Deeproot Plant Base Online - Rhamnus frangula

Plant Base Online (beta)

botanical name:
Rhamnus frangula

common name: Alder Buckthorn, Alder Dogwood
synonyms: Frangula alnus
family: Rhamnaceae

characteristics: shrub
height: 4.00m width: 2.40m
growth rate: medium
growth habit: bushy
leaf colour: green
flower colour: white
fruit colour: black
stem/bark colour: dark grey
main period of interest: Autumn

medicinal

growing conditions: full sun, part shade, moist soil, wet/waterlogged soil
prefered soil pH: neutral-acid
minimum temperature: -35°C
USDA zone: 3 to 8

description:
Large, bushy, deciduous shrub or small tree with ascending branches and oval, glossy green leaves that turn red in autumn. Despite the name, the branches are not thorny. Very small greenish white flowers, followed by fleshy fruits, red at first ripening to black in autumn.

cultivation:
Most moist to damp soils in sun or part shade. Thrives in peaty, boggy conditions but not in very chalky soils.

propagation:
From seed, heeled cuttings or layering.

usage:
Can be used for hedging.
The fruits are good food source for birds.
The bark has been used as a traditional medicinal herb, usually for the treatment of constipation, gall bladder and liver problems and piles.

other notes:
Widely distributed in Europe and northern Asia. Native to Britain, found in England and Wales and rarely Ireland.