Rhamnus cathartica
| Rhamnus cathartica | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 3 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Cross Pollinated | |
| Height: | 20' |
| Width: | 10' |
| Blooms: | Late Spring-Early Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Shelter | |
| Medicinal Rating: | |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Rhamnus cathartica (common name: common buckthorn)
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a cold frame. Stored seed will require 1 - 2 months stratification at 5°c and should be sown as early in the year as possible in a cold frame[1]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle, and grow them on in the greenhouse or cold frame for their first winter. Plant them out in late spring or early summer of the following year.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame[2].
Cuttings of mature wood of the current year's growth, autumn in a frame.
Layering in early spring[3].
Cultivation: Succeeds in any reasonably good soil[4]. Prefers a dry or moist calcareous soil[5][3][6] in sun or light dappled shade[1].
This species is hardy to at least -15°c[7].
Plants regenerate well after cutting or burning but young plants are rather prone to frost damage when grown in an exposed position[8].
Plants are resistant to cattle grazing but young plants can be damaged by rabbits[8].
Plants have a very shallow root system[8].
This species often bears the aecidospore stage of 'crown rust' of oats so it should not be grown near cereals[5][8].
The species in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[1].
A good bee plant[3][9] and a main food plant for the brimstone butterfly[8].
Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.
Range: Europe, including Britain, from Scandanavia south and east to N. Africa and W. Asia.
Habitat: Fen peat, scrub, hedges, ash and oak woods, on calcareous often dry soils[10].
Medicinal: Both the bark and the fruit of common buckthorn have been used for their purgative effect upon the body, however they can be rather violent in their action and so are rarely used in human medicines[11].
The berries, harvested when fully ripe, are cathartic, depurative, diuretic, laxative and violently purgative[5][3][6][12][13][14][15][7]. About 8 - 15 of the mature fruits, chewed before breakfast, are a strong and effective laxative for adults, they should not be used by children[6]. An infusion of the not quite mature fruits is gentler in its action[6]. Use with caution, in large doses the fruit can cause vomiting and violent diarrhoea[6][16].
Usage: A green dye is obtained from the immature fruit[13][17][18][19][20]. Mixed with gum arabic and limewater, it makes a green pigment used in watercolour painting[7]. Yellow, orange and brownish dyes can also be obtained[21]. The colours are rich but fugitive[3].
A yellow dye is obtained from the bark[14][21][19]. It has been used to colour paper and maps[7].
Often grown as an informal hedge, it is also amenable to trimming[16][8][1].
Wood - hard, handsome with a marble-like grain. Used for small turnery[13][14][22].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Seed Ripens: Mid Fall
Flower Type: Dioecious
Known Hazards: The fruit is purgative but not seriously poisonous[8]. Other parts of the plant may also be poisonous[23][12][24][8].
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Dirr, Michael and Charles Heuser. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press, 1987.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Launert, Edmund. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn, 1981.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 Beckett, Kenneth and Gillian Beckett. Planting Native Trees and Shrubs. Jarrold, 1979.
- ↑ International Bee Research Association. Garden Plants Valuable to Bees. International Bee Research Association, 1981.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ Phillips, Roger. Herbs. Pan Books, 1990.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Stary, Frantisek. Poisonous Plants. Hamlyn, 1983.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Lust, John. The Herb Book. Bantam Books, 1983.
- ↑ Schery. Robert. Plants for Man. Prentice Hall, 1972.
- ↑ Heywood, Vernon. Flowering Plants of the World. Oxford University Press.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Sowerby, John. The Useful Plants of Great Britain. 1862.
- ↑ Hill, Albert. Economic Botany. The Maple Press, 1952.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Polunin, Oleg. Flowers of Europe. Oxford University Press, 1969.
- ↑ Komarov, Vladimir. Flora of the USSR. Gantner Verlag, 1968.
- ↑ Altmann, Horst. Poisonous Plants and Animals. Chatto and Windus, 1980.
- ↑ Cooper, Marion. Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. The Stationery Office, 1984.