What is "rhamnus catharticus"

French \French\ (fr[e^]nch), prop. a. [AS. frencisc, LL. franciscus, from L. Francus a Frank: cf. OF. franceis, franchois, fran[,c]ois, F. fran[,c]ais. See Frank, a., and cf. Frankish.] Of or pertaining to France or its inhabitants. French bean (Bot.), the common kidney bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris). French berry (Bot.), the berry of a species of buckthorn ( Rhamnus catharticus), which affords a saffron, green or purple pigment. French casement (Arch.) See French window, under Window. French chalk (Min.), a variety of granular talc; -- used for drawing lines on cloth, etc. See under Chalk. French cowslip (Bot.) The Primula Auricula. See Bear's-ear. French fake (Naut.), a mode of coiling a rope by running it backward and forward in parallel bends, so that it may run freely. French honeysuckle (Bot.) a plant of the genus Hedysarum ( H. coronarium); -- called also garland honeysuckle. French horn, a metallic wind instrument, consisting of a long tube twisted into circular folds and gradually expanding from the mouthpiece to the end at which the sound issues; -- called in France cor de chasse. French leave, an informal, hasty, or secret departure; esp., the leaving a place without paying one's debts. French pie [French (here used in sense of ``foreign'') + pie a magpie (in allusion to its black and white color)] (Zo["o]l.), the European great spotted woodpecker ( Dryobstes major); -- called also wood pie. French polish.

1. A preparation for the surface of woodwork, consisting of gums dissolved in alcohol, either shellac alone, or shellac with other gums added.

2. The glossy surface produced by the application of the above.

   French purple, a dyestuff obtained from lichens and used for coloring woolen and silken fabrics, without the aid of mordants.
   --Ure.

   French red rouge.

   French rice, amelcorn.

   French roof (Arch.), a modified form of mansard roof having a nearly flat deck for the upper slope.

   French tub, a dyer's mixture of protochloride of tin and logwood; -- called also plum tub.
   --Ure.

   French window. See under Window.

Sap \Sap\, n. [AS. s[ae]p; akin to OHG. saf, G. saft, Icel. safi; of uncertain origin; possibly akin to L. sapere to taste, to be wise, sapa must or new wine boiled thick. Cf. Sapid, Sapient.]

1. The juice of plants of any kind, especially the ascending and descending juices or circulating fluid essential to nutrition.

   Note: The ascending is the crude sap, the assimilation of which takes place in the leaves, when it becomes the elaborated sap suited to the growth of the plant.

2. The sapwood, or alburnum, of a tree.

3. A simpleton; a saphead; a milksop. [Slang]

   Sap ball (Bot.), any large fungus of the genus Polyporus. See Polyporus.

   Sap green, a dull light green pigment prepared from the juice of the ripe berries of the Rhamnus catharticus, or buckthorn. It is used especially by water-color artists.

   Sap rot, the dry rot. See under Dry.

   Sap sucker (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of small American woodpeckers of the genus Sphyrapicus, especially the yellow-bellied woodpecker ( S. varius) of the Eastern United States. They are so named because they puncture the bark of trees and feed upon the sap. The name is loosely applied to other woodpeckers.

   Sap tube (Bot.), a vessel that conveys sap.

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.