buckthorn family

American

noun

the plant family Rhamnaceae, characterized by shrubs and trees having alternate, simple leaves, clusters of small flowers, and fruit in the form of a drupe or capsule, and including the buckthorn, cascara, and New Jersey tea.

Example Sentences

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Gouania domingensis.—A plant of the buckthorn family, known in Jamaica as Chaw-Stick, on account of its thin branches being chewed as an agreeable stomachic.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023