Rosa looked at the picture and recognised it. she tried to remember what the name was. then she raised her hand. 'is it.. buckthorn, professor?' she asked

Llewellyn raised his hand, "It's the common buckthorn professor." He continued, "Or more appropriately the purging buckthorn. It is a common plant that grows near sources of water, and has a very high toxcicity, which makes it ideal for uses such as causing purging or vomiting when people have ingested poisons..." He looked around the room, sheepishly.

Mithos raised his hand "Is that Rhamnaceae, there are different kids of it..." He said unsure.

Raven smiled and raised her hand. Flipping through the book she finally cam up with an answer. "Rhamnaecea," she hoped she was correct.

Xavier smiles. Although he had worked on them up close, he wasn't quite sure what kind of plant it was. He thought it might a Rhamnacae just like Raven had said, but he wasn't sure.

Erica didn't know what the plant was and tried to draw a sketch of it on her parchment. She waited for the professor to continue.

Professor Virohsa looked proudly surprised. "Good, Good! 3 points to Rosa, 2 points to Llewellyn, and 1 point to Mithos and to Raven.", she nodded. She looked at the drawing on her blackboard, and grinned slightly.

"This plant is often referred by Muggles as Common Buckthorn or Rhamnus cathartica. It does come from the Rhamnus family, so the answer of Rhamnaecea is half right", she smiled.

Continuing, she added, "This plant is toxic as well as beneficial. Can somebody tell me, which parts are generally used and for what reasons?"

Mithos raised his hand and said "The leaves of this plant contains many nutrients and bioactive substances it also has high content of the tocopherol. But this plant damages skin cells. It is believed that high levels of tocopherol minimize skin oxidation, which helps to maintain skin integrity and reduce skin toughening and wrinkling."

Xavier was surprised to hear it was toxic. That must have been why they were instructed to handle them carefully and wear gloves.

He thought upon the question, carefully pondering what may be the usefullness. "Could the seeds be part of it?" he asks the Professor.

Nadia raised her hand, "The berries are the part used medicinally, collected when ripe and from which an acrid, nauseous, bitter juice is obtained by expression. From this juice, with the addition of sugar and aromatics, syrup of Buckthorn (Succus Rhamni) is prepared.



When freshly gathered in the autumn, the berries are about 1/3 inch in diameter, with the remains of a calyx beneath. The fruit is collected for use chiefly in the counties of Herts., Bucks. and Oxon, and is usually expressed in the locality where it is grown, by the collectors themselves, who sell the juice to the wholesale druggists, generally more or less diluted with water, the admixture being generally about 6 parts water to 1 of juice. From the dried berries, a series of rich but fugitive colours is obtained; the berries used to be sold under the name of 'French berries' and imported with those of Rhamnus infectorius from the Levant. If gathered before ripe, the berries furnish a yellow dye, used formerly for staining maps or paper. When ripe, if mixed with gum-arabic and limewater, they form the pigment 'Sap or bladder green,' so well known to water-colour painters. The bark also affords a yellow dye. "

Llewellyn raised his hand, "The fruit of the Buckthorn is highly toxic, and ingestion can cause purging as a laxative, or through vomiting if taken in high enough doses. It was used therefore as a purging agent befor ebetter plants and chemicals were found." He lifted an eyebrow, "Professor, what magical properties does this plant have?"

Raven looked down into a book and noticed a paragraph on it. She raised her hand and stated the words that she had taken in. "Buckthorn is indigenous to Europe, and has been observed in this country as an introduced plant. It flowers from April to July, and matures its fruit about the middle of autumn. The parts used are the berries; they are globular, 3 or 4 lines in diameter, slightly compressed at the apex, black, glossy, and inclose a green pulp in which the seeds are imbedded. The juice becomes gradually red, owing to the development of acetic acid, and may be preserved long unchanged in the form of a syrup." She finished and smiled. She was surprised to know she remember it.

Professor Virohsa nodded and heard the answers. "Dear child, I'm afraid you are talking about a different type of buckthorn. But this type, the one that muggles know as common buckthorn does not have those properties", she explained.

She then turned to Nadia and nodded. "That is correct, dear", she replied. "The berries and their fluid are utilized. And they are used for yellow dye. So, 4 pts to Slytherin", she nodded.

Turning to Llew, she nodded. "That is correct, child". "The berries are highly toxic and have laxative use", she nodded. Then, slightly grinning, she said, "That's what I was waiting to hear boy. Magical Properties", she nodded. "We shall discuss them next.... 3 pts to Hufflepuff", she smiled.

Smiling at Raven, she nodded again. "Very good! Its seeds are important.. See Xavier, she answered your question." Continuing, she added, "and it does create that special syrup.. 3 pts to Ravenclaw. Now, for extra points, why was the latin term Succus Rhamn the name labeled to this syrup?"

Llewellyn smiled at the thought of having won his house points, and went back to writing down notes.

Ravenm raised her hand and smiled. "The parts used are the berries; they are globular, 3 or 4 lines in diameter, slightly compressed at the apex, black, glossy, and inclose a green pulp in which the seeds are imbedded. The juice becomes gradually red, owing to the development of acetic acid, and may be preserved long unchanged in the form of a syrup." She paused and looked around at the room and smiled at the Professor.

Alex raised her hand. 'Is it because the syrup itself can be used for medicinal purposes?'

Mithos raised his hand "Succus means juice in Latin and Rhamn is the Buckthorn."

Professor Virohsa nodded. "Very good!! 3 pts to Ravenclaw."

Professor Virohsa smiled. "Now, what magical properties will this plant, which Muggles call common have? Any guesses?"

"Mmh, maybe it's that because it does have medical properties, both common and magical.

"For one, the medicinal use of the berries was familiar to all the writers on botany and materia medica of the sixteenth century, though Dodoens in his Herbal wrote: 'They be not meat to be administered but to the young and lusty people of the country which do set more store of their money than their lives.' That might be a magical; de-lusting?"

"Then it has purgative properties: The herb bruised and applied to warts will make them consume and waste away in a short time. Indeed, Buckthorn can still be used as an ointment to treat warts. The bruised herb is applied to warts to consume them AND the leaves bruised and applied to a wound will stop the bleeding."

"The botanical name catharticus gives an indication of its laxative or purging properties. Buckthorn is also known as Hart's-horn or the Purging Buckthorn. The ointment also relieves pruritus."

Raven raised her hand. "Remember reading about Buckthorn once. The book said when used in potion most of the time it deals with legal matters, or maybe it could influence them," she said sounding strange at the moment.

Professor Virohsa nodded at the Slytherin. "Very good, girl. That was correct. 6 pts to Slytherin! What is your name, child?", she asked with a small grin.

"I want everyone to put their gloves now. Do NOT touch your plant just yet. I fancy not to carry students to the Hospital Wing", she warned. "If any of you have any other guesses, please say them now before we start working", she continued.

Raven raised her hand quicker and smiled. "It also now that I think about it when used in potions can be added to symbolize protection, exorcism, wishes, and along with that legal matters."

'Buckthorn was well known to the AngloSaxons and is mentioned as Hartsthorn or Waythorn in their medical writings and glossaries dating before the Norman Conquest. The Welsh physicians of the thirteenth century prescribed the juice of the fruit of Buckthorn boiled with honey as an aperient drink.


The medicinal use of the berries was familiar to all the writers on botany and materia medica of the sixteenth century, though Dodoens in his Herbal wrote: 'They be not meat to be administered but to the young and lusty people of the country which do set more store of their money than their lives.'

Until late in the nineteenth century, syrup of Buckthorn ranked, however, among favourite rustic remedies as a purgative for children, prepared by boiling the juice with pimento and ginger and adding sugar, but its action was so severe that, as time went on, the medicine was discarded. It first appeared in the London Pharmacopceia of 1650, where, to disguise the bitter taste of the raw juice, it was aromatized by means of aniseed, cinnamon, mastic and nutmeg. It was still official in the British Pharmacopoeia of 1867, but is no longer so, being regarded as a medicine more fit for animals than human beings, and it is now employed almost exclusively in veterinary practice, being commonly prescribed for dogs, with equal parts of castor oil as an occasional purgative. The flesh of birds eating the berries is stated to be purgative.'

Raven slipped on her gloves and sighed. She didn't have her answer correct but it was worth a guess. Raven heard her say don't not touch the plant as she was about to. She snapped her attenion back towards the lesson and waited for futhur instructions.

Mithos raised his hand "Buckthorn can be used as a protection ingredient..." he said without having a clue of what he was saying.