Rhamnus alaternus

Italian buckhorn

Family: Rhamnaceae · Type: shrub · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

Italian buckhorn is a naturalized shrub found in coastal California regions including Monterey County, San Francisco Bay Area, and southern California coastal areas, occasionally appearing as a garden escape at sea level. Flowering details are not specified in the source data, so this part of the description cannot be completed. Growing as a compact evergreen shrub less than 6 meters tall with brown bark and puberulent branches, it develops dense, thick foliage. Its leaves are elliptic to lance-ovate, 20 to 60 millimeters long, with thick, glossy surfaces and prominently veined undersides, featuring unequally serrated margins. The plant produces small black fruits approximately 6 millimeters long, containing three stones.

Habitat: Occasional garden escape

Elevation: 0 m

Bioregions: CCo (Monterey Co.), SnFrB, SCo (Newport Back Bay), expected elsewhere

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.