North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Frangula alnus

Frangula alnus Mill.

european alder-buckthorn, glossy buckthorn

Synonym(s): Rhamnus frangula, Rhamnus frangula ssp. columnaris, Rhamnus frangula var. angustifolia

Frangula alnus (European Alder-Buckthorn)

Image ID: 5850
Image by: Hardin, J.W.
Image Collection: Herbarium Collection

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: FRAL4
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Frangula alnus
Include in WOTAS: 0
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2016-08-19

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: FRANG
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Frangula
GENUS AUTHORITY: Mill.
GENUS COMMON: Buckthorn
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of ca. 50 species, shrunbs and small trees, of the northern hemisphere. The distinctions between Frangula and Rhamnus are many and meaningful; their separation at the generic level seems warranted based on morphological and molecular analyses (Richardson et al. 2000a; Bolmgren & Oxelman 2004).
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES: Nesom in FNA (in prep.); Brizicky (1964a)=Z; Medan & Schirarend in Kubitzki (2004).

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: RHAMNA
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Rhamnaceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: A.L. de Jussieu 1789
FAMILY COMMON: Buckthorn Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of about 50-52 genera and 900-925 species, mostly trees, shrubs, and lianas, cosmopolitan in distribution.
FAMILY REFERENCE: Nesom in FNA (in prep.); Brizicky (1964a)=Z; Richardson et al. (2000a, 2000b); Medan & Schirarend in Kubitzki (2004).

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO:
STEMS:
LEAVES:
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS:
FRUITS:
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT:

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Shrub, Tree

LEAF ARRANGEMENT:
LEAF COMPLEXITY:
LEAF RETENTION:

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY:
BLOOM TIME: May-Jun

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
			x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR:

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable

FRUITING PERIOD: Jul-Sep.

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE:
NATIVE RANGE: Europe & Asia

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text:

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Dry, Average
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE:
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE:
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE:
DEER RESISTANCE:

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: FRAL4
USDA Common Name: Glossy Buckthorn
Native Status: L48 (I), CAN (I)
Distribution: USA (CO, CT, IA, ID, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, NC, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, TN, VT, WI, WV, WY), CAN (MB, NB, NS, ON, PE, QC, SK)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Tree, Shrub

NATIONAL WETLAND INDICATOR STATUS

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	FAC		FAC		FAC	FAC		FACW	FAC	FAC

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2016 National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.3 (Lichvar, R.W., D.L. Banks, W.N. Kirchner, and N.C. Melvin. 2016. The National Wetland Plant List: 2016 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2016-30: 1-17. Published 28 April 2016. ISSN 2153 733X). Regions: AGCP-Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, AK-Alaska, AW-Arid West, CB-Caribbean, EMP-Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, GP-Great Plains, HI-Hawaii, MW-Midwest, NCNE-Northcentral and Northeast, WMCV-Western Mountains, Valleys & Coast

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Frangula alnus
COMMON NAME: European Alder-Buckthorn, Glossy Buckthorn
SYNONYMY: [= FNA, K, Va; = Rhamnus frangula Linnaeus - C, F, G, Mo, Pa]
PHENOLOGY: May-Jun; Jul-Sep.
HABITAT: Forested areas, other disturbed areas; native of Europe.
COMMENTS: This species is a seriously invasive weed in ne. United States, south to (at least) NJ, s. PA (Rhoads & Klein 1993; Rhoads & Block 2007), KY, and se. TN (Marion County) (Chester, Wofford, & Kral 1997, Kral 1981), and w. NC (where recently found in a forested area along the Blue Ridge Parkway).
RANGE MAP: Frangula alnus.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Rhamnaceae A.L. de Jussieu 1789 (Buckthorn Family)
SUMMARY: A family of about 50-52 genera and 900-925 species, mostly trees, shrubs, and lianas, cosmopolitan in distribution.
REFERENCE: Nesom in FNA (in prep.); Brizicky (1964a)=Z; Richardson et al. (2000a, 2000b); Medan & Schirarend in Kubitzki (2004).

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Frangula Mill. (Buckthorn)
SUMMARY: A genus of ca. 50 species, shrunbs and small trees, of the northern hemisphere. The distinctions between Frangula and Rhamnus are many and meaningful; their separation at the generic level seems warranted based on morphological and molecular analyses (Richardson et al. 2000a; Bolmgren & Oxelman 2004).
REFERENCE: Nesom in FNA (in prep.); Brizicky (1964a)=Z; Medan & Schirarend in Kubitzki (2004).

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Frangula alnus in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Frangula alnus in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Frangula alnus in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Frangula alnus in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Frangula alnus in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Frangula alnus

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 5850 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 5850 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 0 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 5850 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)