What is "rhamnus"

Rhamnus \Rham"nus\, n. [NL., from Gr. "ra`mnos a kind of prickly shrub; cf. L. rhamnos.] (Bot.) A genus of shrubs and small trees; buckthorn. The California Rhamnus Purshianus and the European Rhamnus catharticus are used in medicine. The latter is used for hedges.

Buckthorn \Buck"thorn`\, n. (Bot.) A genus ( Rhamnus) of shrubs or trees. The shorter branches of some species terminate in long spines or thorns. See Rhamnus.

Sea buckthorn, a plant of the genus Hippopha["e].

n. (context botany English) Any of the plants in the genus ''Rhamnus''; a buckthorn.

Rhamnus is a genus of about 110 accepted species of shrubs or small trees, commonly known as buckthorns in the family Rhamnaceae. Its species range from 1 to 10 meters tall (rarely to 15 m) and are native mainly in east Asia and North America, but found throughout the temperate and subtropical Northern Hemisphere, and also more locally in the subtropical Southern Hemisphere in parts of Africa and South America.

Both deciduous and evergreen species occur. The leaves are simple, 3 to 15 centimeters long, and arranged alternately or in opposite pairs, or almost paired (subopposite). One distinctive character of many buckthorns is the way the veination curves upward towards the tip of the leaf. The plant bears fruits which are black or red berry-like drupe. The name is due to the woody spine on the end of each twig in many species.

Rhamnus may refer to:

• Rhamnus (city), or Rhamnous, an ancient Greek city in Attica
• Rhamnus (genus) or buckthorns, a plant genus
• 9316 Rhamnus, a main-belt asteroid discovered in 1988
• Mount Rhamnus, a mountain in Antarctica