Spec. Char., &c. Leaves ovate-elliptical, or lanceo- R. A. 2 baleárica Hort. Par. The Balearic R. A. 3 hispánica Hort. Par. The Spanish Alaternus. Leaves R. A. 4 foliis maculatis. The gold-blotched-leaved Alaternus. R. A. 7 angustifolia, synon. R. Clùsii Willd. The narrow-leaved Geography, History, &c. The alaternus is a densely branched shrub, growing to the height of 15 ft. or 20 ft. in sheltered situations, but always preserving the character of a bush, unless carefully trained to a single stem. The leaves are alternate, shining, and often glandular at the base, and serrated in some varieties, but entire in others. The flowers are numerous, male or female, or imperfect hermaphrodites, on the same or different individuals; and hence the plant is seldom seen in England bearing fruit. It is abundant in the south of Europe, and was observed by Sir James Smith, in Italy, sometimes only a foot or two in height, and at others as high as a low tree. Evelyn, also, observed it there; and says that its blossoms, which are produced from April to June, afford an "early and marvellous relief to bees." Evelyn boasts that he was the first who brought the alaternus into use and reputation in England, and that he had propagated it from Cornwall to Cumberland. Parkinson, however, first introduced it; and he commends it for the beauty and verdure of the leaves, "abiding quite fresh all the year." In his time it was called evergreen privet. The plant is mentioned by Pliny and by Dioscorides, both as medicinal and as being used in dyeing. Clusius states that in Portugal the bark is used to dye a red, and the wood to dye a blackish blue. In British gardens, this shrub is particularly valuable for the rapidity of its growth in almost any soil and situation, more especially the narrow-leaved variety. About the end of the seventeenth century, it was one of the few evergreens generally planted, not only for hedges and to conceal objects, but to clothe walls, and to be clipped into artificial shapes. In London and Wise's Retired Gardener, published in 1706, it is recommended to grow the alaternus in cases (boxes), for ornamenting gardens and court-yards; and, when clipped into the form of a bowl or ball, for placing in the borders of parterres. "You give it what shape you think fit by the help of your shears, which, being well guided, will make this shrub of a very agreeable figure." (Ret. Gard., ii. p. 751.) The four large, round, and smoothly clipped plants of phillyrea, on naked stems, mentioned in p. 45. as possessed by Evelyn at Says Court, were doubtless of this species, and not of the genus Phillyrea, which is of much slower and less robust growth. The Alatérnus was at that time, and even so late as the time of Miller, frequently confounded with the Phillýrea; but the two genera are readily distinguished by the position of their leaves, which are alternate in Rhamnus, and opposite in Phillyrea. At present, the alaternus is chiefly planted in town gardens, to conceal walls, and because it is less injured by the smoke of coal than most other evergreens. The species, and all the varieties, are readily propagated by cuttings, which are taken off in autumn, and planted in sandy soil, in a shady border, and covered with a hand-glass. Price, in the London nurseries, of the species, and of the blotched-leaved variety, 9d. a plant; of the gold and silver-edged-leaved, 2s. 6d. each: at Bollwyller, the species and varieties from 1 franc to 2 francs a plant: at New York, ?. As the roots are not very productive of fibres, when large plants are chosen, they should be such as have been reared in pots, in order that they may receive no check from removal. ■ 2. R. Hy ́bridUS L'Herit. The hybrid Alaternus. Spec. Char., &c. Leaves oblong, acuminated, serrated, smooth, shining, 3. R. LONGIFO`LIUS Link. The long-leaved Buckthorn. Identification. Link Enum., 1. p. 228.; Dum. Cours. Bot. Cult., 6. p. 260.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 24.; Don's Mill., 2. p. 30. Synonyme. Ŕ. Willdenoviànus Röm. et Schult. Syst., 5. p. 295. Spec. Char., &c. Leaves oval-oblong, acute at both ends, serrated, smooth, shining, pilose in the axils of the veins beneath. (Don's Mill., ii. p. 30.) A shrub, growing to the height of 8 ft.; introduced in 1823, but from what country is uncertain. C. Flowers 4-cleft, in Fascicles. a. Branchlets terminating in a Thorn. 4. R CATHARTICUS L. The purging Buckthorn. Identification. Lin. Spec., 280.; Dec. Prod, 2. p. 24.; Don's Mill., 2. p. 30. Synonyme. The White Thorn of the modern Greeks. Engravings. Eng. Bot., t. 1629.; Wood. Med. Bot., t. 114.; Ed. Fl. Dan., t. 850.; N. Du Ham., 2., t. 10.; our fig. 198.; and the plate of this species in Vol. II. Spec. Char., &c. Erect. Leaves ovate, toothed. Flowers in fascicles, polygamodiœcious. Berries 4-seeded, rather globose. (Don's Mill., ii p. 30.) native of Europe and the north of Asia, and plentiful in England. Variety. Α R. c. 2 hydriensis Jac., with larger leaves, tapering to the base, is found wild about Hydria. Description, History, &c. A deciduous shrub or low tree, growing to the height of 12 ft. or 15 ft. in a state of cultivation, with many irregular branches, the young shoots of which have a smooth greyish brown bark; but the older branches have rougher bark, armed with a few short thorns. The leaves are ribbed, smooth, and of a bright green. The flowers are of a yellowish green, and they are succeeded by berries, which are globular, bluish black, nauseous, violently purgative, with 4 cells, and as many seeds. By this last character they are distinguished by druggists from the berries of R. Frángula, which are supposed to be less cathartic. In Britain, this species is found in native woods and thickets, generally on calcareous and loamy soils, but seldom above 10 ft. or 12 ft. in height. According to Pallas, this species is common in the champaign and southern parts of Siberia, with a trunk thicker than a man's arm, and the wood very hard, and of a reddish colour. The flowers are, for the most part, hermaphrodite, and, in a wild state, clustered; but in a state of cultivation they are fewer, and nearly solitary. The juice of the unripe berries has the colour of saffron, and it is used for staining maps or paper: they are sold under the name of French berries. The juice of the ripe berries, mixed with alum, is the sap green of painters; but, if the berries be gathered late in the autumn, the juice is purple. The bark affords a beautiful yellow dye. The inner bark, like that of the elder, is said to be a strong cathartic, and to excite vomiting; the berries are also strongly purgative; and it is said that the flesh of birds which feed upon them possesses the same quality. Plants of this species, in the garden of the London Horticultural Society, have attained the height of 9 ft. in 10 years: they do not make much show in spring, when in flower; but in autumn and winter, when profusely covered with their black berries, they are very ornamental. The fruit remains on after the leaves have fallen. Plants, in the London nurseries, are 1s. each; at New York, plants are 37 cents each. If plants were required for forming hedges (for which the species is very eligible, in consequence of its robust and rigid habit of growth), they could, no doubt, be provided and supplied at a price less than that of plants of the common hawthorn, because plants of R. cathárticus come up in the first year from the sowing. 5. R. VIRGA TUS Roxb. The twiggy Buckthorn. Identification. Roxb. Fl. Ind., 2. p. 351.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 24. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 30. Synonymes. R. catharticus Hamilt. MSS. Spec. Char., &c. Erect. Branchlets terminating in a spine. Leaves nearly opposite, oblong, ventricose, serrated. Flowers around the base of the young shoots, and axillary in threes. Stigmas 2-3-cleft. (Don's Mill., ii. p. 33.) A deciduous shrub, growing to the height of 12 ft. in the Neelgherry Mountains in the Himalaya; introduced in 1820. The flowers are very small, yellow, and appear in June and July; and the berries are from 2- to 3-seeded. 6. R. TINCTO'RIUS Waldst. The Dyer's Buckthorn. Spec. Char., &c. Erect. Leaves ovate, crenate-ser- 199 7. R. INFECTO'RIUS L. The staining Buckthorn, or Avignon Berry. Identification. Lin. Mant., 49.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 24.; Don's Mill., 2. p. 31. 200 Spec. Char., &c. Leaves ovate-lanceolate, serrulated, smoothish. Flowers dioecious, bearing petals in both sexes. (Don's Mill., ii. p. 31.) A deciduous, sub-procumbent shrub; a native of the south of Europe, in rocky places; common about Avignon, and the Vaucluse; whence the name Avignon berry. Introduced in 1683. The root fixes itself so firmly in the fissures of the rocks, that the plant can scarcely be pulled up. The stem divides immediately into branches, that are very much subdivided, and form a very close head, the shoots having numerous spines, both terminating and lateral. The flowers are numerous, and the berries 3-celled, and black when ripe. In England, the berries are very seldom produced. According to the first edition of Du Hamel, the berries of this species were gathered green, and used for producing a yellow colour by dyers and painters. Miller says that this is a mistake, and that the Avignon berries alluded to by Du Hamel are those of the narrow-leaved alaternus, one of the most common shrubs in the south of France. In the Nouveau Du Hamel, this assertion of Miller's is noticed, together with one of Haller's, who says that the Avignon berries are gathered from the R. saxátilis. The writer remarks that the berries are now very little used, and that, as all the three species abound in the south of France, and the berries of all of them dye yellow, the Avignon berries were probably gathered from all, or any, of them indiscriminately. The berries are used for dyeing leather yellow; and the Turkey leather, or yellow morocco, is generally supposed to be coloured by them. There are plants of this species in the arboretums of Messrs. Loddiges and the London Horticultural Society. The latter had, in 1834, attained the height of 6 ft., forming a very handsome bush. 8. R SAXA'TILIS L. The Stone Buckthorn. Spec. Char., &c. Procumbent, or erectish. 201 whitish membrane, separating into two parts with elastic force. The berries are supposed to be used for the same purposes as those of R. infectòrius, and R. tinctorius, for which they are often sold. Neither this nor the preceding species can be considered as ornamental in itself; but both are well adapted for planting among rocks, either natural or artificial. In garden scenery, where natural rocks occur, and where it is desirable that they should be retained, the only legitimate mode of rendering them gardenesque is, by clothing them, or varying them with showy flowering plants, ligneous or herbaceous. I 9. R. OLEOI DES Lin. The Olive-like Buckthorn. dentification. Lin. Sp., 279.; Desf. Atl., 1. p. 197,; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 24; Don's Mill. 2. p. 31. Synonyme. R. oleifolius Hort. Engraving. Our fig. 202. Spec. Char., &c. Diffuse, or rather erect; leaves oblong, obtuse entire, coriaceous, smooth, with netted veins beneath. (Don's Mill., ii. p. 31.) A deciduous shrub, growing to the height of 3 ft., in the fissures of rocks, in Sicily, Mauritania, Spain, and Greece. Introduced in 1752. In Loddiges's Catalogue, it is in the list of green-house plants; but it is generally understood to be quite hardy. Though the species of the Rhamnus are numerous, yet, as few of them attain a large size, they will not Occupy so much space in an arboretum as might, at first sight, be imagined. Where the soil is dry, and the surface somewhat undulated, the plants may be scattered over it at the same distances from each other as their heights; or, if there is space to spare, at double this distance, which will allow each species to display its natural form, and to bring its leaves, flowers, and fruit to maturity. Where the soil is not naturally dry, an artificial ridge of dry soil, mixed with rocks or stones, may be formed; and along this the different species of Khámnus may be scattered. 10. R. BUXIFOLIUS Poir. The Box-leaved Buckthorn. Identification. Poir. Dict., 4. p. 463; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 24.; Don's Mill., 2. Synonyme. ? R. buxifolius Brot. Fl. Lus., 1. p. 301. Spec. Char., &c. Diffuse. Leaves ovate, quite entire, mucronate, smooth, 11. R. PUBESCENS Poir. The pubescent Buckthorn. Identification. Poir. Dict., 4. p. 464.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 24.; Don's Mill., 2. p. 31. Synonyme. R. oleoides Lam. Fl. Fr., 2. p. 545., ed. 3., No. 4075. Spec. Char., &c. Diffuse. Leaves quite entire, coriaceous, pubescent. (Don's Mill., ii. p. 31.) A deciduous shrub, growing to the height of 3 ft., a native of the south of France and of the Levant, and introduced in 1817. bably only a variety of R. oleöides. 12. R. LYCIÖI'DES Lin. The Lycium-like Buckthorn. Identification. Lin. Spec., 279.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 25.; Don's Mill., 2. p. 31. Engraving. Cav. Icon., 2. t. 182. Pro Spec. Char., &c. Erect. Leaves linear, quite entire, obtuse, smooth. Flowers hermaphrodite. (Don's Mill, ii. p. 31.) A deciduous shrub, a native of Spain, growing to the height of 3 ft. or 4 ft., on the limestone hills of Valencia. Introduced in 1752. Variety. R. 1. 2 arragonénsis Asso Syn. Arr., p. 27., has the leaves yellowish on the upper surface, and is found in Arragon. 13. R. ERYTHRO'XYLON Pall. The red-wooded Buckthorn. Identification. Pall. Fl. Ross., 2. t. 62.; Itin., French edit., t. 90.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 25.; Don's Mill, 2. p. 31. Engravings. Pall. Fl. Ross., 2. t. 62.; Itin., French edit., t. 90. ; and our fig. 204. Spec. Char., &c. Erect. Leaves linear, lanceolate, quite entire or serrated, smooth. Flowers hermaphrodite. Berries oblong. (Don's Mill., ii. p. 31.) |