamnus Frangula L. Sp. PI. 193. 1753. 



A shrub, reaching a maximum height of about 

 8, the young twigs finely and sparsely puberu- 

 lent Leaves thin, elliptic or obovate, entire or 

 very obscurely crenulate, glabrous on both sur- 

 faces, obtuse or cuspidate at the apex, rounded 

 or narrowed at the base, lyi'-zW long, I'-i^' 

 wide; petioles 2 // -4 // long; umbels 1-6- flowered, 

 strictly sessile in the axils; flowers 5-merous, per- 

 fect; calyx nearly hemispheric, its lobes ovate, 

 acute; fruiting pedicels 2 // ~5 // long; fruit 3 // -4 // 

 in diameter, the 3 nutlets compressed, not 

 grooved. 



In bogs, Long Island and northern New Jersey. 

 Naturalized from Europe. May-June. Called also 

 Black-alder, Berry-alder and Arrow-wood. 



