Rhamnaceae

Rhamnaceae [ram′nās·ē‚ē]

(botany)

A family of dicotyledonous plants in the order Rhamnales characterized by a solitary ovule in each locule, free stamens, simple leaves, and flowers that are hypogynous to perigynous or epigynous.

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Rhamnaceae 

a family of dicotyledonous plants. Members are trees and shrubs (often thorny), sometimes lianas, rarely tiny bushes, and even more rarely herbs. The leaves are simple, entire, mostly with perianths. The flowers are small, bisexual (sometimes unisexual), and five-membered (rarely four-membered). There are approximately 60 genera (more than 900 species) in all parts of the world, but predominantly in the tropics and subtropics; there are five genera in the USSR (24 species).

Some Rhamnaceae yield edible fruits (jujube tree, Japanese raisin tree, Sageretia), contain medicinal substances (buckthorn and rhinethorn), serve as hedges (Christ’s-thorn), or yield fast dyes (some species of Rhamnus) and valuable lumber.

REFERENCE

Grubov, V. I. “Krushinovye—Rhamnaceae R. Br.” In Flora SSSR, vol. 14. Moscow-Leningrad, 1949.