Rhamnus (plant)

Rhamnus is a genus of about 110 accepted species of shrubs or small trees, commonly
known as buckthorns, in the family Rhamnaceae. Its species range from 1 to 10 m (3 to 33 ft)
tall (rarely to 15 m, 50 ft) and are native mainly in east Asia and North America, but found
throughout the temperate and subtropical Northern Hemisphere, and also more locally in the
subtropical Southern Hemisphere in parts of Africa and South America. One species, the
common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica), is able to flourish as an invasive plant in parts of
Canada and the U.S., where it has become naturalized.[1]
 Rhamnus

Rhamnus cathartica

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Plantae

Clade: Tracheophytes

Clade: Angiosperms

Clade: Eudicots

Clade: Rosids

Order: Rosales

Family: Rhamnaceae

Tribe: Rhamneae

Genus: Rhamnus
L.

Species

See text
Rhamnus pumila, dwarf buckthorn

Both deciduous and evergreen species occur. The leaves are simple, 3 to 15 cm (1 to 6 in)
long, and arranged alternately, in opposite pairs, or almost paired (subopposite). One
distinctive character of many buckthorns is the way the veination curves upward towards the
tip of the leaf. The plant bears fruits which are black or red berry-like drupes. The name is due
to the woody spine on the end of each twig in many species. One species is known to have
potential to be used medicinally.[2]

Description

Rhamnus species are shrubs or small to medium-sized trees,[3] with deciduous or rarely
evergreen foliage. Branches are unarmed or end in a woody spine. The leaf blades are
undivided and pinnately veined. Leaf margins are serrate or rarely entire. Rhamnus species
are generally dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants.[4] Most species
have yellowish green, small, unisexual or rarely polygamous flowers; which are produced
singly or in axillary cymes, cymose racemes, or cymose panicles containing a few flowers.
Calyx tube campanulate to cup-shaped, with 4 or 5 ovate-triangular sepals, which are
adaxially ± distinctly keeled. Petals 4 or 5 but a few species may lack petals. The petals are
shorter than the sepals. Flowers have 4 or 5 stamens which are surrounded by and equal in
length the petals or are shorter. The anthers are dorsifixed. The superior ovary is free,
rounded, with 2-4 chambers. Fruits are a 2-4 stoned, berrylike drupe, which is obovoid-
globose or globose shaped. Seeds are obovoid or oblong-obovoid shaped, unfurrowed or
abaxially or laterally margined with a long, narrow, furrow. The seeds have fleshy
endosperm.[5]

Distribution

Rhamnus has a nearly cosmopolitan distribution,[6] with about 150 species which are native
from temperate to tropical regions, the majority of species are from east Asia and North
America, with a few species in Europe and Africa.[5]

North American species include alder-leaf buckthorn (R. alnifolia) occurring across the
continent, Carolina buckthorn (R. (F.) caroliniana) in the east, cascara buckthorn (R. (F.)
purshiana) in the west, and the evergreen California buckthorn or coffeeberry (R. (F.)
californica) and hollyleaf buckthorn (R. crocea), also in the west. Though not native to this
region, the Rhamnus cathartica can be found in North America.[7]

In South America, Rhamnus diffusus is a small shrub native to the Valdivian temperate rain
forests of Chile.

Buckthorns may be confused with dogwoods, which share the curved leaf venation; indeed,
"dogwood" is a local name for R. prinoides in southern Africa. The two plants are easy to
distinguish by slowly pulling a leaf apart; dogwoods will exude thin, white latex strings, while
buckthorns will not.

Invasive species

Common buckthorn and glossy buckthorn are considered invasive species in the United
States[8] and by many local jurisdictions and state governments, including Minnesota[9] and
Wisconsin.[10]

The Common Buckthorn is well-adapted to spreading in Canada and the U.S..[1] It is an

efficient grower that does not need much sunlight and or fertile soil.[1] Its seeds are hardy, as
well as being able to grow and spread easily in a variety of environmental conditions.[1] Also
other animals prefer to leave buckthorns alone because their leaves are not appetizing and
their fruits are toxic to some animals.[1] Overall they are known to have a negative effect on
their surrounding environment.[1] For example, the European buckthorn is blamed for
increased frog egg mortality from a chemical it releases.[11] Other species, such as the
Rhamnus alaternus also make chemicals that prevent other animals from consuming them.[2]

Classification
 

19th century illustration of Rhamnus frangula

The genus has been divided into two subgenera, which are increasingly treated as separate
genera:

Subgenus Rhamnus: flowers with four petals, buds with bud scales, leaves opposite or
alternate, branches with spines. Species include:[12]
Rhamnus alaternus – Italian buckthorn

Rhamnus alnifolia – alderleaf buckthorn, alder-leaved buckthorn

Rhamnus arguta – sharp-tooth buckthorn

Rhamnus bourgaeana (unresolved species)[13] – endemic to Mallorca

Rhamnus cathartica – common buckthorn,[14] purging buckthorn (orth. var. R.

catharticus)

Rhamnus crenulata

Rhamnus crocea – redberry buckthorn (subsp. crocea), hollyleaf buckthorn (subsp.

pilosa)

Rhamnus davurica – Dahurian buckthorn

Rhamnus diffusa

Rhamnus glandulosa

Rhamnus globosa – Lokao buckthorn

Rhamnus ilicifolia – hollyleaf redberry

 Rhamnus integrifolia – moralito

Rhamnus japonica – Japanese buckthorn

Rhamnus lanceolata – lanceleaf buckthorn

Rhamnus libanotica – Lebanese buckthorn

Rhamnus ludovici-salvatoris – endemic to Mallorca

Rhamnus lycioides – black hawthorn, European buckthorn, or Mediterranean buckthorn

Rhamnus orbiculata – Orjen buckthorn

Rhamnus palaestina (unresolved species)[12] – (endemic to Eastern Mediterranean)

Rhamnus pallasii – (grows in Iran)

Rhamnus persica – Persian buckthorn (grows in Iran)

Rhamnus petiolaris – (endemic to Sri Lanka)

Rhamnus pirifolia – island redberry buckthorn

Rhamnus prinoides – shiny-leaf buckthorn

Rhamnus pumila - dwarf buckthorn

Rhamnus saxatilis – rock Buckthorn, Avignon buckthorn, Avignon berry, dyer's

buckthorn (syn. R. infectoria, R. infectorius)

Rhamnus serrata – sawleaf buckthorn

Rhamnus smithii – Smith's buckthorn

Rhamnus staddo – Staddo (syn. R. rhodesicus)

Rhamnus taquetii – Jejudo buckthorn

Rhamnus utilis – Chinese buckthorn

Subgenus or genus Frangula: flowers with five petals, buds without bud scales, leaves
always alternate, branches without spines. Species include:
Rhamnus betulifolia (Frangula betulifolia) – birchleaf buckthorn

Rhamnus californica (Frangula californica) – California buckthorn, coffeeberry

Rhamnus caroliniana (Frangula caroliniana) – Carolina buckthorn, Indian cherry (orth.

var. R. carolinianus)

Rhamnus frangula (Frangula alnus) – alder buckthorn, glossy buckthorn,[14] breaking

buckthorn, black dogwood

Rhamnus hintonii (Frangula hintonii)

 Rhamnus latifolia (Frangula azorica)

Rhamnus purshiana (Frangula purshiana) – cascara buckthorn (orth. var. R. purshianus)

Rhamnus rubra (Frangula rubra) – red buckthorn

Ecology

Some species are invasive outside their natural ranges. R. cathartica was introduced into the
United States as a garden shrub and has become an invasive species in many areas there. It
is a primary host of the soybean aphid (Aphis glycines), a pest for soybean farmers across
the US. The aphids use the buckthorn as a host for the winter and then spread to nearby
soybean fields in the spring.[15] Italian buckthorn (R. alaternus), an evergreen species from the
Mediterranean region, has become a serious weed in some parts of New Zealand,[16]
especially on Hauraki Gulf islands.

Buckthorns are used as food plants by the larvae of many Lepidoptera species.

The American species are known to be hosts for the oat fungus Puccinia coronata. In a 1930
study, both kerosene and salt were employed for eradication of R. Lanceolata and both
proved to be less expensive than felling these bushes.[17]

Uses

Rhamnus cathartica
The fruit of most species contain a yellow dye and the seeds are rich in protein. Oils from the
seeds are used for making lubricating oil, printing ink, and soap.[5] Many species have been
used to make dyes. R. purshianus bark and fruit yield a yellow dye and, when mixed with alum,
a green dye that has been used in art.[18] R. utilis provides china green, a dye used to give a
bright green color to silk and wool.[19] Another species, Avignon buckthorn (R. saxatilis)
provides the yellow dye Persian berry, made from the fruit.

Some species may cause demyelinating polyneuropathies.[20]

The purging buckthorn (R. cathartica) is a widespread European native species used in the
past as a purgative. It was in mid 17th-century England the only native purgative.[21] It was
also known pre-Linnaeus as Spina Cervina.[22] The berries of Spina Cervina are black and
contain a greenish juice, along with four seeds apiece; this serves to distinguish them from
those of the black alder and dogberry, which contain only one or two apiece. Its syrup is said
to be churlish.[23] Its toxicity makes this a very risky herbal medicine, and it is no longer in
use.[24]

R. prinoides is known as gesho in Ethiopia, where it is used to make a mead called tej.

The species Rhamnus alaternus shows some promise for medicinal use as well.[2]

See also

Sea buckthorn or Hippophae, an unrelated genus of shrubs with a similar common name

References

1. Knight, Kathleen S.; Kurylo, Jessica S.; Endress, Anton G.; Stewart, J. Ryan; Reich, Peter B. (2007-12-
01). "Ecology and ecosystem impacts of common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica): a review".
Biological Invasions. 9 (8): 925–937. doi:10.1007/s10530-007-9091-3 (https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs1
0530-007-9091-3) . hdl:11299/175602 (https://hdl.handle.net/11299%2F175602) . ISSN 1573-
1464 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1573-1464) . S2CID 10701363 (https://api.semanticscholar.or
g/CorpusID:10701363) .

2. Zeouk, Ikrame; Bekhti, Khadija (2020-03-01). "A critical overview of the traditional, phytochemical and
pharmacological aspects of Rhamnus alaternus: a Mediterranean shrub". Advances in Traditional
Medicine. 20 (1): 1–11. doi:10.1007/s13596-019-00388-8 (https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs13596-019-00
388-8) . ISSN 2662-4060 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/2662-4060) . S2CID 199453600 (https://
api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:199453600) .

3. Archibold, William; Brooks, Darin; Delanoy, L. (1997). "An investigation of the invasive shrub European
Buckthorn, Rhamnus cathartica L., near Saskatoon, Saskatchewan" (https://www.researchgate.net/pu
blication/239951389) . Canadian Field-Naturalist. 111 – via ResearchGate.
 4. . doi:10.2307/4135616 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F4135616) . {{cite journal}}: ; Missing or
empty |title= (help)

5. "Rhamnus in Flora of China @" (http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=12824

6) . Efloras.org. Retrieved 2013-05-07.

. "Rhamnus in Flora of Pakistan" (http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=12824

6) . Efloras.org. Retrieved 2013-05-07.

7. Kurylo, J. S.; Knight, K. S.; Stewart, J. R.; Endress, A. G. (2007). "Rhamnus cathartica: Native and
naturalized distribution and habitat preferences1". The Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society. 134
(3): 420–430. doi:10.3159/1095-5674(2007)134[420:RCNAND]2.0.CO;2 (https://doi.org/10.3159%2F1
095-5674%282007%29134%5B420%3ARCNAND%5D2.0.CO%3B2) . ISSN 1095-5674 (https://www.w
orldcat.org/issn/1095-5674) .

. "Common Buckthorn" (https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/profile/common-buckthorn) . National

Invasive Species Information Center. Retrieved 9 July 2018.

9. "Buckthorn"
(https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/terrestrialplants/woody/buckthorn/index.html) . Minnesota
Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved 27 May 2019.

10. "Bucking a Thorny Invader" (https://dnr.wi.gov/wnrmag/2017/10/Buckthorn.PDF) (PDF). Wisconsin

Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved 27 May 2019.

11. "Midwestern frogs decline, mammal populations altered by invasive plant, studies reveal" (https://ww
w.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130501145153.htm) . ScienceDaily. Retrieved 2020-04-20.

12. "The Plant List: Rhamnus" (http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/search?q=Rhamnus) . Royal Botanic

Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic Garden. 2013.

13. "The Plant List: Rhamnus bourgaeana Gand" (http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-261627

6) . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2013.

14. "Common Buckthorn" (http://www.invadingspecies.com/common-buckthorn/) . Ontario's Invading

Species Awareness Program. Retrieved 27 May 2019.

15. Box: 2207A (2012-04-03). "SDSU Department of Plant Science: Managing Soybean Aphids" (http://ww
w.sdstate.edu/ps/extension/entomology/sba/management.cfm) . Sdstate.edu. Retrieved
2013-05-07.

1 . Synergy International Limited <http://www.synergy.co.nz > (2006-03-23). "issg Database: Ecology of

Rhamnus alaternus" (http://www.issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?si=893) . Issg.org.
Retrieved 2013-05-07.

17. Dietz and Leach, "Methods of eradicating buckthorn (rhamnus) susceptible to crown rust (puccinia
coronata) of oats" USDA Circular No. 133

1 . Mozingo, H. N. Shrubs of the Great Basin: A Natural History. Reno, Nevada: University of Nevada
Press. 1987. 342 p. In: Habeck, R. J. 1992. Rhamnus purshiana. (http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/
plants/shrub/rhapur/all.html) Fire Effects Information System. USDA, Forest Service, Rocky
Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory.
19. Brunello, F. The Art of Dyeing in the History of Mankind. AATCC. 1973. pg. 381.

20. "Peripheral Neuropathy: Peripheral Nervous System and Motor Unit Disorders: Merck Manual
Professional" (http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/neurologic_disorders/peripheral_nervous
_system_and_motor_unit_disorders/peripheral_neuropathy.html?qt=neuropathy&sc=&alt=sh) .
Merckmanuals.com. Retrieved 2013-05-07.

21. Phil. trans. : Number 23, beginning the third year, March 11, 1666 at p.409, p.424

22. Elizabeth Blackwell, "A Curious Herbal, Containing Five Hundred Cuts Of The Most Useful Plants" (htt
p://homeschooling.ucgreat.com/books/herbal-plants/134.htm) , p.134

23. William Lewis, "An Experimental History Of The Materia Medica" (https://chestofbooks.com/health/m
ateria-medica-drugs/Experimental-History-Materia-Medica/Spina-Cervina.html)

24. Plants for a Future: Rhamnus cathartica (https://web.archive.org/web/20070813112224/http://www.

pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Rhamnus+cathartica)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rhamnus.

Scientific chemical research on African Rhamnus (http://www.ajol.info/viewarticle.php?id=

17292&jid=68&layout=abstract)

Chilebosque.cu: Rhamnus diffusus images (http://www.chilebosque.cl/shrb/rdiff.html)

Bioimages.vanderbilt.edu: Frangula caroliniana images (http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioi

mages/species/frame/frca13.htm)

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