Identification
Common Buckthorn
Rhamnus cathartica L.
Rhamnaceae (the Buckthorn Family)
General appearance: A shrub or small tree, to 6 m (20 ft) tall.
Leaves: Broadly oval, hairless, 3-6 cm (1.2-2.4 in) long and about half as wide, with 2-4 pairs of upcurved veins on each side. Margins with evenly-spaced small teeth. Leaves opposite to subopposite to occasionally alternate on the twigs.
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Stems: Twigs with grey brown bark, scaly buds, and often tipped with a short thorn. Trunks gray with conspicuous white to silvery lenticels. Sapwood pink; heartwood yellow to orange (Hoffman and Kearns 1997).
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Flowers: Small, inconspicuous, and yellow-green, in clusters of 2-6, from the bases of some of the leaf stalks. Male and female flowers are found on separate plants. Flowers from mid-May through June.
Fruit: Clusters of berry-like, deep purple to blackish drupes, each typically containing 4 seeds. Fruits have strong laxative properties.
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Habitat: Tolerant of a broad range of soil, moisture, and light conditions. Fencerows, fields, barrens and prairies, as well as riverbanks, woods edges and interior woods. Shade-tolerant.
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Sources: Voss (1985) and Gleason and Cronquist (1991), except as noted.
Updated January 2006.
Visitor since March 17, 2006