130 RHAMNACEAE. 



mous greenish-white polypetalous flowers in small lateral clus- 

 ters ; and elongated 2-seeded small drupes. 



Leaves with about 8 pairs of veins, cordate. B. racemosa. 



Leaves with about 10 pairs of veins, not cordate. B. scandens. 



CEANOTHUS. New Jersey Tea. 



Small deciduous half-shrubs, in the east, with red-brown 

 wood with minute ducts diminishing in size and number through 

 the season, and fine medullary rays ; slender roundish twigs ; 

 re 1 atively large roundish homogeneous pale pith ; alternate some- 

 what raised small crescent-shaped leaf-scars with 3 bundle- 

 traces ; narrow stipule-scars ; ovoid hairy buds with encircling 

 linear stipules, mostly developing the first season ; simple 

 stalked serrate palmately-nerved relatively large leaves ; small 

 perfect white or bluish polypetalous flowers in dense terminal 

 clusters; and small rounded few-seeded half-inferior capsule, 

 the lower half of which persists as a cup. 



Leaves ovate. C. americanus. 



Leaves elliptical-oblong. C. ovatus. 



RHAMNUS. Buckthorn. 



Deciduous shrubs or small trees with rather hard usually 

 brown wood with minute ducts diffused (in Frangula) or in 

 more or less anastomosing radial patterns ; rather slender 

 roundish twigs, sometimes spine-tipped : small continuous pith ; 

 alternate or opposite transverse or half-round low leaf-scars 

 with 3 simple or compound bundle-traces ; small stipule-scars or 

 stipules; opposite or 4-ranked scaly buds (or more or less 

 stalked alternate naked buds in Frangula) ; simple finely toothed 

 petioled lanceolate leaves ; small greenish more or less imper- 

 fect polypetalous flowers solitary or few in the axils ; and 

 drupe- or berry-like rather small fruit with a papery envelope 

 to each of the few seeds. 



1. Buds scaly : leaves opposite or 4-ranked. 2. 

 Buds naked: leaves not opposite. (Frangula). 3. 



2. Branches often pungently tipped. R. cathartica. 

 Unarmed. R. lanceolata. 



