Rhamnus frangula seed
LATIN NAME: RHAMNUS FRANGULA
COMMON NAME: Alder Buckthorn, Glossy Buckthorn, Breaking Buckthorn
The alder buckthorn is a handsome and useful shrub of the European woodland, and it has served people for centuries. It grows as a tall, deciduous shrub or small tree, reaching five or six metres, with a neat, rounded crown of glossy, oval, dark green leaves and, in spring, small clusters of greenish flowers, followed by berries that ripen from red to black. Unlike many of the buckthorns, it has no thorns. Its wood is famously hard and fine-grained, once used for the best charcoal, and the bark of the young stems has a long history of medicinal use, carefully aged before it is used, since fresh bark is violently purgative and even the dried bark can be dangerous if taken in excess. It belongs to the buckthorn family and is native to Europe, northernmost Africa and western Asia, from Ireland and Britain north into Scandinavia and east to Siberia and western China, growing in moist woodland, hedgerows and along streams.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The alder buckthorn has a genuine and interesting record in both medicinal and ecological research. The bark has been used in traditional medicine for centuries, and modern researchers have studied its chemistry, identifying the compounds responsible for its traditional laxative use, including the anthraquinones that make up some three to seven percent of the bark, and the bark is still used in pharmaceutical preparations, carefully processed, while it is dried and stored for a year before use. The shrub has also been studied in ecology, since it is a characteristic plant of the European woodland and wetland margins, and it is the food plant of the brimstone butterfly, making it of real value in studies of butterflies and their habitats, while the wood, famously hard and fine-grained, was once the best source of charcoal for gunpowder, studied in the history of forestry and technology. For a shrub of such long use and such ecological importance, the alder buckthorn has a rich and interesting record of research.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
To grow the Alder Buckthorn from seed, ecologically, the alder buckthorn is a valuable shrub of the woodland. Its flowers feed bees and other insects, its berries feed birds, and it is the important food plant of the brimstone butterfly, while its dense, glossy growth gives shelter for wildlife, and it is a characteristic plant of the woodland and wetland margins of Europe. Its economic value is real and historic: the bark is used in traditional medicine and in pharmaceutical preparations, carefully processed, and the hard, fine-grained wood was once the best source of charcoal, while the shrub is also grown as an ornamental for its glossy foliage and autumn colour, and it is a shrub whose bark is best respected, never used fresh. To set the alder buckthorn going, clean the seeds from the autumn berries, chill them in damp compost through the winter months, then sow them in pots of free-draining compost in spring.
clean the seeds from the autumn berries, chill them in damp compost through the winter months, then sow the young buckthorns in pots of free-draining compost in spring.
LATIN NAME: Rhamnus frangula
COMMON NAME: Alder Buckthorn, Glossy Buckthorn, Breaking Buckthorn
The alder buckthorn is a handsome and useful shrub of the European woodland, and it has served people for centuries. It grows as a tall, deciduous shrub or small tree, reaching five or six metres, with a neat, rounded crown of glossy, oval, dark green leaves and, in spring, small clusters of greenish flowers, followed by berries that ripen from red to black. Unlike many of the buckthorns, it has no thorns. Its wood is famously hard and fine-grained, once used for the best charcoal, and the bark of the young stems has a long history of medicinal use, carefully aged before it is used.
The alder buckthorn belongs to the buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae, and it is native to Europe, northernmost Africa and western Asia, from Ireland and Britain north into Scandinavia and east to Siberia and western China. It grows in moist woodland, hedgerows and along streams.
Positive & Encouraging Seed Germination Guide
Growing an alder buckthorn from seed is easy and very rewarding. The berries ripen in autumn, and the seeds germinate best after a period of cold, moist conditions, so clean the seed and sow it in pots of free-draining compost in autumn, then leave them outdoors through winter, or chill them in the fridge for two to three months first. Germination usually begins in spring. Pot the seedlings on as they grow and plant them out in a sunny or partly shaded spot in moist, reasonably good soil. The young shrubs are tough and hardy, and in time they will grow into a fine, glossy shrub.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The alder buckthorn has a genuine and interesting record in both medicinal and ecological research. The bark has been used in traditional medicine for centuries, and modern researchers have studied its chemistry, identifying the compounds responsible for its traditional laxative use, and the bark is still used in pharmaceutical preparations, carefully processed. The shrub has also been studied in ecology, since it is a characteristic plant of the European woodland and wetland margins, and it is the food plant of the brimstone butterfly, making it of real value in studies of butterflies and their habitats. The wood, famously hard and fine-grained, was once the best source of charcoal for gunpowder, and it has been studied in the history of forestry and technology. For a shrub of such long use and such ecological importance, the alder buckthorn has a rich and interesting record of research.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
Ecologically, the alder buckthorn is a valuable shrub of the woodland. Its flowers feed bees and other insects, its berries feed birds, and it is the important food plant of the brimstone butterfly, while its dense, glossy growth gives shelter for wildlife.
Its economic value is real and historic. The bark is used in traditional medicine and in pharmaceutical preparations, carefully processed, and the hard, fine-grained wood was once the best source of charcoal, while the shrub is also grown as an ornamental for its glossy foliage and autumn colour. For a grower, the alder buckthorn is a useful and handsome shrub, and for a gardener it brings glossy beauty and a shrub that helps the butterflies.
The bark (and to a lesser extent the fruit) has been used as a laxative, due to its 3 – 7% anthraquinone content. Bark for medicinal use is dried and stored for a year before use, as fresh bark is violently purgative; even dried bark can be dangerous if taken in excess.