Rhamnus alnifolia L'Hér.
alder-leaved buckthorn (alderleaf buckthorn)
Rhamnaceae (Buckthorn family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Bryan Kelly-McArthur     (Photo ID #78008)

Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

Distribution of Rhamnus alnifolia
Click here to view the full interactive map and legend

Species Information

General:
Deciduous (unisexual) shrub 0.5-1.5 m tall; stems spreading to erect, grey, smooth.
Leaves:
Alternate, narrowly egg-shaped to narrowly elliptic, the blades 6-11 cm long, glandular-toothed with 5-7 main lateral veins, finely short-hairy; stalks 4-12 mm long; stipules oblong, 3-6 mm long, soon deciduous.
Flowers:
Inflorescence an axillary, unstalked cluster of 2-5 male or female flowers; petals lacking; hypanthium bell-shaped; calyces usually 5-lobed, sometimes 4-lobed, the lobes triangular, smooth.
Fruits:
Berries, 6-8 mm long, black to bluish-black; seeds 3.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Illustration

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

USDA Species Characteristics

Flower Colour:
Green
Blooming Period:
Late Spring
Source:  The USDA

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Rhamnus alnifolia

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
 Value / Class

Avg

Min

Max
Elevation (metres)
 978 75 1460
Slope Gradient (%)
 13 0 47

Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]

 106 30 328
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric] 		5 3 8
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
 D
# of field plots
 species was recorded in:
 21
Modal BEC Zone Class
 ICH

All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in

 ESSF(2), ICH(7), IDF(4), MH(1), MS(6), PP(1)

Habitat and Range

Swamps and wet to moist meadows and streambanks in the steppe and montane zones; locally frequent in SE BC; E to NF and S to ME, OH, PA, ID, WY and CA.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

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