Rhamnus cathartica seed
LATIN NAME: Rhamnus cathartica
COMMON NAME: European Buckthorn, Common Buckthorn, Purging Buckthorn
The common buckthorn is a tough, unassuming tree of the European hedgerow, and it has a long history of usefulness. It grows as a small tree or large shrub, reaching up to six metres, with a rounded crown of glossy, oval, finely toothed leaves and, in spring, clusters of small, greenish flowers, followed by masses of small, round berries that ripen from green to black. It is a hardy, adaptable tree of the wayside, and its bark and berries have been used for centuries in traditional medicine and as a source of dye, while its wood is fine-grained and hard.
The common buckthorn belongs to the buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae, and it is native to Europe, northwest Africa and western Asia. It has been introduced to North America and other regions, where it grows in hedgerows, woodlands and disturbed ground. Its fruits and bark have a long association with the old countryside, the berries once being gathered for their dye and the bark for traditional remedies, and even the name buckthorn points to its old uses, a tree of the hedgerow with a place in the old ways of medicine and craft.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The common buckthorn has a genuine and growing place in both traditional and ecological research. The bark and berries have a long history of use in traditional European medicine, and the berries have been used as a source of dye, so the plant has been studied in ethnobotany and in research on traditional remedies and natural dyes. The species has also been studied extensively in ecology, because in North America, where it has been introduced, it has become invasive, spreading through woodlands and crowding out native plants, and researchers have examined its spread, its effects on the forest and its management, making it one of the most studied invasive shrubs in the region. For a tree of such divided reputation, the common buckthorn has a steady and fascinating record of research.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
Ecologically, the common buckthorn is a generous tree of the European hedgerow. Its spring flowers feed bees and other insects, its black berries feed birds, and its dense, hardy growth gives shelter and nesting sites, while in its native range it is a familiar and useful member of the countryside.
Its economic value is historic and real. The berries have long been used as a source of green and yellow dye, the bark and berries have a history of use in traditional medicine, and the fine-grained, hard wood is used for small work such as turning and inlay. For a grower, the common buckthorn is a tough and useful tree, and for a gardener it brings glossy foliage, clusters of berries and a place in the old ways of the countryside. The seeds need a little patience — give them a spell of cold in the fridge in damp compost, then sow them in a pot of moist compost, keep them lightly watered, and they’ll sprout steadily over a few weeks, growing on into a tough little tree that will serve you for years.
Purging Blackthorn – Rhamnus cathartica –
Purging buckthorn has spiny branches. It has a grey-brown bark. Named after the laxative effects its berries induce when eaten, purging buckthorn is a small, spiny tree native to England and Wales and throughout Europe.
They have been grown outside and are fully hardy.
Because they have been grown outside they may have some leaf discolouration and leaf loss due to the time of year.