Common Buckthorn - Rhamnus cathartica
Family: Rhamnaceae
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Status: Invasive
Location info:
R. cathartica is also called common or European buckthorn. It was known as a healing herb hundreds of years ago in Anglo-Saxon England, where it was called waythorn, highwaythorn, hartshorn, or ramsthorn. It is also sometimes called purging buckthorn because of its laxative properties. The berries of European buckthorn can be used in healing. The ripe berries of this species are black and the size of a pea.
Info:
Buckthorns may be confused with Dogwoods, which share the curved leaf venation; indeed, "dogwood" is a local name for R. prinoides in southern Africa, a plant used to make Ethiopian mead and known as "gesho" in Ethiopia. The two plants are easy to distinguish by slowly pulling a leaf apart; in dogwood thin white latex strings can be seen, strings not present in buckthorn.
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For more information on this plant or management please contact US Army Corp of Engineers
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