104 PENTANDRIA MONOGYNTA. [Viola. 



34. Rhamnus. Lin7i. Bucktliorn. 



1. R.cathdrdciis, Ij. {common Buchthorn); spines terminal, flow- 

 ers 4.cleft dioecious, leaves ovate sharply serrated. E.Bot.t. 1629. 



Woods, hedi^es and thickets ; not niitVequent in England. About 

 Dumfries, Scotland. Near Cork and Lough Earn in Ireland. Ft. May, 

 June. T? . — A spreading shrub. Leaves with 4 or G strong lateral nerves 

 parallel with the margin or rib ; serm/wres glandular. Flotvers in dense 

 fascicles. " In the barre/i flower the tube of the cal. is cawpanulate, the 

 segments ovate, 2-ribbed. Pet. 4, oblongo-ovate, inserted below the 

 mouth of the cal, alternate with its segments : Stam. inserted just below 

 the petals : there is an abortive germen visible. In the fertile flower the 

 petals are linear, incurved above. Stam. abortive. Styles 4, united 

 half-way up, spreading. Stigmas small, slightly decurrent along the in- 

 ner edge of the styles. Ge?7«e7i superior." (^Wilson.) Berries black, 

 nauseo°us, powerfidly cathartic. They aftbrd a i/cUow dye in an unripe 

 state ; the bark a green dye. 



2. R. Frdiigula, h. (Berr7/-bearingf Alder ; Alder Bucktliorn); 

 unarmed, flowers perfect, leaves obovate entire. E. Bot. t. 230. 



Woods and thickets in England. Near Auchincruive, Ayrshire. Ft. 

 May. Tj . — A small shrub. Flotvers pedunculate, axillary, somewhat 

 fascicled, whitish-green. Petals very minute. Berries dark-purple, 

 with two seeds, purgative. 



35. EuoNYMUS. Li7in. Spindle-tree. 



1. E. EuropcBUS, L. {common Spindle-tree) ; flowers mostly 

 tetrandrous, petals acute, branches glabrous, leaves ovato-lan- 

 ceolate minutely serrated. E. Bot. t. 362. 



Woods and hedges ; frequent in England, and the south of Ireland : 

 rare in Scotland. King's Park, near Edinburgh. Fl. May. T? — Shrub 

 2—5 feet high. Bark green, smooth. Leaves glabrous. Peduncle 

 bearing a few-flowered umbel. Flowers small, white. Fruit obtusely 

 angular, very beautiful, rose-coloured. Arillus orange-coloured. — The 

 berries and even leaves are said to be dangerous, and the whole plant 

 is fetid. Of its tough white wood, skewers and spindles are made, and 

 Linnaaus tells us it aff'ords the best charcoal for drawing. 



36. IiMPATiENS. Lifin. Balsam. 

 1. I. * Noli-me-tdngere, L. {yelloio Balsam or Touch-me-not); 

 joints of the stem swelling, leaves ovate serrated petiolate, pe- 

 duncles solitary many-flowered. E. Bot. t. 937. 



Moist shady woods in Yorkshire and Westmoreland. Abundant in 

 a wet glen at' Castlemilk, near Glasgow. Fl. July, Aug. Q.—Stem I 

 foot high, rounded, succulent, fragile. Flowers large, yellow, spotted 

 with orange. Capsule bursting elastically and scattering its seeds with 

 considerable force : the valves are then spirally twisted. — I. fulva of 

 N. America, (Borr. in E. Bot. Suppl t. 2794), grows on the banks 

 of the Wey, near Guildford. 



37. VfoLA. Li7in. Violet. 

 * Stemless, or nearly so. 

 1. V. hirta, L. {hairy Violet) ; leaves cordate rough as well 

 as the petioles and capsules with hairs, calyx-leaves obtuse, 



