0407 



BUCKTHORN. 



Family: BUCKTHORN FAMILY. [Translator's note: now in family Rhamnaceae]. 

 Reproductive system: PENTANDRY, MONOGYNY. 



The common buckthorn, Rhamnus catharticus, Linn., is a large common shrub in 

 hedges and woodlands, colloquially known as black plum, town thorn bush. Its bark is 

 smooth and the wood is yellowish. The leaves are alternate, petiolate, rounded or oval, 

 with finely toothed margins and smooth on both sides. The calyx has four or five 

 sections. The corolla has four or five small petals, sometimes none at all. There are four 

 or five stamens. The ovary is free and becomes a berry with two or four compartments 

 and four seeds. 



FLOWERS: in May and June. 



RANGE: France and Europe. 



NOMENCLATURE. German, gemeine kreuzdorn, kreuzbeere. English, purging 

 buckthorn. Russian, pridoroschnaj to igolka. Polish, szaklak krzewina. Hungarian, festo 

 kokeny. 



USES. The fruit of the buckthorn is quite a powerful purgative, but a veiy 

 frequently used medicinal syrup prepared from it is milder. This treatment is suitable 

 mainly for hardy individuals. The inner bark likewise is a purgative, but it isn't used. The 

 berries yield a yellow color when picked before they're ripe. Sap green [Translator's note: 

 a green pigment also called bladder green] also prepared from this fruit is sometimes used 

 by painters of miniatures. 



The evergreen buckthorn, Rhamnus alaternus, Linn., is a shrub that grows eight 

 or ten feet tall. Its evergreen branches have leaves that are petiolate, oval or oblong, firm, 

 smooth, and yellowish with dentate margins. The greenish yellow flowers are situated at 

 the leaf axils. They have five small petals and five stamens. The fruit is a small red berry. 



