Damnacanthus
(from damnao, to conquer, and acanthos, a spine; in reference to the strong opposite spines). ORD. Rubiaceae. A genus containing two or three species of greenhouse shrubs, with branching habit. They thrive in rich sandy loam and peat. Propagated by cuttings, inserted in sand, under a bell glass, in bottom heat.
D. major (greater). fl. white, sweet-scented, axillary and solitary, or twin; calyx five-cleft; corolla funnel-shaped. fr., drupe red, one to four-seeded. l. small, opposite, coriaceous, sub-sessile, acuminate; stipules interpetiolar, tricuspidate. Spines acicular. Japan, 1868. D. m. submitis (nearly unarmed). fl. white. Spines very small. Japan, 1868.