Description

• Rhamnaceae
• Europe
• H 5m x L 4m
• Z3 à Z8
• Perennial
• Synonyms : Rhamnus frangula, Glossy Buckthorn
  
• 1 packet of 15 seeds, harvest of the year

Details

Frangula alnus is a light-looking, slow-growing deciduous shrub, with alternate, obovate, frank green leaves.

It blooms in May.
Its small yellowish flowers are gathered in whorls at the base of the leaves.
They are extremely attractive to bees: Alder Buckthorn Honey is among the most popular and most sought after.

Fruits are small berries, black when ripe in summer, sweet but toxic.
Wild life loves it and that way spreads the seeds.

Glossy Buckthorn often grows in partial shade and likes thickets with moist and acidic soil.

Frangula alnus has medicinal properties - but should be used with great caution due to its toxicity : Cathartic, Cholagogue, Emetic, Laxative, Tonic, Vermifuge.

Alder Buckthorn is an interesting source of colors - wash and light fast - in the natural dyeing of textiles.
Its leaves give : Yellows.
Its bark : Browns and Gingers.
Its ripe berries : Greens.
And its fermented berries : Grays and Blacks.

Stratify the seeds during the cold months of the year for spring germination, either in pots or in the ground in a nursery.
When the plants are sufficiently developed, usually in the second year, plant them in their final location.

Alder Buckthorn requires no specific care, and is disease-free and pests-free.