Rhamnus cathartica - Common Buckthorn Tree Facts & Pictures

Common Buckthorn Fact Sheet

Family:  Rhamnaceae - Buckthorn Family
Latin name:  Rhamnus cathartica
Common name:  Common buckthorn

The photos on this page are scans from a very small plant growing at the base of the large Catalpa at P21.

Reference:

ID Tips:

Leaves:
- Egg-shaped, pointed at the tip
- 3-5 pair of curved leaf veins
- margins finely-toothed
- stay green late into fall
Twigs
- may have stout sharp thorn at the end
- leaves are alternate to sub-opposite, varies along the twig
Buds
- small, imbricate, appressed
- using a hand lens, I observed two thin structures (like tiny thin leaves) beside each bud (terminal and lateral). These can be seen in the Gallery Page photos.

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