Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Rosales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Rhamnus cathartica
FAMILY
Rhamnaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Read more about Common Buckthorn at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Rhamnus cathartica
FAMILY
Rhamnaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Rhamnus cathartica
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 12 (2016)
Rhamnus cathartica
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Rhamnus cathartica
COMMON NAME:
Common Buckthorn, European Buckthorn
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_rhca3_001_lvd
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / US Forest Service pnd_rhca3_004_lhd
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Rhamnus cathartica
FAMILY
Rhamnaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Rhamnus cathartica
FAMILY
Rhamnaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Rhamnus cathartica
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 12
Rhamnus cathartica
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Rhamnus cathartica
3824
Shrub; Tree
Perennial
Dioecious
Habitat: Disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: Eurasia
Rare
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
This plant may be causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Armed with spinose spur shoots
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Leaves usually opposite to subopposite, sometimes alternate or on short shoots
Petioles 1-2.7cm long
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Yellowish-green
4-merous
4 petals in staminate flowers (petals absent in pistillate flowers)
Unisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Black
Drupe
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007) p173
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p284
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".