Cascara buckthorn

Leaves

Form

• Alternate (occasionally opposite)
• Usually widest just above the middle
• Tip short or blunt, base rounded
• Lower surface slightly hairy
• Veins very prominent, 10–15 pairs
• Young trees may retain green leaves into winter

Length

• 4–16 cm

Margin

• Finely and evenly toothed

Buds

Form

• Very small, without scales
• Hairy, usually in 4 rows along the twig
• Terminal bud present

Twigs

Form

• Slender, hairy, becoming smooth
• Bitter tasting
• Leaf scars crescent-shaped, raised with a few scattered vein scars

Colour

• Yellowish-green becoming reddish-brown

Flowers

Form

• Inconspicuous

Colour

• Yellowish-green

Structure

• Polygamo-monoecious

Floral timing

• June

Fruits

Form

• Berry-like, rounded
• Containing 2–3 small nutlets

Width

• 8–14 mm

Colour

• Blackish

Bark

Form

• Thin, smooth, becoming scaly with age

Colour

• Dark greyish-brown

Wood

Texture

• Light, soft

Colour

• Brown, tinged with red

Morphology

• Close-grained
• Diffuse-porous, pores visible with a hand lens
• Annual rings and rays visible to the naked eye

Size

Height

• To 6 m

Diameter

• To 25 cm
• Occasionally larger

Tree form

Forest–grown

Trunk

• Slender
• On young trees, dividing into ascending branches

Crown

• On older trees, horizontal branches form a compact, irregular crown

Habitat

Site

• Moist organic soils
• Coarse, sandy or gravelly soils

Associated species

• Alders and birches (on burned-over areas and clearings)
• An understory tree in conifer forests