( 219 .) 
RHA'MNUS* * 
Linnean Class and Order. Penta^dria f, Monogy'nia. 
Natural Order. Rha'mneas, De Cand. — Lindl. Syn. p. 72. ; 
Introd. to Nat. Syst. of Bot. p. 113. — Rich, by Macgilliv. p.353. 
Loud. Hort. Brit. p. 508. — Don’s Gen. Syst. of Gard. and Bot. v. ii. 
p. 21. — Rhamna'ceav, Loud. Arb. Brit, p.523. — Rhamni, Juss. 
Gen. PI. p. 376. — Sm. Gram, of Bot. p. 182. — Rosales ; subord. 
MyrtoSjE ; sect. Ilicine ; type, Rhamnaceas ; Burn. Outl. of 
Bot. v. ii. pp. 614, 617, & 624. — Dumos^e, Linn. 
Gen. Char. Calyx (fig. 1.) inferior, of 1 sepal, funnel-shaped ; 
coloured internally ; limb in 4 or 5 pointed, equal, spreading seg- 
ments. Corolla (see fig. 2.), when present, of as many small, 
converging petals as there are segments of the calyx, and alternate 
with them. Filaments (see fig. 2.) in the mouth of the calyx, op- 
posite to each petal, awl-shaped, short. Anthers roundish, 2-lobed, 
small. Germen (fig. 3.) superior, roundish, seated on a glandular 
disk. Style short, cylindrical, rarely divided. Stigma in 2, 3, or 
4 lobes. Berry (fig. 4.) nearly globular, of 2, 3, or 4 cells. Seeds 
(fig. 6.) one in each cell, rounded externally, flattened at the inner 
side. The flowers are often more or less dioecious ; and the petals 
are sometimes wanting. 
Distinguished from other genera, in the same class and order, by 
the funnel-shaped calyx of 4 or 5 segments, bearing the petals ; 
and by the berry-like fruit of from 2 to 4 cells, each cell contain- 
ing one seed or nut. 
Two species British. 
RHA'MNUS FRA'NGULA. Breaking Buckthorn. Alder Buck- 
thorn. Berry-bearing Alder. 
Spec. Char. Thorns none. Flowers all perfect. Leaves oval,, 
quite entire, lineated with 40 or 12 lateral nerves, and, as well as 
the calyx, smooth. 
Engl. Bot. t. 250. — Curt. Brit. Entomol. v. vi. t. 286. — Loud. Arbor. Brit. p. 
537. t. 62, a.— Lina. Sp. FI. p. 280. — Huds. FI. Angl. (2nd ed.) p. 98. — Sm. Fh 
Brit. v. i. p. 262. Engl. FI. v. i. p.328. —With. (7lh ed.) v. ii. p.323. — Lindl. 
Syn. p. 73.— Hook. Brit. FI. p. 104. — Abbot’s FI. Bedf. p. 52.— Furt. Midi. FI. 
v. i. p. 131.— Relh. FI. Cant. (3rd ed.) p. 99.— Hook. FI. Scot. p. 81. — FI. Dev. 
pp. 42 & 178.— Rev. G. E. Smith’s PI. of S. Kent, p. 15.— Walk. FI. of Oxf. 
p. 66. — Don’s Gen. Syst. of Gard. and Bot. v. ii. p. 32.— Burn. Outl. of Bot. 
v/ii. p.625. — Sylvan Sketches, p. 13.— Perry’s PI. Varvic, Select®, p. 22. — 
E. Lees, in lllust. of Nat. Hist, of Worcest. p. 156. — Mack. FI. Hibern. pt. i. 
p. 71. — Rhamnus alnoides, Gray’s Nat. An. v. ii. p. 621. — Frangula seu Al- 
nus nigra baccifera, Ray’s Syn. p. 465. — Alnus nigra, sive Frangula, John- 
son’s Gerarde, p. 1470. 
Fig. 1. Calyx. — Fig. 2. The same opened vertically to show the Petals, the 
Stamens, Disk, Germen, &c. — Fig. 3. Germen, Style, and Stigmas. — Fig. 4. A 
Berry. — Fig. 5. A transverse section of ditto.— Fig. 6. A Seed. — Figs. 1,2, & 3, 
a little magnified. 
* From the Celtic word ram, signifying a tuft of branches ; which the Greeks 
have changed to rhumnos, and the Latins to ramus. Loudon. 
t See Anchusa sempervirens, folio 48, note t- 
t From frango, to break ; applied to this species from the brittleness of its 
branches. 
