Rhamnus caroliniana - (image 1 of 3)
Taxonomy
Family: Rhamnaceae
Habitat
Moist woods and alluvial soils.
Associates
Distribution
MD, VA, west to southern IL, MO, south FL to TX.
Morphology
Tall shrub or small tree. Leaves alternate, oblong to elliptic, broadest above the middle, a third as wide as long, minutely serrulate. Flowers perfect, 5-merous; style undivided; pedicels finely pubescent. Fruit a 3-seeded drupe starting red and turning black.
Notes
Flowers
Wetland indicator: Facultative
This plant was photographed at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL. The USDA is calling it Frangula caroliniana (Walter) A. Gray and the introduced glossy buckthorn Frangula alnus Mill. I learned the latter invasive shrub of wetlands as Rhamnus frangula L.
References
Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.
The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY
Swink, F. and G.
Wilhelm. 1994. Plants of the Chicago Region.
Indiana Academy of Science. The Morton Arboretum. Lisle, Illinois.
USDA, NRCS. 2002.
The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov).
National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.
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Michael Hough © 2005 |