Flora of North America species comparison

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Frangula betulifolia

beechleaf frangula, birchleaf buckthorn
Habit Shrubs or small trees, 1–4 m. Stems brown to gray-brown, glabrous or pubescent.
Leaves

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.
Inflorescences

umbels, pedunculate, 2–20(–38)-flowered.
Pedicels

3–7 mm.
Drupes

black, globose, 5–10 mm;

stones (2–)3(–4).
Stigmas

3-lobed.

Frangula betulifolia
Phenology Flowering Apr–Jun.
Habitat Moist canyons, stream banks, rocky slopes, cliff bases, ledges, ridges, roadsides, deciduous, coniferous, and mixed woodlands.
Elevation 900–2800 m. (3000–9200 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; NM; TX; Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo León, Sonora, Tamaulipas)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 58.
Parent taxa Rhamnaceae > Frangula
Sibling taxa
F. alnus, F. californica, F. caroliniana, F. obovata, F. purshiana, F. rubra
Synonyms Rhamnus betulifolia
Name authority (Greene) Grubov: Trudy Bot. Inst. Akad. Nauk S.S.S.R., Ser. 1, Fl. Sist. Vyssh. Rast. 8: 268. (1949)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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