108 
BRITISH WILD FLOWERS. 
1.—THE COMMON, OR PURGING BUCKTHORN. (Ruamnus catuarticus, Lin.) 
Engravings. —Eng. Bot., t. 1629; 2nd ed., t. 335. 
Specific Character. —Thorns terminal. Flowers four-cleft, dioecious. Leaves ovate, serrated. Stem erect. Berry with four seeds. [Smith.) 
Description, &c.— The flowers of this plant are of a pale green, and they are consequently inconspicuous. 
The berries, however, are generally handsome, and they are of a rich black when ripe. The plant forms a hard, 
rigid bush, with numerous branches, which frequently terminate in a spine, and are thickly covered with large 
and rather rough leaves. The flowers appear in May or June ; and the berries, which are used both in medicine 
and for a yellow dye, are ripe in September. Tbe bark is employed in making sap-green. What are called 
French berries in the druggists’ shops are very often only the berries of the Common Buckthorn, though they are 
sold as the fruit of another species of Rhamnus (jR. tinctorius ), which is a native of France. The Avignon 
berries, which are also used for dyeing, are said to be the fruit of II. in/edorius ; but it is probable that the 
berries of several kinds of Rhamnus are sold under that name. The best Avignon berries come from the Levant. 
2.— THE BERRY-BEARING ALDER. (Rhamnus Frangula, Lin.) 
Engravings. —Eng. Bot., t. 250; 2nd ed., t. 336. 
Specific Character. —Thorns none. Flowers all perfect. Style simple. Leaves entire, smooth. Berry with two seeds. [Smith.) 
Description, &c. —-This is a dwarf shrub, seldom growing more than three or four feet high, but forming a 
bush witli numerous forked branches, which are distinguished from those of the Purging Buckthorn, by having 
no thorns. The flowers, which are very small, appear in May, and are succeeded by the berries in July. The 
leaves bear considerable resemblance to those of the Alder, and hence the popular English name of the plant. 
The berries are said to be often substituted for those of the Common Buckthorn, but they are easily 
distinguished by having only two seeds instead of four. The Berry-bearing Alder is common in thickets in 
every part of England, but it is very rare in Scotland. 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 
THE HOLLY FAMILY. (Aquifoliace.®, Dec.) 
Character of the Order. —Sepals four to six, imbricated in 
aestivation. Petals cohering at the base, hypogynous, imbricated in 
aestivation. Stamens alternate with the petals, inserted into the 
corolla; filaments erect ; anthers adnate. Disk none. Ovarium 
fleshy, somewhat truncate, with from two to six cells ; ovula solitary, 
pendulous, from a cup-shaped funiculus; stigma subsessile, lobed. 
Fruit fleshy, indeliiscent, with from two to six stones. Seed suspended, 
nearly sessile ; albumen large, fleshy ; embryo small, two-lohed, lying 
next the hilum, with minute cotyledons, and a superior radicle. Trees 
or shrubs. Leaves alternate or opposite, coriaceous. Flowers small, 
axillary, solitary or fascicled. [Lindley.) 
Description, &c.—"T his small order only contains one British plant, viz., the common Holly, which is 
included in the genus Ilex. This order was formerly united to Celastrinece , but has been separated from it on 
account of some important differences in the formation of the flowers and seed-vessels. Two of these differ¬ 
ences, which may be noticed by any common observer, are, that in Aquifoliaceas the flowers have no disk, and 
the stamens are inserted in the corolla; while in Celastrinese the flowers have a very large disk, and the 
stamens are inserted in it. 
