Rhamnus alnifolia

Alder buckthorn, Alder Buckthorn

Family: Rhamnaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.2

Alder buckthorn is a California native shrub ranked 2B.2 by CNPS, found in the northern Sierra Nevada Mountains in wet meadow edges, seeps, and stream sides at elevations of 1,450 to 2,020 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces small, subtle flowers in clusters of 1 to 3 on short pedicels. Growing to less than 2 meters tall with gray bark and puberulent branches, it develops brown twigs and winter bud scales about 5 millimeters long. Its deciduous leaves are elliptic to ovate, 45 to 110 millimeters long, with thin, translucent blades and prominent arched veins, featuring an irregularly toothed margin. The shrub produces a distinctive black, three-stoned fruit approximately 8 millimeters long.

Habitat: Wet meadow edges, seeps, stream sides

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: 1450-2020 m

Bioregions: n SNH

California counties: Placer, Mendocino, Plumas, Nevada, Tehama, Sierra, Lassen, El Dorado

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