Frangula alnus
Frangula betulifolia
alder buckthorn, columnar buckthorn, European alder, European alder-buckthorn, fen buckthorn, glossy buckthorn, glossy false buckthorn, tall hedge buckthorn
beechleaf frangula, birchleaf buckthorn
deciduous;
petiole 10–19 mm;
blade dull green abaxially, glossy darker green adaxially, broadly elliptic-obovate to broadly elliptic or broadly oblong, 4–7(–11) cm, herbaceous, base cuneate to rounded, margins entire, apex rounded to acute or abruptly short-acuminate, abaxial surface sometimes minutely strigose along midveins, adaxial surface glabrous;
secondary veins 6–10 pairs.
deciduous;
petiole (2–)5–16 mm;
blade yellowish green abaxially, green adaxially, elliptic to oblong, elliptic-ovate or narrowly ovate, (4–)4.5–10 x (2–)2.5–5.5 cm, 1.6–2.6(–2.9) times longer than wide, ± herbaceous, base obtuse to truncate or rounded, margins serrate to subcrenate, apex usually acute to obtuse, sometimes slightly acuminate, both surfaces hirtellous, glabrescent;
secondary veins (8–)9–13 pairs.
fascicles, sessile, 1–8-flowered.
umbels, pedunculate, 2–20(–38)-flowered.
3–10 mm.
3–7 mm.
black, globose or slightly elongate, 6–8 mm;
stones 2(–3).
black, globose, 5–10 mm;
stones (2–)3(–4).
2–3-lobed.
3-lobed.
= 20–26.
Frangula alnus
Frangula betulifolia
Two horticultural forms of Frangula alnus are widely sold and planted in North America. The cultivar 'Asplenifolia' (F. alnus var. asplenifolia Dippel; fern leaf or cutleaf buckthorn) has linear-oblong leaves with coarsely toothed to incised margins and commonly is grown as a specialty plant. The cultivar 'Columnaris' (tallhedge glossy buckthorn) has a narrow, upright habit and is used in hedging. Both forms were noted by M. H. Brand (http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/r/rhafra/rhafra1.html) to spread invasively by seeds. 'Asplenifolia' has been reported as naturalized in Ontario (A. W. Dugal 1989, 1992), Illinois (A. Branhagen, pers. comm.), and Ohio (M. K. Delong et al. 2005).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
In the flora area, Frangula betulifolia is found in southeastern Arizona, the southern two-thirds of New Mexico, and trans-Pecos Texas. It and F. obovata are allopatric and morphologically distinct. C. B. Wolf (1938) considered a collection from Cochise County in southeastern Arizona, named as Rhamnus blumeri (Frangula ×blumeri), to be a hybrid between Frangula betulifolia and F. californica var. ursina; see the discussion of the latter taxon for more information.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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