Frangula rubra

Frangula rubra
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Embryophytes
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Rhamnaceae
Genus:	Frangula
Species:	F. rubra
Binomial name
	Frangula rubra; (Greene) Grubov
Synonyms
	Rhamnus rubra Greene

Frangula rubra (syn. Rhamnus rubra) is a species of flowering plant in the buckthorn family known by the common names red buckthorn and Sierra coffeeberry.

Description

Frangula rubra is a spreading shrub approaching 2 metres (6+1⁄2 ft) in maximum height, its bark red or gray.^[1] The thin, deciduous leaves are generally oval in shape, green to grayish in color, and up to 6 centimetres (2+1⁄2 in) long.^[1] The edges are smooth or faintly toothed. The inflorescence is an umbel of up to 15 flowers with five pointed sepals opening into a starlike shape and five smaller, greenish petals.^[1] The fruit is a drupe which ripens to black. It measures just over 1 cm long and contains 2 seeds.

Foliage
Berry and seeds

Distribution and habitat

It is native to the mountains and plateau areas of northern and eastern California and western Nevada, including the Sierra Nevada and Klamath Mountains, where it grows in many habitat types, including forests, chaparral, and sagebrush.^[1]

Adverse effects

The berry is inedible and may have a laxative effect.^[1]

References

1 2 3 4 5 Turner, Mark; Kuhlmann, Ellen (2014). Trees & Shrubs of the Pacific Northwest (1st ed.). Portland, OR: Timber Press. p. 233. ISBN 978-1-60469-263-1.

External links

[tktimb-1] 1 2 3 4 5 Turner, Mark; Kuhlmann, Ellen (2014). Trees & Shrubs of the Pacific Northwest (1st ed.). Portland, OR: Timber Press. p. 233. ISBN 978-1-60469-263-1.

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