Rhamnaceae, the Buckthorn family, is a large family of flowering plant

Flowering plant

The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...

s, mostly trees, shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

s and some vines.

The family contains 50-60 genera and approximately 870-900 species. The Rhamnaceae have a worldwide distribution, but are more common in the subtropical and tropical regions. The earliest fossil evidence of Rhamnaceae is from the Eocene

Eocene

The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...

.

The simple leaves

Leaf

A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

 can be either alternate and spiraling, or opposite. Stipules are present. These leaves are modified into spines in many genera, in some (e.g. Paliurus spina-christi

Paliurus spina-christi

Paliurus spina-christi, commonly known as Jerusalem Thorn, Garland Thorn, Christ's Thorn, or Crown of Thorns, is a species of Paliurus native to the Mediterranean region and southwest and central Asia, from Morocco and Spain east to Iran and Tajikistan.It is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing...

and Colletia

Colletia

Colletia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rhamnaceae, with 15 to 17 species of spiny shrubs. All species of this genus are native to southern South America. They are non-legume nitrogen fixers.-Selected species:*Colletia armata...

 cruciata) spectacularly so. Colletia stands out by having two axillary buds instead of one, one developing into a thorn, the other one into a shoot.

The flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...

s are radially symmetrical. There are 5 (sometimes 4) separate sepals and 5 (sometimes 4 or none) separate petals. The petals may be white, yellowish, greenish, pink or blue, and are small and inconspicuous in most genera, though in some (e.g. Ceanothus) the dense clusters of flowers are conspicuous. The 5 or 4 stamen

Stamen

The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...

s are isomerous with the petals (i.e. one stamen opposite each petal). The ovary

Ovary (plants)

In the flowering plants, an ovary is a part of the female reproductive organ of the flower or gynoecium. Specifically, it is the part of the pistil which holds the ovule and is located above or below or at the point of connection with the base of the petals and sepals...

 is superior, with 2 or 3 ovule

Ovule

Ovule means "small egg". In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to and contains the female reproductive cells. It consists of three parts: The integument forming its outer layer, the nucellus , and the megaspore-derived female gametophyte in its center...

s (or one by abortion).

The fruit

Fruit

In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...

s are mostly berries, fleshy drupe

Drupe

In botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovaries...

s or nuts. Some are adapted to wind carriage, but most are dispersed by mammals and birds. Chinese jujube is the fruit of the jujube

Jujube

Ziziphus zizyphus , commonly called jujube , red date, Chinese date, Korean date, or Indian date is a species of Ziziphus in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae, used primarily as a fruiting shade tree.-Distribution:Its precise natural distribution is uncertain due to extensive cultivation,...

 tree (Ziziphus zizyphus) and is a major fruit in China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

.

The American genus Ceanothus

Ceanothus

Ceanothus L. is a genus of about 50–60 species of shrubs or small trees in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae. The genus is confined to North America, the center of its distribution in California, with some species in the eastern United States and southeast Canada, and others extending as far south...

, which has several showy ornamental

Ornamental plant

Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...

 species, has nitrogen-fixing root nodule

Root nodule

Root nodules occur on the roots of plants that associate with symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Under nitrogen-limiting conditions, capable plants form a symbiotic relationship with a host-specific strain of bacteria known as rhizobia...

s.

Economic uses of the Rhamnaceae are chiefly as ornamental plants and as the source of many brilliant green and yellow dye

Dye

A dye is a colored substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied. The dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution, and requires a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fiber....

s. The wood

Wood

Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...

 of Rhamnus

Buckthorn

The Buckthorns are a genus of about 100 species of shrubs or small trees from 1-10 m tall , in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae...

was also the most favoured species to make charcoal

Charcoal

Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...

 for use in gunpowder

Gunpowder

Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...

 before the development of modern propellants.

Genera

Tribe Ampelozizipheae Ampelozizyphus Ampelozizyphus is a genus of plants in the family Rhamnaceae. It includes a single species Ampelozizyphus amazonicus found in Brazil.... Ampelozizyphus Ampelozizyphus Ampelozizyphus is a genus of plants in the family Rhamnaceae. It includes a single species Ampelozizyphus amazonicus found in Brazil.... Ducke Tribe Bathiorhamneae Bathiorhamnus Capuron Tribe Colletieae Adolphia Adolphia Adolphia is a genus of shrubs in the buckthorn family containing only two species. These are rigid, thorny, flowering bushes. Adolphia californica, the California prickbush or California spineshrub, is native to southern California and northern Mexico. Adolphia infesta, the junco, is found in... Meisn. Colletia Colletia Colletia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rhamnaceae, with 15 to 17 species of spiny shrubs. All species of this genus are native to southern South America. They are non-legume nitrogen fixers.-Selected species:*Colletia armata... Comm. ex Juss. Discaria Discaria Discaria is a genus of about 12 species of flowering plants in the family Rhamnaceae, native to temperate regions of the Southern Hemisphere, in Australia, New Zealand and South America.... Hook. Kentrothamnus Suess. & Overkott Ochetophila Poepp. ex Reissek Retanilla (DC.) Brongn. Trevoa Trevoa Trevoa is a genus of actinorhizal plants; these dicotyledon flora are trees or small shrubs. The genus was first proposed by Miers in 1825, but was not fully described until 1830 by Sir William Jackson Hooker. Genus members are notable for their ability to fix nitrogen. Species of this genus are... Miers ex Hook. Tribe Doerpfeldieae Doerpfeldia Urb. Tribe Gouanieae Alvimiantha Grey-Wilson Crumenaria Mart. Gouania Gouania Gouania is a genus of flowering plants in the buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae. The 50 to 70 species it contains are native to tropical and subtropical regions of the world, including Africa, Madagascar, the Indian Ocean islands, southern Asia, the Americas and Hawaii. They are shrubs or lianas... Jacq. Helinus E.Mey. ex Endl. Johnstonalia Tortosa (originally named Johnstonia; by some treated as Gouania Gouania Gouania is a genus of flowering plants in the buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae. The 50 to 70 species it contains are native to tropical and subtropical regions of the world, including Africa, Madagascar, the Indian Ocean islands, southern Asia, the Americas and Hawaii. They are shrubs or lianas... ) Pleuranthodes Weberb. Reissekia Endl.

Tribe Maesopsideae Maesopsis Engl. Tribe Paliurieae Hovenia Hovenia Hovenia is a small genus of deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rhamnaceae. They occur naturally from India to Japan. The Japanese Raisin Tree is the most well-known of the group, as it is often planted in gardens outside Asia.-Selected species:... Thunb. Paliurus Paliurus Paliurus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rhamnaceae. The eight species are native to warm, dry regions of Eurasia and North Africa from Morocco and Spain east to Japan and Taiwan.-Description:... Mill. Ziziphus Ziziphus Ziziphus is a genus of about 40 species of spiny shrubs and small trees in the buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae, distributed in the warm-temperate and subtropical regions throughout the world. The leaves are alternate, entire, with three prominent basal veins, and long; some species are deciduous,... Mill. Tribe Phyliceae Nesiota† Hook.f. Noltea Noltea Noltea is a monotypic genus of flowering plants. The single species, Noltea africana , is a small, bushy tree of about 4 meters that is endemic to the southern Cape of South Africa, where it grows beside rivers and in pockets of afro-montane forest... Rchb. Phylica Phylica Phylica is a genus of plants in the family Rhamnaceae. It contains about 150 species, the majority of which are restricted to South Africa, where they form part of the ... L. Trichocephalus Brogn. Tribe Pomaderreae Blackallia C.A.Gardner Cryptandra Cryptandra Cryptandra is a genus of shrub in the plant family Rhamnaceae.-List of species:* C. alpina* C. amara** C. a var. amara** C. a var... Sm. Papistylus Kellermann, Rye & K.R.Thiele Polianthon K.R.Thiele Pomaderris Pomaderris Pomaderris is a genus of 70 species of shrub to small tree in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae. 65 of the species are native to Australia and the other five are from New Zealand. There is some overlap.... Labill. Serichonus K.R.Thiele Siegfriedia C.A.Gardner Spyridium Spyridium Spyridium is a genus of plants in the family Rhamnaceae. It includes about 30 species found in southern Australia.Species include:*Spyridium bifidum Benth.*Spyridium burragorang K.R.Thiele*Spyridium buxifolium K.R.Thiele... Fenzl Stenanthemum Reissek Trymalium Trymalium Trymalium is a genus of shrubs or trees in the family Rhamnaceae. The genus is endemic to Australia.Species include:*Trymalium albicans Reisseck, endemic to Western Australia*Trymalium angustifolium Reisseck, endemic to Western Australia... Fenzl

Tribe Rhamneae Auerodendron Auerodendron Auerodendron is a genus of plant in family Rhamnaceae.Species include:* Auerodendron acuminatum Urb.* Auerodendron acunae Borhidi & O.Muñiz* Auerodendron cubense Urb.* Auerodendron glaucescens Urb.... Urb. Berchemia Berchemia Berchemia is a genus of plants in the family Rhamnaceae, named after Dutch botanist Berthout van Berchem. They are climbing plants or small to medium-sized trees that occur in Africa, Asia and the Americas.-Selected species:... Neck. ex DC. Berchemiella Berchemiella Berchemiella is a genus of plants in the family Rhamnaceae. It includes two species, one found in China and another in Japan.... Nakai Condalia Condalia Condalia is a genus of spiny shrubs in the tribe Rhamneae of the buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae. It was named for Antonio Condal, an 18th Spanish physician. Members of the genus are native to tropical and subtropical deserts and xeric shrublands in North and South America... Cav. Frangula Buckthorn The Buckthorns are a genus of about 100 species of shrubs or small trees from 1-10 m tall , in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae... Mill. Karwinskia Karwinskia Karwinskia is a genus of flowering plants in the buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae.-Species:* Karwinskia calderonii Standl.* Karwinskia humboldtiana Zucc.* Karwinskia johnstonii R.Fernandez* Karwinskia latifolia Standl.... Zucc. Krugiodendron Urb. Reynosia Reynosia Reynosia is a genus of plant in family Rhamnaceae.Species include:* Reynosia jamaicensis, M.C. Johnston... Griseb. Rhamnella Rhamnella Rhamnella is a genus of plant in the family Rhamnaceae.Species include:* Rhamnella gilgitica, Mansf. & Melchoir... Miq. Rhamnidium Rhamnidium Rhamnidium is a genus of plant in family Rhamnaceae.Species include:* Rhamnidium caloneurum, Standl.* Rhamnidium dictyophyllum, Urb.... Reissek Rhamnus Buckthorn The Buckthorns are a genus of about 100 species of shrubs or small trees from 1-10 m tall , in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae... L. Sageretia Sageretia Sageretia is a genus of about 35 species of shrubs and small trees in the family Rhamnaceae, native to southern and eastern Asia and northeast Africa. They have small green leaves 1.5–4 cm long, and a leathery multicoloured trunk... Brongn. Scutia (Comm. ex DC.) Brongn. Tribe Ventilagineae Smythea Smythea Smythea is a genus of plants in the family Rhamnaceae. It includes seven species found in southeast Asia and Polynesia.... Seem. Ventilago Ventilago Ventilago is a genus of plants in the family Rhamnaceae. It includes about 35 species found in the tropics of Australasia, with one species each in Africa and Madagascar.... Gaertn.

Incertae sedis Alphitonia Alphitonia Alphitonia is an arborescent genus of flowering plants with about 20 species, belonging to the buckthorn family of the rosid eudicots. It occurs in tropical regions of Southeast Asia, Oceania and Polynesia. These are large trees or shrubs. In Australia, these plants are often called "ash trees" or... Endl. Stephan Ladislaus Endlicher Stephan Ladislaus Endlicher was an Austrian botanist, numismatist and Sinologist. He was a director of the Botanical Garden of Vienna. He was born in Pressburg and died in Vienna.... (close to Colubrina Colubrina Colubrina is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa, the Americas, southern Asia, northern Australia, and the Indian Ocean islands. Common names include nakedwood, snakewood, greenheart and hogplum... ) Araracuara Fern.Alonso Ceanothus Ceanothus Ceanothus L. is a genus of about 50–60 species of shrubs or small trees in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae. The genus is confined to North America, the center of its distribution in California, with some species in the eastern United States and southeast Canada, and others extending as far south... L. (close to Pomaderreae) Chaydaia Pit. (by some treated as Rhamnella Rhamnella Rhamnella is a genus of plant in the family Rhamnaceae.Species include:* Rhamnella gilgitica, Mansf. & Melchoir... ) Colubrina Colubrina Colubrina is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa, the Americas, southern Asia, northern Australia, and the Indian Ocean islands. Common names include nakedwood, snakewood, greenheart and hogplum... Rich. ex Brongn. Emmenosperma Emmenosperma Emmenosperma is a small genus of mostly tropical trees in the Buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae.The name comes from the Greek "emmeno" meaning and "sperma", . It refers to the seeds remaining after the fruit valves have fallen away.... F.Muell. (close to Colubrina Colubrina Colubrina is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa, the Americas, southern Asia, northern Australia, and the Indian Ocean islands. Common names include nakedwood, snakewood, greenheart and hogplum... ) Granitites Granitites Granitites intangendus is a species of flowering plant endemic to Western Australia. It is found on granite outcrops in semi-arid regions of the midwest and south.... Rye (close to either Alphitonia Alphitonia Alphitonia is an arborescent genus of flowering plants with about 20 species, belonging to the buckthorn family of the rosid eudicots. It occurs in tropical regions of Southeast Asia, Oceania and Polynesia. These are large trees or shrubs. In Australia, these plants are often called "ash trees" or... or Pomaderris Pomaderris Pomaderris is a genus of 70 species of shrub to small tree in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae. 65 of the species are native to Australia and the other five are from New Zealand. There is some overlap.... ) Hybosperma Urb. (by some treated as Colubrina Colubrina Colubrina is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa, the Americas, southern Asia, northern Australia, and the Indian Ocean islands. Common names include nakedwood, snakewood, greenheart and hogplum... ) Lasiodiscus Lasiodiscus Lasiodiscus is a small plant genus in the family Rhamnaceae, endemic to Africa and its adjacent islands. The small trees have opposite, often asymmetric leaves. They regularly occur in the understorey of tropical forests, or alternatively in swamp forest. One species is limited to mountain forest... Hook.f. Schistocarpaea F.Muell. (maybe belonging to Colletieae) Talguenea Miers ex Endl. (by some treated as Trevoa Trevoa Trevoa is a genus of actinorhizal plants; these dicotyledon flora are trees or small shrubs. The genus was first proposed by Miers in 1825, but was not fully described until 1830 by Sir William Jackson Hooker. Genus members are notable for their ability to fix nitrogen. Species of this genus are... )

External links

• Rhamnaceae of Mongolia in FloraGREIF