Frangula rubra
Sierra coffee berry, Sierra Coffee Berry
(c) Tim Messick, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Tim Messick · licence
Family: Rhamnaceae · Type: Shrub · Native
Frangula rubra (Sierra coffee berry) is a native California shrub in the Rhamnaceae family.
Sierra coffee berry is a California native shrub found in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in montane habitats at elevations ranging from mid to high mountain zones. Flowering from spring to early summer, this plant produces small clustered flowers with delicate white to greenish petals in compact groups of 4 to 15 blossoms. Growing as a compact shrub less than 2 meters tall, it features distinctive red to bright gray bark and reddish to gray twigs with hairy terminal buds. Its leaves are scattered along the stem, narrow and elliptic to obovate, ranging 15 to 80 millimeters long with finely toothed margins and a thin green to grayish appearance. The fruit develops as a black, two-stoned berry approximately 12 millimeters in size.
Habitat and range
California counties: Butte, El Dorado, Yuba, Shasta, Mariposa, Nevada, Sierra, Modoc, Amador, Tuolumne, Plumas, Tehama, Lassen, Glenn, Siskiyou, Fresno, Tulare, Mono, Placer, Alpine, Calaveras, Mendocino, Trinity, Del Norte, Madera
How to tell it apart
vs Heteromeles: Frangula has simple leaves and naked buds; Heteromeles has toothed leaves and scaly buds.; vs Prunus: Frangula berries turn from red to black; Prunus fruits are uniform colored when ripe.; vs Rhamnus: Frangula buds are naked (no scales); Rhamnus buds have protective scales.; vs Quercus: Frangula has opposite or alternate smooth leaves; Quercus has spiral lobed or toothed leaves.; vs Umbellularia: Frangula leaves lack strong aroma; Umbellularia leaves smell strongly spicy when crushed.
Frequently asked questions
Is Frangula rubra native to California?
Yes. Frangula rubra is native to California (recorded as native).
Where in California does Frangula rubra grow?
Frangula rubra occurs in Butte, El Dorado, Yuba, Shasta, Mariposa, Nevada, Sierra, Modoc and other counties.
What plant family does Frangula rubra belong to?
Frangula rubra is in the Rhamnaceae family, genus Frangula.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.