#508 most planted
Rhamnus cathartica
Common buckthorn · also European buckthorn, Buckthorn, Purging buckthorn
Deciduous
1,612
trees mapped
0.02%
of all named trees
13
cities
4.0 in
median trunk (10 cm, 1,553 measured)
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Rhamnus cathartica is a small, deciduous tree native to Europe, Northwest Africa, and Western Asia. It is an invasive species in North America, with toxic berries that attract birds, aiding in its dispersal.
Where it grows
Trees in each city's inventory, with the share of that city's named trees this species accounts for.
- 5890.19%—3.0 in
- 2950.11%—3.5 in
- 2890.04%—6.9 in
- 1260.04%—4.4 in
- 700.01%—8.9 in
- 680.15%—4.5 in
- 550.02%—4.3 in
- 480.02%57 yr9.8 in
- 440.04%—6.0 in
- 100.00%—1.9 in
- 90.02%1.8 yr—
- 80.00%18 yr9.4 in
- 10.00%——
Traits
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Mature height
- 20 ft
- Canopy spread
- 15 ft
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Water needs
- Moderate
- Wildlife value
- Low
- Blooms
- Mar, Apr, May
Trunk diameters across every city: median 4.0 in, mean 6.1 in, 90th percentile 12 in. Measured at breast height, as published by each inventory.
Native range
Terrestrial ecoregions where this species is native. Trees in the dataset mostly stand well outside it.
Temperate Broadleaf & Mixed Forests
- Baltic mixed forests
- Central European mixed forests
- East European forest steppe
- European Atlantic mixed forests
- Western European broadleaf forests
Montane Grasslands & Shrublands
- Kuh Rud and Eastern Iran montane woodlands
Other Rhamnus in the catalogue
5 of the top 2,000 species are in this genus.
