Rhamnus palaestinus

• Interesting Facts
• Description
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Interesting Facts

Description

Family Rhamnaceae

Deciduous or evergreen , often thorny trees , shrubs , woody climbers , or lianas, rarely herbs. Leaves simple , petiolate , alternate or opposite, pinnately veined or 3-5-veined, entire to serrate, sometimes much reduced; stipules small, caducous or persistent , sometimes transformed into spines. Flowers yellowish to greenish, rarely brightly colored , small, bisexual or unisexual , rarely polygamous, (4 or) 5-merous, hypogynous to epigynous , in mostly axillary , sessile or pedunculate cymes, or reduced to few in fascicles. Calyx tube patelliform or hemispherical to tubular , sometimes absent, at rim with calyx, corolla, and stamens; sepals 4 or 5, valvate in bud, triangular, erect or ± recurved during anthesis , adaxially often distinctly keeled , alternate with petals. Petals 4 or 5, rarely absent, usually smaller than sepals, concave or hooded , rarely nearly flat, often shortly clawed. Stamens 4 or 5, antepetalous and often ± enclosed by petals; filaments thin, adnate to bases of petals; anthers minute, versatile or not, 2(or 4) -celled, dehiscing by longitudinal slits, usually introrse . Disk intrastaminal , nectariferous , thin to ± fleshy , entire or lobed , glabrous or rarely pubescent , free from ovary or tightly surrounding it, or adnate to calyx tube. Ovary superior to inferior, (1 or) 2-4-loculed, with 1(or 2) ovules per locule; ovules anatropous , basal and erect; styles simple or ± deeply 3-lobed or 3-cleft. Fruit either an indehiscent, rarely explosively dehiscent , sometimes winged , schizocarpic capsule, or a ± fleshy drupe with 1-4 indehiscent, rarely dehiscent, pyrenes (stones ) . Seeds with thin, oily albumen, sometimes exalbuminous ; embryo large, oily, straight or rarely bent.

About 50 genera and more than 900 species: almost cosmopolitan , mainly in subtropical to tropical areas; 13 genera and 137 species (82 endemic, one introduced ) in China.

Former classifications usually placed Rhamnaceae in the Rhamnales, together with Vitaceae and Leeaceae (Suessenguth in Engler & Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam., ed. 2, 20d. 1953), or together with Elaeagnaceae (Thorne, Bot. Rev. 58: 225-348. 1992) . Orders such as Celastrales, Urticales, and Euphorbiales have often been considered as closely related groups. Recent analyses of DNA sequences strongly supported including the family in the Rosales, beside the closest relatives Barbeyaceae and Dirachmaceae (see Angiosperm Phylogeny Group II, Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 141: 399-436. 2003) . Suessenguth (loc. cit. ) grouped the family into five tribes , mainly characterized by fruit characters. Richardson et al. (Kew Bull . 55: 311-340. 2000; Amer. J. Bot. 87: 1309-1324. 2000) revised this tribal classification on the basis of a phylogenetic analysis using rbcL and trnL-F sequences of the plastid genome. Now 11 tribes are recognized, of which four are represented in the Flora area.



The bark , leaves, and fruit of several species of Rhamnus have been used as laxatives , notably R. cathartica and R. frangula. Diverse Old World species of Rhamnus provide yellow and green dyes as well as drugs. Timber of Alphitonia, Colubrina, Hovenia, and Ziziphus species is used for construction, fine furniture, carving, lathework, and musical instruments. Many Ziziphus species yield edible fruit; among them, Z. jujuba (Chinese jujube) and Z. mauritiana (Indian jujube) are cultivated on a commercial scale. Hovenia dulcis is also grown for its edible, fleshy inflorescence stalks . Species of Hovenia, Paliurus, and Rhamnus are cultivated as ornamentals .[1]

Genus Rhamnus

Shrubs or small to medium-sized trees , deciduous or rarely evergreen , often spinose . Branches opposite or alternate, unarmed or terminating in a woody spine; winter buds naked (R. subg. Frangula) or with scales (R. subg. Rhamnus). Leaves opposite or alternate, rarely fasciculate on short shoots ; stipules mainly subulate , caducous , rarely persistent ; leaf blade always undivided, pinnately veined, margin serrate or rarely entire. Flowers mostly yellowish green, small, bisexual or unisexual , rarely polygamous, solitary or few fascicled in axillary cymes, cymose racemes , or cymose panicles. Calyx tube campanulate to cup-shaped; sepals 4 or 5, ovate-triangular, adaxially ± distinctly keeled . Petals 4 or 5, rarely absent, shorter than sepals, cucullate to hooded , often enfolding stamens, base shortly clawed, apex often 2-fid. Stamens 4 or 5, surrounded by and equaling petals or shorter; anthers dorsifixed . Disk thin, adnate and lining calyx tube. Ovary superior, globose , free , 2-4-loculed; styles ± deeply 2-4-cleft. Fruit a 2-4-stoned, berrylike drupe, obovoid-globose or globose; stones indehiscent or ventrally dehiscing. Seeds obovoid or oblong-obovoid, unfurrowed or abaxially or laterally with a ± long, narrow to gaping , often distinctly margined furrow; endosperm fleshy .

About 150 species: temperate to tropical regions , mainly in E Asia and North America, a few species in Europe and Africa; 57 species (37 endemic) in China.

The fruit of most species contain yellow dye; the seeds contain rich protein and oils and are used for making lubricating oil, printing ink, and soap. The roots and leaves of a few species are used medicinally.[2]

Taxonomy

Similar Species

Members of the genus Rhamnus

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 40 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

R. alaternus (Evergreen Buckthorn) · R. alaternus 'Argenteovariegata' (Evergreen Buckthorn) · R. alaternus 'John Edwards' (Evergreen Buckthorn) · R. alnifolia (Alder-Leaf Buckthorn) · R. arguta (Buckthorn) · R. arguta var. velutina (Buckthorn) · R. californica californica (California Coffeeberry) · R. californica var. tomentella (Mountain Coffeeberry) · R. cathartica (Carolina Buckthorn) · R. catharticus (Common Buckthorn Common Buckthorn) · R. crenulata (Espinero) · R. crocea (Hollyleaf Buckthorn) · R. crocea ilicifolia (Hollyleaf Redberry) · R. crocea subsp. insula (Redberry Buckthorn) · R. crocea subsp. pilosa (Hollyleaf Buckthorn) · R. davurica (Dahurian Buckthorn) · R. davurica subsp. nipponica (Dahurian Buckthorn) · R. frangula 'Asplenifolia' (Narrow Leaf Buckthorn) · R. frangula 'Columnaris' (Tallhedge Glossy Buckthorn) · R. frangula 'Ron Williams' (Ron Williams Fine Line Rhamnus) · R. glandulosa (Sanguino) · R. globosus (Lokao) · R. iguanaea (Iguana Hackberry) · R. ilicifolia (Hollyleaf Redberry) · R. insula (Redberry Buckthorn) · R. integrifolia (Moralito) · R. japonica (Japanese Buckthorn) · R. lanceolata (Lance-Leaf Buckthorn) · R. lanceolata glabrata (Lanceleaf Buckthorn) · R. lanceolata subsp. glabrata (Lanceleaf Buckthorn) · R. lanceolatus (Lanceleaf Buckthorn) · R. pilosa pilosa (Hollyleaf Buckthorn) · R. pirifolia (Island Redberry) · R. purshianus (Cascara Buckthorn) · R. serrata (Saw-Leaf Buckthorn) · R. smithii (Smith Buckthorn) · R. smithii 'Smith's Buckthorn' (Buckthorn) · R. sphaerosperma (West Indian Buckthorn) · R. utilis (Chinese Buckthorn) · R. velutina (Buckthorn)

More Info

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Further Reading

• Chen Yi-ling and Chou Pan-kai. 1982. Rhamnaceae. In: Chen Yi-ling, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 48(1): i-vi, 1-169.
• Chen Yi-ling and Chou Pan-kai. 1982. Rhamnaceae. In: Chen Yi-ling, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 48(1): i-vi, 1-169.

Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 10, 2012.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal December 01, 2007:

• Israel Nature and Parks Authority, Israel Nature and Parks Authority

Identifiers

• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 16123400
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 2108399

Footnotes

1. Yilin Chen & Carsten Schirarend "Rhamnaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 12 Page 115,355. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
2. "Rhamnus". in Flora of China Vol. 12 Page 115, 139. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.